Dog ‘Fighting Back the Tears’ After Realizing Treats Are Not for Him

A dog suffered a painful moment of realization after discovering the tray of cookies his owner had just baked were not for him.

In a video shared to TikTok by their owner, a vizsla by the name of Tycho can be seen reacting with what one viewer described as “the most human expression of sadness I’ve ever seen on a dog.”

As Tycho’s owner put it, he seemed to be “fighting back the tears” in the clip, which was posted under the handle tycho.the.vizsla and has been watched over 691,000 times on TikTok.

You can watch it here.

Though debate still rages as to whether dogs are capable of experiencing complex emotions, at least one study found that canines were capable of recognizing selfish and generous behavior in humans.

In a 2017 study published in PLOS One, researchers observed several dogs who were tasked with sitting leashed by their owner alongside two strangers. Each stranger was given a bowl of smelly food that included some meat and cereal. A third person was tasked with entering the room and going up to the first stranger to ask for food.

That stranger was required to respond with a loud “NO” and a shooing motion with their arm. The third stranger was then required to approach the second and ask for food again. This time, the stranger would say “okay” in a loud clear voice before placing food in the third person’s mouth.

Once this was complete and the third person had left the room, the dog was taken off their leash with researchers observing who the canine went over to. In over two thirds of the tests, they approached the nice stranger who shared food.

Tycho too might not soon forget his owner’s cookie snub but he can take some solace from the wave of sympathy that greeted the clip of his devastated reaction on TikTok. “That breaks my heart,” one wrote. “Mommy… how could you,” another added. A third wrote “I can almost see a teardrop rolling down the dog’s cheek” with a fourth commenting: “It’s the eye twitch that makes me think he is about to break.”

Others shared similar tales of vizsla-related woes. “My Vizsla sits on a rug at the sink and points with her nose to the treat cupboard above the stove…in case we have forgotten,” one said while another wrote: “Vizsla know how to make our hoomans feel bad and give us extra loving.”

Elsewhere, one joked: “I’m your pups attorney and he deserves infinite amount of treats for this betrayal.” Tycho’s owner responded: “I think you’ve won your case.”

Newsweek reached out to tycho.the.vizla for comment on TikTok.

Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to [email protected] with some details about your best friend, and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.