Dachshund’s Dinner Dash Becomes Social Media Sensation

Quick Smiles:

• Senior dachshund Oreo, owned by Carwyn Sussex, has a magic word that gets him moving quickly: “dinner.”
• Oreo, who has been with Sussex for 11 years, has become a social media sensation thanks to his adorable antics.
• Despite Oreo’s age, Sussex says the magic word is only used sparingly to avoid overexerting the dog.

@oreo.boyboy

watch as he goes from 1 to MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE at a single word #dachshund #sausagedog #longhairedminidachshund #walkies #dogsoftiktok

♬ Running in the 90’s – Max Coveri

Carwyn Sussex, a dog owner from London, England, has discovered a unique way to keep his senior dachshund, Oreo, active during their park strolls. Sussex and his partner, Rosie Diss, noticed that Oreo, a cherished family member for 11 years, was starting to lose some of his youthful vigor.

“He’s getting old so we’ve noticed him slowing down on walks at the park,” Sussex shared.

Being aware of Oreo’s food-focused nature, they decided to experiment. “Knowing he’s so food oriented though we thought we’d try seeing if he’d pick up the pace if we said his favorite word—and it worked like a charm!”

In a TikTok video shared under the handle Oreo.BoyBoy, Oreo is seen leisurely walking. However, upon hearing the word “dinner,” his pace quickens dramatically.

“He goes from 1 to maximum overdrive,” Sussex wrote alongside the clip.

Dogs understanding human language isn’t a novel concept. Stanley Coren, a psychologist and canine researcher, informed the American Psychological Association that an average dog can learn up to 165 human words. Some particularly clever canines can even comprehend up to 250 words.

Sussex wasn’t taken aback by Oreo’s understanding of the word “dinner.” “He loves food,” he said. “He’s a very vocal and animated dog so 99 percent of the time if he’s in his hyper wiggly mood it’s got something to do with food.”

Sussex has always had a special bond with Oreo, dating back to when the dachshund was a puppy.

“I was still living at home with my mom so at that time he was the family’s pet,” Sussex reminisced.

Oreo was the third dachshund to join the family, following his sister Cookie and brother Stroodle. Sussex was the only one who bonded with Oreo, who was often overlooked due to the other two dogs.

“But I instantly bonded with him and was like my little shadow following me everywhere,” he said.

After Sussex moved out for university, he always considered Oreo his dog. Upon graduation and securing a job, he arranged for Oreo to live with him and Diss.

“Oreo has always been an independent dog who liked to be in his own space,” Sussex said. “In fact, he didn’t seem to care at all when he was officially left with me, he was just finally home.”

Oreo’s antics have since gained social media popularity, with the video of his “dinner” sprint amassing over 1.1 million views.

However, Sussex is cautious about overusing the magic word. “It’s a funny trick to see him sprint on command but we don’t like to do it too often as he’s getting older we don’t want to push his little legs more than he wants to,” he said.

But that doesn’t mean the magic word is off the table. “Sometimes we can tell when he’s just being a bit lazy or cheeky on a walk so we may use the secret word to get him moving faster!”

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