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Dog has adorably surprised reaction after owner dresses up as his favorite stuffed toy

Mr. Quackers stopped by for a visit and it was almost too much for Charlie to handle.

Charlie the Golden 18/YouTube

Charlie the golden retriever got to experience a life-sized Mr. Quackers and it was sheer joy.

The first thing you need to know about Charlie the golden retriever is that he loves Mr. Quackers. Mr. Quackers is Charlie's stuffed yellow duck. Charlie carries him around everywhere, he loves him so. Anyone who's had a dog with a favorite stuffy knows that it's a bit like a child with a favorite stuffy. As long as the stuffy is there, all is well. If stuffy goes missing, all hell breaks loose.

Nobody take the stuffy away. Nobody lose the stuffy. Nobody mess with the stuffy. Where they go, their stuffy goes. Where Charlie goes, Mr. Quackers goes. That's just the way it is.

There are many reasons dogs become so attached to their joys. It gives them mental stimulation and a release for pent up energy. It can also satisfy the need to hunt and retrieve in some breeds of dogs. And some female dogs will nurture or guard a toy as part of their maternal instincts.


@charliethegolden18

I always so happ to see my lil bro 😋 #dogsoftiktok #petsoftiktok #dogs #goldenretriever


The attachment is real. Watch what happens when Charlie's buddy Buddy tries to mess with Mr. Quackers. "There, see it!" Oh, Charlie. His love for Mr. Quackers is unrivaled, which is why his owner decided to pull an incredible pet prank and dress up as Mr. Quackers himself.

@charliethegolden18

Ain’t nobody touching my Mr. Quackers 😋 #dogsoftiktok #petsoftiktok #dogs #goldenretriever

The things we do for our dogs, indeed. And when Charlie got to meet the life-sized Mr. Quackers? So. Much. Joy. Charlie practically wagged his tail right off his body. And he never let go of the original Mr. Quackers the whole time—at least on TikTok.

It's tough to precisely unpack why Charlie is so attached to Mr. Quackers but it might be directly connected to his love for his human companion As Pride Bites explains:"It’s possible that the toy your pup likes carries your scent or that of the members of the family. Whenever they keep it close, your dog may feel a sense of connection with you. It can be one of the reasons your dog is so attached to the custom dog toy you bought on a whim, as it makes them feel safer during stressful situations such as when there’s a thunderstorm. Holding onto their toy can be your pup’s way of overcoming distress or reinforcing a positive emotion."

So, it's possible that in a very real sense, when Charlie's owner puts on the suit he's both literally and figuratively manifesting not only a life-sized Mr. Quackers but amplifying Charlie's own attachment to his human companion.

The extended video on YouTube shows Charlie dropping Mr. Quackers and trying to get a hold of Huge Mr. Quackers by the neck. Not in an aggressive way—more like in a "Hey, lemme carry you around like I do Mr. Quackers!" kind of way.




@charliethegolden18

Dressed up as our dogs favorite duck toy. Full video on FB & YouTube. Link in bio. #dogsoftiktok #petsoftiktok #dogs #goldenretriever

And then the slow discovery that Huge Mr. Quackers smells an awful lot like his hooman … just too precious.

Animals can bring such joy to our lives, especially when we take the time to play with them. Thanks, Charlie's parents, for sharing this moment of adorable delight with us all. Follow more of Charlie and Mr. Quackers' adventures on TikTok and YouTube.

This article originally appeared two years ago.

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Woman went to the shelter and asked for the oldest dog there. She has no regrets.

"I can't believe this is my life now, I feel so loved."

The oldest dog turned out to have the most love.

Anyone who's ever been inside a dog shelter can relate: You're naturally drawn to the puppies—the cute, young, and playful dogs eager for your attention and love. But at the same time, your heart breaks for the other ones. You know who they are. The older dogs with the gray muzzles who have lived a lot of life and don't have the same energy anymore. The less attractive ones, too. Scruffy mutts with overgrown fur and stained faces. You feel horrible that so many of them probably won't be chosen and won't find a home.

Still, it's easy to see the appeal of a puppy or younger dog. You can train it the way you want, raise it in your own home, and form an incredible bond throughout their entire life. You also get a companion by your side for a long time to come, with your commitment to them paying off for years and years. Though taking an older dog home is a nice thing to do, it can be tough for potential dog owners to sacrifice all of those perks. But maybe it doesn't have to be viewed that way.

One woman recently shared her story of walking into a dog shelter and specifically asking to meet the oldest dog there.

In a viral video on TikTok, Kristen Brown says she went to the shelter and was introduced to 12-year-old Jackie. The sign on her pen noted that Jackie had been surrendered by a previous owner (ouch, my heart) and required "Geriatric bedding," also noting that she was a "Sweet girl."

