A wolfdog teasingly called lazy by her owner has been praised after appearing to fake a howl for a video.
Dogs are well known for their barking, but wolfdog Phoenix showed that she might be faking hers in a viral clip shared to TikTok by the account @wanderwithwillow. In the footage, Phoenix could be seen preparing to let out a loud howl, but, as the video progressed, it became clear that no sound would come and that it was a fake attempt at one.
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The American Kennel Club (AKC) says that dogs and wild wolves share more than 99 percent of their DNA.
The AKC added that wolfdogs grew more popular following the airing of HBO series Game of Thrones but that, in some cases, this led to a disappointing outcome.
The club said: “Consequently, there’s been a sad spike in irresponsible, unscrupulous breeding and hard-to-care-for hybrids ending up in wolfdog sanctuaries.”
The caption on the viral video reads: “Here’s an example of our wolfdog being a lazy but savvy influencer doing the head motion for howling but being too lazy to actually make the ‘awooo’ sound.”
Another caption on the clip itself adds: “Phoenix will ‘fake howl.’ She pretends to howl knowing that’s good enough for the photo.”
The American Pet Products Association (APPA) says that dogs are the most popular pets in the U.S. by a considerable margin.
The APPA added in 2023 that there are an estimated 65.1 million households that own at least one dog and that cats are the second-most popular pet with 46.5 million being owned.
Since being shared on Tuesday, September 12, the post has been seen more than 2.2 million times and has received over 640,000 likes.
The overwhelming number of people who commented on the video praised Phoenix and recalled their own wolf dogs.
TikTok user swellentertainment simply wrote: “A true influencer.”
Alexis.Stanley added: “Yo that’s a killer shot though. She’s clearly a professional.”
Chris commented: “She’s like ‘I can’t do a real call, all my brothers and sisters will come, here take this.'”
Bri posted: “Husky has been my dream dog since childhood. Husky has many mannerisms of wolf hierarchy included. I now want a wolf dog.”
Newsweek has contacted @wanderwithwillow for comment via Instagram.
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