Dog Pretending To Sleep on Owner's Pillow Has Internet in Stitches

A video of a cheeky dog pretending to be asleep while lounging on its owner's pillow has gone viral on TikTok, where it received 2.8 million views at the time of writing.

The video posted on the TikTok account of the dog call Wilma, which has received at least 541,000 comments, was shared along with a caption saying: "She's taking the actual piss [frustrated face emoji]."

The video shows the dog slumped over on its side on top of a person's bed, with its head on a pillow. As the camera zooms in on its face and a voice in the video says "That's my pillow," the dog immediately closes its eyes.

"I know you're awake, Wilma!" the voice says, as the dog continues to appear to doze off.

"You're a cow," the person adds, as another close-up of the dog's face shows its eyes are slightly open.

A March 2017 study by researchers from the University of Zürich—which looked at "whether dogs are able to mislead a human competitor" when it comes to opportunities for obtaining food—showed that canines are capable of using "tactical deception."

Marianne Heberlein, who led the study published in the peer-reviewed journal Animal Cognition, told the New Scientist in March 2017 that she was inspired to study dog deception after observing her own pets.

She said one of them at times pretends to see something interesting in the backyard to trick the other into giving up their top sleeping spot.

"This sort of thing happens quite often, but it is not well studied," Heberlein said.

The researcher said the dogs in her March 2017 study showed an "impressive flexibility in behavior," adding that "they're not just sticking to a strict rule, but thinking about what different options they have."

The crafty dog in the latest TikTok video left viewers in stitches, such as user nikss who wrote this is "ace."

Neshemaki said, "That's some serious attitude. I love it," while theelta found "the way she did a little check by opening her eye for a bit" to be hilarious.

Leothedog said, "[It's] not your pillow anymore," while April Martin noted, "Actually that's her pillow."

"Someone looks comfortable," user5928851011090 wrote.

Several TikTokers speculated on what the dog was thinking, such as damnitjay who wrote, "She said 'sorry i didnt hear you my eyes were closed,'" in a comment that received 1,885 likes.

User Im_fineeee said: "She really said 'if I pretend to be asleep [she] won't make me move.'"

Lou speculated that the dog was thinking, "I'm not here!!" while bokuto supremacy believed Wilma must be thinking, "I'm done with the conversation now AND I'm sat."