Our Labrador Lila is a party animal. She loves entertaining guests both human and canine…especially when they turn up with toys.

One of Lila’s best friends is a sweet-tempered, generous boy named Ochie (as in “ochre”). A 16-month-old red merle Australian Shepherd. At home, he is blessed with a huge collection of fun and engaging objects, and he is thoughtful enough to bring a couple along with him when he visits Lila. Multifaceted tug toys that can be swapped, shared and occasionally dismantled (and thankfully reassembled once the parts are recovered).  [read more below]

Lila has her own toys, but Ochie’s are better. And they provide a good distraction from her desire to chew his cheeks. (Lila hasn’t grown up yet.) When Ochie first presented the tug toys to Lila, I thought she might be too young for the game. I was wrong. Within seconds, she had grasped the rules and the two of them promptly began to play. Ochie sometimes deferring to Lila’s tender age and graciously allowing her to score a few extra points.

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