Partners in Annoyance: Dog Duo Discovers Strategy to Make Owner Play with Them

This dog duo, obsessed with fetch, figured out exactly how to make their owner keep playing. In a video, the owner shows how his dogs “blackmail” him into playing nonstop with a ball. In an interview with Amo Meu Pet (our Brazilian website about pet news), Maurício de Andrade playfully “vented” about the behavior of his beloved pups.

Bento, a two-year-old Jack Russell Terrier, found his true partner in crime in his canine sister Cacau, a four-year-old Border Collie: playing fetch.

The problem is, they’re completely obsessed—they want to play it all day long.

So far, so good—they play together and take turns… right? Not at all! TThis duo wants their poor owner to fully join the game—which means Maurício has to play fetch with both of them until they get tired… which is never.

In the video, Maurício reveals how Bento and Cacau figured out how to force him to keep playing, even when he needs to do other things.

Bento throws the ball into the pool, and Cacau starts crying nonstop—all part of their “agreement.” So their owner rushes to get the ball, and the whole scene repeats itself.

“Cacau is addicted to fetch. Anyone who has a Border Collie knows how they are—they never stop. So after a while, we ignore her, because if we don’t, we’ll be playing all day,” the owner confides.

But Bento also developed a taste for the game, and together they came up with a foolproof plan.

“Somehow, Bento realized that whenever the ball falls into the pool, we fetch it—for their safety and because Cacau cries nonstop. I guess he made the connection,” he said.

After that, it was game over… Bento, the little rascal, started throwing the ball into the pool all the time so that Maurício or someone else in the family would fetch it.

“So he takes the ball from Cacau, brings it to the pool, throws it in, and waits for her to cry so we’ll get it out!”

Different Houses

Even with all this love, Cacau and Bento don’t live in the same house. That’s because when Maurício got married, he “lost custody” of the Border Collie, who was already part of the family.

“Cacau is my parents’ dog. Before getting married, I lived with them and I was the one who helped them get her—a Border Collie. She’s a great love in both my life and my parents’ lives. Before getting Bento, I tried to steal her for myself, but it didn’t work—my parents wouldn’t let me,” he said.

To ease the longing for Cacau, Maurício found Bento—a very sweet, well-behaved dog with endless energy!

“He came into my life after I got married. I’ve had dogs my whole life and it was super weird not having one for the first time. So I looked for a friend.”

Ever since Bento came into Maurício’s life, he and Cacau have had a very strong bond.

“They’re like siblings—they’re always teasing and loving each other all day long. When I visit my parents’ house, it’s always the same: one is calm, and the other comes over to annoy them. One is always trying to get the other to play. They have amazing chemistry and a strong connection,” he said proudly.

Cacau and Bento are actually nicknames for the “official” names of the troublemaking duo. Their full names are: Sandra Carolina and José Benedito.

“But we only use them to get their attention when they’re up to mischief,” explained the owner.

Hearing “Sandra Carolina” or “José Benedito” means they’ve been caught—haha!

Watch the video:

And if anyone still thinks dogs aren’t smart, here’s proof they’re incredibly clever! Follow Bento on Instagram here!