Watch Spaniel Siblings' Reaction to Breaking Owner's Golden Rule: 'Busted'

A pair of playful spaniels reacted in hilarious style after breaking one of their owner's cardinal rules in the house.

Spencer, aged 4, and his 6-year-old canine sibling Hugo enjoy a pretty idyllic life in Edinburgh, Scotland, with their owner Hollie Jenkins. She regularly provides glimpses of their busy life together on TikTok, posting videos under the handle theedinburghspaniels that showcase a shared passion for the great outdoors.

"They absolutely love being off hiking. It is what makes them such great companions for all the hiking we do," Jenkins told Newsweek. "Our platform grew through me sharing these outdoor adventures on Instagram and I think people can really see how happy they are when they are out doing their thing."

But while the two pups are perfect companions outside, it's a slightly different story indoors. Things can get wild. A little too wild, in fact.

Dogs definitely benefit from the company of other dogs. In 2023, an analysis of more than 21,000 dogs and their owners found that canines living with another pet were significantly healthier than solitary animals.

The research, which was published in the journal Evolution, Medicine & Public Health found that although financial factors influenced canine health, the impact of socialization with other dogs was five times stronger.

Jenkins decided to get a second puppy after watching how Hugo was with other dogs. It took him a little while to get used to Spencer though. "He refused to acknowledge his presence for a good month and a half," she said. "They soon bonded though and now get on great."

Great is something of an understatement, with the pair causing such a ruckus that Jenkins has since implemented a no-barking rule, essentially forbidding them from getting too loud in the house.

"Spaniels can be a fairly vocal breed, and as a puppy Hugo was very 'barky,' especially when playing," she explained. "Once he started, he'd get into a state of constant barking where you couldn't really do much else."

Jenkins put considerable time into training them to "redirect the energy" into something a little calmer. "It's just not pleasant to have a dog in your face barking at you," she said. "I knew there were going to be times where I would need to leave them at home alone and it wouldn't be fair to my neighbor to have to listen to it constantly."

She also felt it was an important thing to do for their safety. "When meeting new dogs you don't know how they have been socialized and how they are going to respond," she said. "By teaching them not to bark in someone's face, I think it helps to avoid fights and prevent situations."

Jenkins is keen to stress that it is not a "flat-out, no-barking" rule, but rather an attempt to discourage them from "constant in-your-face barking" and would help her two dogs play better together.

Instigating it proved relatively straightforward as her spaniels were fast learners. In situations where she felt they overstepped the mark, they would be told to lay down until the situation had "diffused."

However, as the clip shows, there are still instances where her dogs will defy the rule. What made this particular video so amusing was the way they appeared to realize that their play fighting had gone too far. In the video, they can be seen wrestling with each other in the house before suddenly backing off and heading over to their beds.

They then shoot a look over at Jenkins that she describes as them wondering, "did she notice?" Or even, "will we get away with it?" Spoiler: she did and they did not.

Explaining the video's popularity, she said: "The clip is funny in the way kids getting 'busted' and pulling a silly face is funny." Though Jenkins acknowledges Spencer and Hugo are always going to enjoy the occasional wrestle, the hope is her rules will teach them to be better behaved canines in public.

Judging from the video, it seems to be working.

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