After meeting Jackie, Brown agreed. She decided to take the old gal home. What follows is an incredible montage of Jackie's new life: Naps in her special bed, being groomed for the first time, playing with her dog siblings, and morning walks.

Brown captioned the video from Jackie's point of view, with the final caption reading: "I can't believe this is my life now, I feel so loved."

Jackie looks like a larger breed that, sadly, probably doesn't have too many years left. But now she's got her happy ending. Watch it here:

@kristentbrown

to my sweet 12 year old Jackie Lynn♥️ (I cried making this) #dogsoftiktok #doglover #adoptdontshop #shelterdog

Commenters shared their own stories of adopting senior dogs and they're just the sweetest thing you can imagine.

When you adopt an older dog, the time you get with them may be short. But dog owners who viewed Brown's video are adamant that it can be one of the most rewarding experiences of your life.

"Did this, he ended up having squamous cell carcinoma. I gave him the best last 4 months I could"

"I went to the shelter and asked for the dog that's been there the longest. My Lilo had been there for over 3 years due to dog and people aggression. she was just in a bad place and nervous. she loves people now and she's working towards trusting dogs again. She's the sweetest baby ever. I will always advocate for adoption"

"my family has a 13 year old dog, she was used for at least 2 litters & made to live outside 24/7 before we got her at 7 years old. now she sleeps in her own armchair by the fireplace"

"My Billie was 11 when I adopted her. She was dropped off by the same person who adopted her as a young dog because her health was getting bad and although the year and a half I got with her was. often times challenging because of all her health problems I truly believe she was my soul dog."

According to the ASPCA, older dogs have a 25% adoption rate. That's less than half of their younger peers.

@kristentbrown

Replying to @missjackielynn thank you everyone ♥️💕 #adoptdontshop #dogsoftiktok #dogs #rescue

When older dogs enter shelters, their odds of ever leaving are stacked against them. But contrary to the data, senior dogs often make incredible pets! While they might not have puppy-like energy and might be set in their ways to some degree, they still bring a lot to the table.

Older dogs often come with some training and are already house-broken, along with knowing basic commands like "sit." Their lower energy levels also mean they integrate into a home more quickly and usually love laying around and snuggling. They rarely have chewing, teeth, or other destructive behavior problems. And, finally, senior dogs have been known to "come alive" when they get adopted—showing tons of love and gratitude to their owners as their personality emerges far beyond what they show in the shelter.

Kristen Brown doesn't regret her decision to adopt an older dog. "They deserve a chance," she writes in a follow up video, as she's shown scratching a very happy and grateful Jackie's chin.

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Study reveals the smartest dog breed—and it's not the one you might expect

Move over, border collies, there's a new top dog in town.

Photo by Anthony Duran on Unsplash

Belgian Malinois, the smartest dog breed.

If you Google "smartest dog breeds," most lists you'll find put border collies in the No. 1 spot, followed in some order by poodles, German shepherds, and golden retrievers. But a 2023 study of canine cognition from the University of Helsinki puts a whole different breed at the top of the ladder—one that most of us have probably seen before but haven't heard the name of—the Belgian Malinois.

Best known as a police or security dog, the Belgian Malinois is a shepherd breed that looks very similar to a German shepherd. Both breeds are of similar height and coloring, but the Malinois is lighter weight and its ears are more triangular-shaped, according to the American Kennel Club.

So, what is it that makes the Belgian Malinois more intelligent than other dog breeds?

Belgian Malinois Male Puppy

Belgian Malinois Male Puppy.jpg - Wikimedia Commons

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The study published in Scientific Reports analyzed 1,002 dogs from 13 different breeds using a battery of smartDOG cognition tests. These tests involve food reward tasks that determine a dog's capacity for memory, problem-solving, impulse control, reading human gestures, copying human behavior, and logical reasoning. Despite a wide field of research on dogs, only a handful of studies have examined cognition of specific breeds instead of breed groups. Additionally, not much empirical research has been done on nonsocial cognitive traits such as memory, inhibitory control, spatial problem-solving, and logical reasoning—all of which were covered in this study.

The researchers identified a few different tests as signifying high intelligence. For the most significant measure of intelligence—logical reasoning—the study revealed no significant difference between the dog breeds. So, according to The Telegraph, the three tests the authors singled out instead for measuring and comparing intelligence were:

- A V-detour test, in which a dog had to detour around a transparent V-shaped fence to get to a food reward, showing some problem-solving ability.

