Watch Moment ‘Strong Independent’ Cockapoo Realizes He Doesn’t Need a Human

For every dog that loves to play fetch, there’s usually a disgruntled owner standing in the rain who has to launch the ball every time their pup brings it back. But that’s not the case for Brodie the cockapoo, who has found a way to play it all by himself.

While Callum Parker was working at his home in Ayrshire, Scotland, he noticed his excitable dog running up and down the stairs repeatedly, but he had no idea what was making him so happy. But once he peered over the banister, he quickly realized that Brodie was a “strong independent” dog who didn’t need anyone else to play fetch, because he’d mastered the art of playing it solo.

Parker was left incredulous by his dog’s genius discovery, telling Newsweek that he thought it was “adorable and amazing that he could think of it.”

He posted a hilarious video on his TikTok account (@callumparker1994) on February 15, showing his social media followers just how clever his three-month-old dog is. The video quickly went viral and gained more than 1.3 million views and over 147,300 likes in a matter of days, as many TikTok users praised Brodie’s ingenuity.

“I was literally just working at my desk and realized that he’d been running up and down the stairs for a questionable amount of time, so I looked out and saw what he was doing. It’s been wild and the video popularity took off much more than I expected,” Parker said.

“I didn’t edit the video at all or use any TikTok sounds, so I was very surprised when the views and comments started rolling in.”

It may come as no surprise that Brodie has taught himself this new routine, as it’s suggested by Hill’s Pet Nutrition that cockapoos are highly intelligent and easy to train. They tend to have a moderate energy level, but around 15 minutes a day of exercise is thought to be sufficient to keep them active. Thankfully for Parker, Brodie is more than happy to take care of that responsibility all by himself.

Now, hardly a day goes by without Brodie playing his own game of fetch on the stairs for around 10 minutes at a time, before he needs to stop for a well-earned snooze.

Parker has loved seeing his dog find a way to occupy himself every day, especially as it allows him to concentrate on his work rather than throwing the ball every few seconds. However, as soon as the work day is over, he’s glad to have some playtime with his happy pup and give him all the fuss he wants.

Still, not everyone has loved seeing Brodie’s new game, because after the video went viral, Parker received some negative comments too. He explained to Newsweek that a few TikTokers were displeased to see Brodie running up and down the stairs like that because “it’s bad for their joints.” But he assured people that this only occurs for a few minutes each day before Brodie gets distracted by something else.

With more than 880 comments on the viral post already, many social media users were quick to laud Brodie’s determination to play fetch, as one comment reads: “This is the kind of dog I need. Self-entertaining.”

Another person joked that: “He is acting like a single child.”

Someone else responded: “I wish mine would learn to entertain himself.”

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