Dog Owner Shares 5 Signs to Tell If Your Dog Is Happy

A dog owner has shared in a viral video what they believe are five telltale signs that a canine might be showing that it is happy.

Since being shared on June 4 by TikTok user olliepopmaltipoo, the post has received more than 10.6 million views.

Content featuring dogs and other pets is very popular on TikTok and other social-media platforms, with videos regularly receiving millions of views. This is not surprising since business magazine Forbes wrote that dogs are the most popular pet in the country, with an estimated 65.1 million being owned in U.S. households.

In his clips, user olliepopmaltipoo listed the apparent five signs that a dog is happy:

• They roll on their back and expose their belly as a sign they're happy and trust you.
• They initiate physical contact like leaning on you, pawing you and licking you.
• They sleep easily. Adult dogs sleep about 16 hours a day. If your dog isn't sleeping much, it could be a sign of stress.
• Zoomies. Research has said these bursts of energy show they're happy.
• Soft eyes. When a dog is happy, they have a soft, relaxed gaze and stare at you often.

Leigh Siegfried, CEO of dog-training company Opportunity Barks, took some issue with some of the points being made in the video about signs that a dog is happy.

Siegfried told Newsweek: "Body language is nuanced. If the dog is soft and seems relaxed and has a relaxed facial expression, and this is a part of your normal day-to-day interaction, then it's saying it's inviting social contact.

"If the dog is doing that same thing but has tense body language, it could be a potential defensive posture," Siegfried said. "So that could go either way."

She added that initiating physical contact as a sign of happiness was being "a leap" and "not black and white."

Siegfried did agree that a good sleeping cycle could be a sign of happiness as long as it was normal and was a "good thing for their health."

The dog trainer added that running with bursts of energy would miss a lot of additional contexts if solely measuring happiness.

Finally, Siegfried said: "Softness, in general, is indicative of relaxation and feeling safe."

She added: "In terms of are these five things that indicate happiness, to me that's a stretch because all that stuff can be going on. But if the dog is not biologically fulfilled, if the person isn't meeting their biological needs, I don't care if they roll on their back to pet them."

The majority of people who commented on the video praised the dog in the clip, with some believing that it looked like their dog at home.

Katie wrote: "I love this little dog so much it physically hurts." Anna added: "Crying in the club right now. Looks just like my puppy at home."

Clare commented: "I'm on holiday away from my handsome doggy and this makes me miss him."

Newsweek has contacted olliepopmaltipoo for comment via TikTok.

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