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By Lucy Notarantonio
Senior Reporter
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Everyone knows dogs love to eat, so when one owner noticed her golden retriever had stopped and realized the reason why, her heart broke.
Olivia, 25, shared pet camera footage of the moment on TikTok (@joeythegoldenretriever) and it quickly went viral, amassing over 5.5 million views since being posted March 2.
The video shows eight-month-old Joey tucking into his meal, but then he suddenly stops and sits down in front of the bowl. His owners are in the kitchen with the dog but can't see him due to a wall in between them. Then, noticing it is "so quiet," Olivia pops her head around and finds Joey sitting and waiting rather than eating.
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"I felt awful when I noticed him," Olivia told Newsweek. "He looked so cute while he politely waited to eat."
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The social media manager, from the West Midlands in England, added: "I still felt bad when I watched the footage back and saw how he sat up taller trying to be noticed."
Olivia explained that Joey always waits for a release command before eating since being taught it at three months old. According to the American Kennel Club (AKC), golden retrievers are "eager to please [and] easily trainable," so it's no surprise that it only took 20 minutes to teach Joey this command.
The AKC added that a release word is essential when teaching a dog to "stay," as it signals when they are allowed to move. Without a clear beginning and end, dogs may assume they can move at any time. Common release words include "OK," "break" and "free," often followed by another command like "come."
To train this, the AKC says you can follow these steps: First, choose a release word. Reward the dog in place for staying, then say the release word and encourage movement, reinforcing its meaning. If a dog already knows "stay" but lacks a release word, use the same process and entice them to move after saying it. Understanding the release word helps dogs grasp the stay command more effectively.
Olivia's video—captioned, "Don't talk to me for a week I'm currently recovering from this trauma"—to date has over 834,00 likes and more than 1,500 comments. For some users, it was painful to watch.
One commenter said: "[I] had to skip towards the end because my heart can only take so much." Another echoed this sentiment, writing: "I was literally SCREAMING at my phone for you to look at him!!"
A third TikTok user wrote: "The poor baby trying to make himself taller so you'll see him over the counter too." Olivia responded to their comment, which had over 77,400 likes: "I know it BREAKS ME. I couldn't see him."
And one dog owner shared a similar experience. "Oh man, my dog did this before because we didn't tell her to 'go get it,' and she didn't eat her food while I was at work. I bawled my eyes out for hours. She got extra treats and lovins," they commented.
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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