A video of a dog appearing to ignore his owner after eating her lunch has gone viral on TikTok.
The clip was posted by MR PINkY (@mr_pinky_bear), the TikTok account of a Great Pyrenees dog called Pinky, and had 1.3 million views at the time of writing.
A caption shared with the post reads: “I accidently ate my mom’s lunch today.” A voice in the clip says: “Pinky’s been ignoring me all day…” The dog is seen staring ahead while sitting on a couch, appearing to watch a television screen.
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Can Dogs Feel Guilt?
Pinky’s seemingly unwavering sense of peace in the viral clip is not surprising as Great Pyrenees dogs are described as “steadfast guardians” that “usually exhibit a Zen-like calm,” according to the American Kennel Club (AKC), the nonprofit and world’s largest purebred registry.
As guilt-ridden as the pup might have seemed, do dogs feel guilt?
“Probably not,” veterinarian Dr. Lynn Buzhardt said in an article for VCA, one of North America’s largest animal hospital chains.
“Pets may not feel a sense of wrongdoing because they don’t understand that what they did was wrong,” Buzhardt said, adding that a pet’s body posture and attitude “do not indicate [their] guilt or remorse,” but rather indicate a “response to your body posture and attitude.”
So, these “guilty looks ” are signs of “fear, concern, and anxiety of the pet in response to the agitated, angry look and sound of their owner,” Buzhardt explained.
“Your cat or dog immediately responds with a submissive posture that you interpret as guilt. But this submissive action doesn’t reflect guilt. It is an effort to appease or calm you. And it often works! You look at that sad face and cave. Your anger and frustration evaporate!” she noted.
‘Side Eye Said It All’
A voice in the latest viral video says: “He got in trouble today. Right Pinky?…he can’t even look at me.” The dog continues to look ahead, with just his eye appearing to glance to the side a few times.
Several TikTokers were in stitches over the dog’s reaction in the clip.
User jennyok wrote “BOMBASTIC SIDE EYE” and Elizabeth said “The side eye is LOUD.”
Angie agreed, noting: “Yup that’s one mad doggo. The side eye said it all.”
User elissa_torres said: “The multiple side eyes are too much.”
Bongo Pug said their Great Pyrenees “gives me the stink eye too.”
User underthemoon2.0 wrote: “He got that i’m not even mad look, just don’t talk to me.”
BIG BELUGA <3 noted the dog must have been saying “I’m trying to watch something..”
Newsweek has contacted the original poster for comment via TikTok.
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