Shadow jumped into the car when we got to the country. Contributed

Eloise picks up the story in chapter five.

Hello girls and boys. It's Eloise here. Today I am going to tell you about our doggie cousins in the country. They live with our human Mummy's parents, near a place called Mocho. We love it when she goes to visit them because she takes us with her in the car.

Mummy always puts down an old plastic shower curtain in the back of her car, and then she covers it with towels so that we will be comfortable. I don't mind the journey out to the country because I find it easy to fall asleep. Yoda, however, spends nearly the entire time standing up so that he can look out of the window. Every time Mummy presses on the brakes, he loses his footing and stumbles. This does not make him sit. I have asked him several times why he won't just lie down with me. He says he likes to see where Mummy is going. I keep telling him that wherever she's going, so are we, but I think he wants to make sure that she's not going somewhere without us!

When we arrive at the house in the country, our three doggie cousins are there to greet us. We always know when we have turned into the driveway and we get very excited to see them. Our boy cousin is Da Vinci, the Rottweiler, who is very big and slobbers everywhere. The girls are Truffle, the chocolate-brown Labrador, and Shadow, the black Labrador and weimaraner mix. They are both quite small still.

Da Vinci looks scary but really he is a softy. Unless of course you do anything to trouble him or his family! Truffle is very kind and caring.

Gentle dog

Eloise

She is a gentle dog and does not like getting into as much mischief as the rest of us. Shadow, on the other hand, is the naughtiest puppy I have ever met. Once, when we were all romping in the bushes, she decided to investigate a honeycomb-rock hole and fell into it. Human Mummy had to come and get her out. It was funny to see Mummy upside down, with just her legs sticking out of the hole! Shadow will also chew on anything that she can get her paws on. She will bring sticks and leaves from outside into the house, and take shoes from the cupboards and leave them lying around all over the garden.

Our favourite game is tag. Yoda and I play it all the time, but it's even better when Shadow joins in. Da Vinci and Truffle don't like it as much. It usually starts with Yoda grabbing my hind leg and then running off. I will then chase him, and soon Shadow will be in on the act. It's best done inside the house, when there are obstacles like sofas and tables to get around! This goes on for a long time and then suddenly we'll all collapse on the floor to rest for a while.

Often, Shadow will then go outside and find something like a piece of tree bark. When Yoda sees him walking back with it, he'll try to take it from her. Shadow then scurries behind a piece of furniture to hide. Yoda sneaks up on her, backs her into a corner, and grabs the prize out of Shadow's mouth. He will then scramble away from us both, thinking he's won the game. I don't think so little man! Before you know it, Shadow and I are clambering over Yoda and eventually the three of us collapse in a heap from exhaustion. It's only then that I notice all the humans watching and laughing at us! Nothing makes me more happy than to see my human Mummy smile.

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POSITIVE Parenting