This pair of golden retrievers from Perth, Australia is known for bringing light and love wherever they go.
A “Star Wars” fan named Kieran Lehane owned a Golden retriever named Kylo. The canine was less than a year old when he decided to add another four-legged member into the family—a puppy named Vader.
“It was this immediate connection,” the 29-year-old told TODAY. “Vader immediately connected with Kylo as his sort of big brother, constantly snuggling up into him.”
Vader, nine months older than Kylo, was welcomed into Kylo’s life. The gentle dog was unbothered by the puppy’s constant affection and immature behavior.
Vader would teeth on his tail and play with him all the time, but his older dog “brother” simply didn’t mind.
The bond between the dogs grew stronger over time.
Vader was still clingy towards Kylo so Kieran thought that he could teach them how to hug. Kylo, the larger one of the two, seemed more open to touching from his friend so Vader was the one he had to train.
Kieran studied positive reinforcement training and saw the many benefits. He also knew about the problems caused by physical harm and punishment when training, so he didn’t resort to those methods.
Plus, he couldn’t bear the thought of hurting his beloved pets.
Kieran used positive training methods by rewarding Kylo and Vader’s desired behavior with a special treat: cooked chicken.
Vader, who loves chicken and any cooked meat, already knew basic obedience and how to offer a “paw” on cue to shake hands.
If you want your dog learn this trick, you can hold a treat in one’s fist and let it smell. When your dog paws at the treat, say “paw” and give him the treat to teach the cue.)
“I basically did it step-by-step, very slowly,” Kieran explained. “I would use a ‘paw’ and then move my hand a little bit higher. Then I found myself putting my hand on a chair or something similar. Then every time I did ‘chair,’ I’d put my hand on the chair and then move it quickly so Vader would put his hand on the chair.”
He eventually trained Vader next to Kylo. Every time Vader would put a paw on his older dog pal, Kieran would say “BFF” and reward them both with chicken.
“I could see he worked out ‘If I hug Kylo, then it would be worth it.’ So I would just say ‘BFF,’ and every time, he would do it. It got better and better. Kylo’s just chill so he would sit there and get a treat, too,” Kieran said.
Sometimes when they’re on adventures to parks or beaches, Vader would automatically hug his best friend.
Their adorable antics have earned them a huge following on social networks. They have over 111K Instagram followers to date.
Kieran was often contacted by his fans to express their gratitude.
“In some of the captions I put in a message or even a reminder to tell someone to hug the people closest to you or send some love,” Kieran said. “I would love to increase all the positivity and just the pure joy that Kylo and Vader and goldens and dogs tend to bring to people, especially during hard times.”
Even though Kylo and Vader are named after “Star Wars” characters who crossed over to the Dark Side of the Force, these dogs are far from being villains in real life.
Kieran shared a videomontage of Kylo hugging Vader at different locations in honor of National Hugging Day, January 21.
You can follow Kylo or Vader on their websites and Instagram.
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