Dog Wearing Cone of Shame Forgets How To Move in Viral Video: 'So Dramatic'

A dog's hilarious reaction to wearing a cone has the internet laughing, as his owner labeled her pet "so dramatic."

Courtney Jayne shared a video of her dog, Leo, to her TikTok account @ccourtneyjayne, after he was forced to wear an Elizabeth cone, aka the cone of shame.

Jayne, thought to be based in Australia, captioned the now-viral clip: "Am I the drama?"

In the video, she explains it's Leo's inaugural time wearing the headgear, as the on-screen text says: "POV: Your dog wears a cone for the first time and forgets how to move. Omg he is so dramatic he won't even move."

Speaking to Leo in the background as she holds the edge of the cone, Jayne says: "Look, you can put your head up."

And as he stands against a table leg, she says: "You're not stuck you just have to go backwards and come back forwards, what are you doing."

Purina, a pet food website, explained why dogs wear the cone, saying: "It's likely that your dog will have to wear a cone at some point in their life, whether it's after they've been neutered or spayed or due to an injury.

"No dog enjoys wearing the hard plastic collar that resembles a lampshade and you may have even heard it referred to as 'the cone of shame.'"

Dogs have a tendency to lick everything, which could cause problems if they're recovering from surgery.

"Dogs licking a wound is an instinctive response and many will constantly worry at it, causing further problems and possible infections as the wound will remain moist—which is the perfect breeding ground for bacteria," the website said.

And they explained it gets its name from the collars typically worn by high society in the Elizabethan era in the U.K.

Explaining more about the cone, Dr. Annie Valuska, principal pet behavior scientist at pet brand Purina, told Newsweek via email: "That reaction is likely due to a combination of a number of different sensory changes, including his vision, his hearing, and the sensation of the weight of the cone on his head and neck.

"Because, with the cone on, they have to turn their entire head/body in order to see things, many pets do not want to lie down in a cone because they feel more vulnerable in that position; in the clip you shared, he put himself in a corner, which may have been where he felt safest, as nothing could approach outside his field of vision (i.e., from the sides or behind)."

She pointed out the cone could be amplifying or muffling sounds, thus affecting one of dogs' keenest senses.

She added: "We're actually asking a lot of an animal to expect him or her to understand immediately how the new cone works. It's a lot to expect that [he] would know if he can safely back up to avoid being 'stuck' up against a table (as seen in the video) when he's never experienced that situation before, at least two of his senses aren't working the way they normally do, and his body may be feeling a little off due to a Veterinary procedure!"

As dogs are adaptable, with some support he "will likely start behaving more like his normal self within a few days of wearing the cone full-time."

The video, which can be seen here, received over 4.9 million views and more than 420,000 likes.

Numerous people found the clip hilarious, as TeddyToks wrote: "He hasn't forgotten, he's just ashamed. It's called the cone of shame for a reason."

Nikki Ellen25 joked: "I think you might need to switch it off then on again."

Secretonions thought: "He took 'cone of shame' literally."

While CWatts0287 added: "I feel they do it on purpose to guilt you into taking it off."

Jayne herself referred to the collar by its informal name, as she shared a follow-up video of Leo walking away from the plastic.

"The cone of shame part 2," she captioned it, adding in the comments: "He is VERYYY dramatic."

In other clips Jayne shared more about her pet, saying: "He was from a rescue but we were told mastiff x sharpei x staffy. He prefers to identify as good boi."

While another video revealed more about Leo, as she wrote: "Essentially free from shelter. Mixed breed mutt found in crack house. Trained himself. Loves other dogs. Loves all people. Doesn't bark. Always happy. Always obedient.

"Been to vet twice in life. Can walk off lead. Perfect recall. Will eat anything. Just happy to be here."

Newsweek reached out to Jayne comment.

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Update 10/5/22, 6:19 a.m. ET: This article was updated with comment from Dr. Annie Valuska.