Banzai spent all morning in the pool today barking (non stop) at the ball... he *loved* *LOVED* herding that thing in the water... I bet if we got 4 of em he would love it even more... he could really herd! Bella has been in for brief periods, but she's not sure what to make of it.
As for the bonding... Bella and Banzai have a very strong, gentle loving, relationship. While Bella and Buddy have an (equally as strong) "hey, I bet if we took turns hitting each other as hard as possible in the shoulder you'll cry uncle before I do" "alright little GIRL... you're on" kind of relationship.
Buddy is just plain not as affectionate a dog as Banzai. On the other hand... when Buddy does feel like being affectionate he REALLY lets you know he cares. Just the other night (Nikki about died laughing) Buddy gave me about 10 straight minutes of puppy kisses... all over the face and neck... He's a lot like his father that way... We dont display affection often, but when we do it's pretty fierce.
Nikki, btw, is working on training him to clean my face on demand... she finds it *SO* amusing... She pokes my forehead and says "Buddy, Look, Here, Puppy Kisses" (sigh... women)