Pet Cam Captures How 'Mischievous' Dog Defies Owners Every Time They Leave

Some pet owners thought they had hit upon the perfect way of stopping their dog from sitting on the couch while they were out.

But when they checked up on Zander, their beloved Bernese mountain dog, via a perfectly placed pet cam, they were dismayed to discover he had found a way around it.

"When we leave the house, we have cameras to keep an eye on Zander since he can be a little mischievous at times," one of Zander's owners told Newsweek. "Then one day we came home and he had opened up the couch cushions and it was a mess."

Seeking to combat Zander's wild forays onto the couch, they hit upon a seemingly foolproof way of preventing repeat incidents. "We started putting chairs on the couch in hopes to deter him from getting on it."

At first, the plan seemed to be working, but Zander soon got wise to it.

Dogs are good at problem solving, but they often require a little encouragement.

A 2018 study published in the journal Applied Animal Behavior Science highlighted this. As part of the experiment, a group of rescue dogs and some pet dogs were presented with the same problem-solving task.

Both sets of dogs persevered for a similar amount of time, but researchers found that the search and rescue dogs were more successful while they were getting encouragement from their owners.

In fact, the search and rescue dogs failed to solve the task when they were left alone. Domestic dogs were different though. They were found to be capable of solving the task whether alone or with their owners present.

Zander certainly didn't need much in the way of encouragement when it came to cracking the puzzle of his owner's couch. Quite the opposite in fact.

Despite their best efforts to prevent him getting up there, the stubborn pooch soon found a way to get what he wanted, much to the amusement of his human companion, who discovered the act of rebellion when checking up on him via the pet cam.

"One day when we looked at him on the camera, he was smack dab in the middle of the chairs just staring at us in the camera," they said.

Zander came into his owners' life from a family owned breed in Alabama and, as you can imagine, there's rarely a dull day when he's around. "He is the definition of a goofball," they said. "His favorite thing to do is run around the backyard picking up pine cones and making us chase him."

The lovable Bernese mountain dog is a pet pooch with many keen interests. "He loves walks and car rides, as well as cuddling with his mom and dad on the couch or in bed," his human companion said. "He has many tricks he likes to do for people as well."

However, right now, his owners are convinced one of his favorite games appears to be finding a way to get onto the couch when his parents are out. Despite his act of defiance, they are still able to see the funny side.

"He thinks it is a game and everytime we looked at the camera, sure enough there he was just hanging out or hiding in between the chairs," they said. "We're still not sure how he manages to sneak in there but it is pretty hilarious."

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