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By Rachael O'Connor
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A dog has trained his owner to never stop petting him, with an adorable video going viral online.
Amber McClain, 45, lives in Michigan with her husband Ben, two children, and 4 four-year-old golden retriever, Murph. "We always joke that he's a 'momma's boy' and a 'Velcro dog'," McClain told Newsweek, referencing the term used for when a pet is stuck to you. "He follows me everywhere. He has since he was a little puppy!"
Explaining they got Murph during the pandemic, which "might contribute to his 'Velcroness'," McClain said the golden "detests any technology that might steer someone's attention away from petting him.
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"Often, if I'm looking at my phone, he'll come up and nose it right out of my hand. I work from home, so, a lot of times, if I'm on my laptop on my couch, he'll come up and sit on my lap in between me and the screen."
A video showcasing Murph's contempt for anything that stops him from getting all the attention has now gone viral, after McClain shared a clip to her TikTok account @murphsmom2021 on May 31.
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Viewed more than 688,000 times, the footage shows McClain reaching out a hand and scratching Murph, who is beside her on the sofa. He has a smile on his face, and is looking at McClain with love in his eyes.
But the second she moves her hand away, Murph's face drops—he stares at her dolefully, and then makes a sound that can only be described as an annoyed groan.
McClain goes back to scratching, and the smile is back on Murph's face—for just moment, until she moves her hand again and the unimpressed expression, followed by a groan, is back.
The battle continues, with McClain continually scratching and stopping, and Murph smiling and frowning multiple times—and TikTok users were in stitches, with one commenter writing: "He's trained you wonderfully."
Another posted: "The 3rd time, he didn't smile. He was expecting to be disappointed!"
"The change in his facial expression is so dramatic," one comment read, as another added: "The flip between smile and disappointment is hilarious."
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McClain told Newsweek: "He does do this quite often but not every time." The owner added: "It's been fun to watch the video of Murph blow up.
"He has such a funny personality. It's fun to share it with others!"
Golden retrievers are popular as family pets thanks to their friendly and devoted nature, and getting along well with family, young children and other dogs, according to the American Kennel Club. In 2024, the breed was third in the AKC's list of the most-popular dog breeds in the U.S.
Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend, and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.
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