Dismissal is not refutation; when you can respond to my actual points, please let me know.
Don’t confuse a dog’s tolerance of a child’s bad behavior with a dog’s love for a child who treats it well.
Dogs may permit a child to take food from their bowl, pull ears, stand or ride on them, hug them, hit them or kick them—that does not imply that these behaviors are okay, simply that the dog is waiting for the human parent to correct the erring “pup” who is clearly ignorant of appropriate canine behavior; the same way that a houseguest may ignore a child’s rudeness with the expectation that the parents will correct the child.
Oh, I’m sorry, did you want to weep and whine some more about the horrors of these sweet moments in that loving home?
The relationship between these two is normal and healthy, and loving.
The Palin dog looks happy and well adjusted, my guess is that your pets lean toward neurotic and unnatural.