Video: Chihuahua’s Human-Like Tactics Will Leave You Captivated

Quick Smiles:

• Wickett, an endearing Chihuahua, uses tactics similar to humans to convince his owners to let him bring a stick into the house.
• A video recording of Wickett’s humorous and adorable pleas has amassed nearly half a million views.
• Studies indicate that dogs’ ability to adjust facial expressions to communicate evolved due to human preferences over many thousands of years.

@michaelharcus

Wickett unimpressed with no sticks in the house rule 😂

♬ original sound – Michael Harcus

The captivating charm of a tiny dog attempting to persuade his owners to change house rules has been gladly received by internet users. Wickett, a Chihuahua from Canada with an almost human-like ability to express his wishes, has become an internet sensation.

His owner, Michael Harcus, shared a video clip of Wickett trying to convince them to allow him to bring a stick into the house. Since its upload on April 2, the entertaining video has collected approximately half a million views.

In the adorable video posted on Harcus’s account @michaelharcus, Wickett is reminded that house rules state “No sticks inside!” Looking confused at a woman’s feet, Wickett lets out a sound similar to a cartoon-like whine, which emulates a human child’s wordless complaint. His ears flatten and his eyes seem to well up as he silently pleads for the rules to be amended.

In an effort to win Harcus’s sympathy, Wickett releases another heartbreaking whine, only to be told again, “No, it’s bigger than you are. No, you leave it outside!” Eventually, our little protagonist appears to give up his mission, perks up, and steps down, ending his miniature protest.

Harcus humorously captioned the video: “Wickett unimpressed with no sticks in the house rule.” Internet users responded similarly, with thousands of TikTok users flooding the video with comments pleading for Wickett to have his wishes granted.

One particularly impassioned user declared: “GIVE WICKETT THAT DAMN STICK,” while another user expressed shock: “HOW COULD YOU EVER SAY NO TO HIM?” A lone commentator humorously argued, “He can bring a TREE if he wants to.”

This incident fondly reminds every dog owner of the times they succumbed to their pet’s expressive eyes. Recent research presented at a recent scientific conference suggests that dogs’ abilities to change their expressions, resulting in these infamous ‘puppy dog eyes,’ did not come from their wolf ancestors, but evolved over tens of thousands of years due to human preferences.

This research suggests that the facial expressions of dogs became more expressive and convincing to humans when dogs and wolves diverged evolutionarily over 30,000 years ago.

Anne Burrows, the senior author of the study, commented, “In addition, we hope to expand this study to cover musculature in other domestic mammals to see if the process of domestication similarly shaped their mimetic muscle physiology.”

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