We’ve been hesitant about buying her soft toys because we don’t want to encourage her to go after the girls’ plush toys. But she’s been rather bored of late, which manifests itself in licking and bald spots. So we decided to take a chance on her mouthiness and get her her own soft toy rabbit with long legs. She was visibly happy to receive it and last I checked, is still holding the plush in her mouth.

"Mmm. Soft."

This is also the first toy that she’s had that Bryan hasn’t snatched. He’s not into soft things and he got a Kong stuffable bone plastered with peanut butter, so everybody’s happy!

The aforementioned hi jinks.

The girls didn’t want to go to a park yesterday, so K blew up the inflatable pool for them to have an evening dip. All was relatively peaceful until a playfight began and someone splashed water onto the deck as Bryan was passing.

Crouching tiger, hidden dragon?

Bryan got all excited and started patrolling the pool, waiting for the next splash to snap at. Eventually, he started climbing on the sides, which got the kids all screamy because they didn’t want a big furball in there with them.

Bryan contemplates going for a swim.

Both dogs were super excited to be out, until we led them onto the sand. They were transfixed by the sound of the waves crashing on shore, and the water that seemed to be rushing in to attack them.

Sunshine gingerly checking out the backwash.

Neither dog was keen to go near the water, so K put them on the leash and led – no, dragged – them in.

No, Sunshine, sitting on Bryan will not give you more traction.

After about an hour of manhandling two unwilling dogs, he finally succeeded in getting them to swim, more or less calmly, back to shore. They also got over some of their anxiety about the waves, but it was definitely not the grand vision I had of them plunging in and emerging triumphantly from the water like Pam Anderson in Baywatch.

Wet look.

"I prefer to be dry, thankyouverymuch."

I think we might try again when they’re due for their next bath in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, here’s a video of Bryan trying to bite water:

Zoe says she likes Sunshine because she doesn't haunt her like Bryan does.

Zoe loves to hug Sunshine, who’s perfectly happy to let her. I think it’s a golden retriever thing because Bryan likes petting but not hugging. I’ve been wanting to get a good photo of this and finally, I did. While I was trying to get my shot, Bryan was doing the usual, which is to wait till Sunshine’s all nice and relaxed, and then play-pounce on her. Sunshine gives as good as she gets, so what usually ensues is a lying down playfight, like this:

I chew you good.

As you can see, they both have sharp teeth. Even though they’re just playing, their claws and fangs might accidentally make contact with bystanders like Zoe (and K’s legs), so K told her to move away from the action to prevent any unintentional bites or scratches. And if anything, this photo shows that dogs are not all sweetness and light, even though they seem that way most of the time.

Ever since the girls came along, we’ve been very conscious about how they interact with animals. When Pepe and Megan were still around, they understood that the baby was higher up the pack order and therefore to be respected. It was easy to reinforce the right behaviour with them, as they were older dogs and naturally good with kids anyway. Plus, we had rules in the first place that set the stage for the baby being higher up. For example, Pepe and Megan were not allowed on beds and sofas, areas where the baby could go. They were also not carried, whereas the baby was. They did not enter or exit the house until we (and the baby) did. We still practise these rules with our dogs today. I wouldn’t want to carry Sunshine anyway, the big oaf.

But Bryan had to learn as an overly enthusiastic and boisterous puppy that there was a right way and a wrong way to act around the girls. Every time he came into contact with them, we would put him in a down, and tell the girls to pet him gently – our keyword is “gentle” – while praising Bryan as he maintained his down position. After a while Bryan also seemed to catch on that “gentle” was his cue to keep still for petting.

I think the key to a good relationship between kids and dogs (or any other animal) is based on mutual respect. Bryan and Sunshine trust that Zoe will not pull their ears and tails, or be rough with them, and she trusts that they will be calm and patient as she pets them. The dogs also have to learn that jumping on the kids or snatching food out of their hands is simply not done. It’s not an overnight thing, especially since kids are harder to train than dogs, but it’s definitely doable. It’s also really important, to avoid incidents like this.