Dog Overcoming Anxiety to Make New Friends Melts Hearts Online

A dog that overcame its fears and found a group of friends has melted hearts online.

Pablo the Staffordshire Bull Terrier has delighted internet users after his success story gained viral attention on video-sharing app TikTok. In a video posted on Thursday by user staffysmilez, the delightful pup goes from walking alone to spending time with four dog friends at a local park.

Posted with the caption: "The right training pays off," the video, which can be seen here, now has over 180,000 views and more than 17,000 likes.

In the footage, the adorable pup is walking with his owner wearing a yellow reflective vest that reads "nervous."

According to the American Kennel Club, anxiety in dogs isn't uncommon. It can arise in all breeds and affects each dog differently – while many animals will deal with anxiety as a normal part of life, others can develop anxiety disorders that can lead to behavioral and other issues.

A 2020 study published in Scientific Reports analyzed 13,715 dogs from Finland, asking owners to answer questions about their behavior in relation to seven anxiety-related traits.

The study found that 72.5 percent of the dogs expressed anxiety-like behavior. They reported that 17 percent of dogs showed fear of other dogs and 15 percent exhibited fear of strangers.

Sarah Jones is the owner of My Anxious Dog – she has designed and created a range of yellow space awareness products for anxious dogs. She told Newsweek: "The yellow doggy coats, harnesses, collars and leads are to show people from a distance that your dog is scared, anxious or reactive so they need that all important space.

"Yellow is used because it is the official warning colour for caution and a pure yellow is the most luminous colour of the spectrum so the human eye processes yellow first."

In the video, the text overlay reads: "He's too reactive to make friends.." and then: "...No he's just scared and needed a little help."

The American Kennel Club says: "Reactivity is commonly confused with aggression. Dogs that are reactive overreact to certain stimuli or situations."

The video of Pablo the dog overcoming his issues and making new friends has delighted internet users. One commenter said: "Aww, it's all about the training and finding the right friends," while another said: "This makes me so happy."

Poster staffysmilez later shared that: "A nice calm welcoming pack with training – my dreams for Pablo came true."

Another TikToker shared their own story and wrote: "Love this, my blue [is] also suffering anxiety due to another dog's behavior and has become reactive, we are working on it." Staffysmilez replied: "That's what happened with us too. Still have some on-lead struggles but having a dog pack of friends is life goals met for Pablo."

One commenter shared their joy and wrote: "Oh my little girl was like this too – it just makes your heart burst with pride watching them become more confident."

Meanwhile another user joked: "Do they make these little coats in adult sizes too?"

If you have an anxious pup, this article from last year includes 10 of the best calming products to ease your dog's anxiety.

Newsweek has reached out to staffysmilez for comment.