Dog Demanding Two Pieces of Bread for 'Comfort' Before Bed Melts Hearts

A video of a dog that requires "emotional support" before bedtime has gone viral on TikTok, where it has gained over 279,000 views.

The clip was shared by @benthewonderdog, the TikTok account of Ben, a 7-year-old rescue dog who's a Belgian Malinois/Labrador mix, and his brother, Charlie.

The footage showed a hand presenting a piece of bread to a dog. A message overlaid on the clip read: "I need my emotional support piece of bread so I can go to sleep silly hooman."

A caption shared with the post read: "The before bed routine...feelin like I need some extra comfort."

The dog's apparent attachment to food could be tied to the genetics of its Labrador roots.

A study published in May 2016 in the journal Cell Metabolism found that some Labradors have a mutation in their DNA that's associated with food motivation and weight gain.

"There is some hard-wired biology behind that persistent food-seeking behavior," said Eleanor Raffan, a co-author of the study who is at the University of Cambridge, The Guardian reported at the time of the study's release.

Citing previous research, the study said that among all dog breeds for which data have been reported, "Labrador retrievers have the greatest documented obesity prevalence" and "have been shown to be more food motivated than other breeds."

The study also reported that a "deletion in the pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) gene" was associated with increased body weight, adiposity and food motivation in Labrador retrievers as well as the closely related flat-coat retrievers.

The dog in the viral clip was seen grabbing a piece of bread from a hand and walking away, as another message on the screen said: "Thank u."

The pup later reappeared, holding the bread in his mouth, as a note overlaid on the clip read: "Actually...now that I think about it. I need two pieces please." The dog was handed a second piece of bread, which he received while still holding the first piece in his mouth.

The canine was later seen on a bed with both pieces of bread beside him. A note across the screen read: "Time for bed now."

According to a later comment by the original poster, the dog doesn't actually eat the bread before bed.

TikToker Amaya Ramirez asked: "Does he eat it in the middle of the night as a snack or just cuddles it until morning?" The original poster replied that the dog "just cuddles it!! And then he runs around [with] it all day but he doesn't eat it."

Several TikTokers were amused by the dog's unique ritual before bed.

Maggie wrote: "What in the world!? This is the fricken cutest/strangest habit."

STRangelADY77 said, "Sometimes I need emotional support bread too." Rachel agreed, writing, "I, too need emotional support bread before I go to bed."

Sandy Heath836 said, "[Oh my god] that is precious," while sarah wrote that "he must have been having a tough day if he needed 2 pieces."

Newsweek has contacted the original poster for comment via TikTok. This video has not been independently verified.

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