Internet in Hysterics at Rescue Dog Who Will Only Walk on 'His Terms'

Some dog owners only need to say the magic word "walkies" and their canine can't wait to get out of the door. But Jake, the rescue dog, must complete one task before he goes anywhere.

His owner Alex (@alexxxxmarie) has recently shared his routine that delays their walk daily on TikTok. During the clip, she can be heard explaining her dog's "really annoying habit" that involves going straight over to his food bowl and finishing "whatever's in there."

Jake can be seen ploughing through his food before having a "big stretch" and shaking it off. Once complete, he is set to go on a walk. To watch the video, click here.

His owner states: "It's only on his terms and only after he has an entire freaking meal."

The video, captioned: "I [need] someone to explain why he does this! it randomly started and it was funny at first but it really throws off my day sometimes," boasts more than 537,000 views.

Lorna Winter, a director of the U.K. Dog Behavior and Training Charter, spoke to Newsweek about the viral video and advised the owner to question why her canine needs to "fuel up" prior to going on a walk. Winter states the reason could be health related as he could have low blood sugar levels or perhaps the meals he is given don't have regular enough intervals.

Winter, a co-founder of the U.K.'s number one puppy training app Zigzag, which has recently launched in the U.S., told Newsweek: "Something to consider is how often the dog is fed? Leaving food down and allowing dogs to 'graze' is not recommended as dogs aren't that great at regulating their intake of food.

"It's always recommended to feed around two times a day for an adult dog and to remove any uneaten food until the next meal. However, it's also important to note the physical and behavioral aspects of the dog to know what best suits that individual dogs needs. Some dogs are happy being fed once a day, some need three to four smaller meals a day depending on their physiology and energy requirements."

There's also the possibility that Jake's habit is a symptom of "compulsive behavior," Winter said.

She explained: "It's almost a 'panic' behavior—for example, if the dog isn't fed at regular times, and doesn't know when its next 'meal' is going to be, this can cause panic eating, where the dog thinks 'I'm going somewhere, and this could mean I won't be fed for a long time.'

"So—has there been any incidents where the dog got taken out for a long time without food? There could be multiple or any triggers that initially started this. It could be a confidence thing, a panic thing, a security thing etc.

"However, regardless of how it started, the behavior has now become what we would call a 'learned behavior' as the owner has allowed it to continue and in that sense also seems to encourage it.

"It is highly not recommended to allow a dog to eat a meal before going out for exercise as there is very high risk of bloat, especially in the larger breeds and in this dog in particular, as it's also a Boxer (brachycephalic type), so the risk is likely even higher.

"Recommendation would be to remove food from the floor after the dog has initially eaten, so there is no opportunity for it to go for 'leftovers' when the lead gets attached."

It turns out TikTok users couldn't agree more with Winter, so far almost 500 users have commented on the clip. Many of which are urging the woman against letting her dog eat before a walk.

"He probably got really hungry once during a walk and said never again," assumed one user.

"I would definitely let him relax and lay down an hour or two after eating to prevent bloat," advised another.

Another said: "Vet tech here—especially because he's a boxer type dog I would not let him do this. If they eat and go for a walk immediately after he could bloat."

Newsweek reached out to @alexxxxmarie for comment via Instagram. We could not verify the details of the case.

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