Many dogs know how to “play dead.” It’s just a funny trick dogs can do, rolling over their backs on cue… but one dog has figured out how to use playing dead to get what he wants.
You know how when parents try to get their toddlers to go somewhere they don’t want to, the kids will just collapse on the ground in a tired tantrum? A lab named Ryder has the same idea: he loves walking with his owner so much that when it’s time to go home, he’ll dramatically collapse on the ground rather than move.
Ryder’s owner Sean Tornetta says his smart dog has a keen instinct for when it’s time to go home.
“The minute he realizes he is coming home or walking a path that he has already sniffed out he sneakily starts to slow down and look at us like, ‘Boring! I’ve been here and sniffed all these scents before,’” Sean told The Dodo.
So in an effort to keep on exploring, Ryder will dramatically faint right in the street. “It is hilarious the way he does it,” Sean said.
And it’s not just once in a while, it’s every walk… enough that Sean was able to put together a hilarious compilation of all the times Ryder has “fainted.”
The Twitter video has been viewed nearly 3 million times. One of the funniest parts is how Ryder will collapse anywhere he likes, even in the middle of the street:
It’s all a big hammy performance, of course: Ryder isn’t actually tired, and his owner sees right through the act.
“He is in shape and can certainly make it,” Sean told The Dodo. “We’ve seen him spring and play for hours at the dog park so we know it’s all an act.”
Since no one wants to drag a lifeless dog all the way home, Sean always brings a good motivator to get his dog back on his feet: treats.
“The second I start to wiggle my pocket with treats, he springs right back up like nothing happened,” Sean said. “It’s quite hilarious how sneaky he thinks he is.”
What a clever dog! It’s funny the things dogs will come up with to get what they want!
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