- A human gesture reading test, in which a dog's response to five gestures—constant pointing, brief pointing, pointing with the foot, pointing at something while facing another direction, and following a human's gaze—was measured.

- An unsolvable task test, in which a dog tries to access food in an unopenable box, measuring independence and how quickly a dog asked a human for help.

The Belgian Malinois scored 35 out of a possible 39 points on these three tasks, making it the top scorer for high intelligence overall. Border collies came in second with 26 points and hovawarts came in third at 25 points.

brown and black german shepherd lying on white and gray area rugPhoto by Gerrie van der Walt on Unsplash

The study authors point out that there are strengths and weaknesses in most breeds. Some score very high on some tests and very low on others. Some breeds saw middle-of-the-road scores across most tests.

According to IFLScience, one weakness the Malinois showed was in the cylinder test, in which a dog is taught to retrieve a piece of food from inside an opaque cylinder. The opaque cylinder then gets replaced with a transparent one to see if the dog will go around to the end of the cylinder to retrieve the treat, as it did with the opaque one, or try to go directly through the side of the cylinder to get to it. This test measures inhibition, and the Malinois scored among the lowest of all breeds on it.

Every dog has its bright and dim spots, but it's clear why the Malinois is a dog of choice for security work: high intelligence is necessary, of course, but even being low on inhibition can be seen as a plus for a working dog that needs to be highly responsive and act quickly when needed.

“The Belgian Shepherd Malinois stood out in many of the cognitive tasks, having very good results in a majority of the tests,” study author and owner and CEO of smartDOG Dr. Katriina Tiira told The Telegraph.

“Border Collies also performed well in many of the tests," she added.


This article originally appeared two years ago.

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This narcoleptic dog named Toast can't help but to fall asleep when he's excited

Dinner time? Nap. Playtime? Nap. Treats? Out like a light.

Photo credit: Canva

Narcoleptic dog named Toast falls asleep when he's excited

There is nearly nothing cuter than a sleeping dog. They do their little snores, dream boofs while their legs twitch like they're trying to run. They're just adorably sweet when they're sleeping, kind of like toddlers. They're not getting into anything and it's a moment for you to sit back and look at this adorable creature that has occupied your heart.

But all naps are not created equal, a doodle named Toast falls asleep unexpectedly when he gets excited. We aren't talking he has a big stretch and yawn after playing with a new friend at the dog park, no. Toast literally just sort of flops over like a fainting goat at the first sign of a little excitement coming his way. The cute doodle has doggy narcolepsy which causes him to take impromptu naps when he's happy about something.

It can be things as small as going outside in the snow to play or having dinner served, both of those things mean a brief nap-time for Toast. The poor dog doesn't even get a few bites in before his head starts drooping and he's out like a light.

Dog Doodle GIF by sarahmaesGiphy

"On any given day, Toast will fall asleep at least 100 times," his mom, Laura tells The Dodo. "It really just means that when he's extra happy and excited he needs to take a little break or a nap.

According to VCA Animal Hospitals, narcolepsy is a disorder of the nervous system that affects younger dogs, "In a narcoleptic episode, an animal may abruptly lose consciousness, fall on its side or stomach, and lie perfectly still, as if napping. Like in deep sleep, rapid closed eye movements (REM) may occur and muscles become slack, but the dog may still be aware of his surroundings. Often, the dog will abruptly come out of an episode after auditory or physical stimulation."

Big Dog GIF by MOODMANGiphy

VCA emphasizes that narcolepsy in dogs is not dangerous or life-threatening, nor is the condition painful but owners of narcoleptic dogs should be aware of the signs of an episode to ensure the dog is in a safe place to abruptly fall asleep.

Toast's mom knows what triggers him to get excited and it seems his sister, a dog named Laney does as well. Laney, knows Toast gets overly excited and falls asleep when they play and she doesn't mind one bit. The two dogs go at it for a couple minutes, Toast takes a brief nap and hops back up to finish wrestling with his sister. He often lays right on top of Laney to nap or just chew on her ears even though he's as big as she is. The doodle's antics don't seem to have any affect on his big sister, she lets him get out his excitement even when she's not in the mood to play.

"Toast has to be wherever Laney is. He is obsessed with her. She just allows him to lay on top of her, chew on her ears, and she may chew on a toy or just rest and let him do what he needs to," Laura shares with the outlet.

Toast appears to be living his best life and is completely unbothered by the frequent interruptions of surprise naps. He doesn't let it slow him down and his mom makes sure he's napping safely, even if she has to move his face out of his food until he wakes up to finish eating. Narcolepsy doesn't impact a dog's lifespan so Toast is expected to live just as long as any other doodle with just a few extra naps throughout his days.

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