Labrador Puppy's Thwarted Attempt to Steal Sister's Food Delights Internet

A video of a puppy being held back from trying to eat food meant for its sister has gone viral on TikTok.

A message overlaid on the video, which was posted from the TikTok account @billie_and_gus and has so far received 1.5 million views, read: "When dad has to hold you while sister eats so you don't get any seconds."

The video shows the Labrador puppy, which had already eaten, scurrying toward a bowl of food as another dog stands next to it. A man is seen picking up the puppy from the floor before it can devour the food.

A caption shared with the post said: "Sorry bud."

Labradors' seemingly greedy behavior when it comes to food could be due to genetics. A Cambridge University study, published in May 2016 in the peer-reviewed journal Cell Metabolism, found that some Labradors have a mutation in their DNA that may predispose them to weight gain.

"There is some hard-wired biology behind that persistent food-seeking behavior," said Eleanor Raffan, a co-author of the study, according to The Guardian.

The study said: "Of all dog breeds for which data have been reported, Labrador retrievers have the greatest documented obesity prevalence and have been shown to be more food motivated than other breeds."

The study also reported that a "deletion in the pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) gene" was associated with increased body weight, adiposity and food motivation in Labrador retrievers as well as the closely related flat-coat retrievers.

The study found that this mutation is "significantly more common in Labradors selected to become assistance dog breeding stock than those selected to be companions."

Several users on TikTok were amused by the Labrador in the video.

In a comment that got over 24,000 likes, user PriBear20 noted "the over-the-shoulder look [crying/laughing emoji]," while dsRN wrote: "Looking back, trying to keep an eye on the prize [crying/laughing emojis]."

In a comment that got over 15,000 likes, user Oregons_QueenB said: "Look at the puppy belly sooo cute."

User Lauren Michelle1066 said: "You can tell he doesn't miss a meal [crying/laughing emojis]," while Carol wrote: "Labs have a bottomless stomach [crying/laughing/floating hearts emojis]."

Newsweek has contacted the original poster for comment.

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