TikToker @yourdressbff shared a hilarious video of her Golden Retriever’s total confusion when his human dad pretended to pet him, and people can’t stop laughing!

Dad was lounging on the couch when the dog came over, clearly ready for some love. Instead of actually petting him, Dad pretended to, moving his hand just above the pup’s head and body. The look on the dog’s face says it all; he’s completely baffled, trying to figure out what in the heck is going on!

We laughed reading the caption @yourdressbff shared, “He was concerned.” He most certainly looked that way to us, too! This also makes us want to try this on our dog!

Related: Labrador Retriever and Toddler Adorably Baffled After Ball He Was Throwing ‘Disappeared’

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Viewers Leave More Than 8,000 Comments About Pretending to Pet the Dog

Reading through the comments was just as much fun as watching the dog’s reaction to getting pretend pets. @CrzySqrl218 got 16,000 likes when they said, “He’s like, ‘It’s weird … I feel it… but I don’t…'” @Kristin got 15,000 likes when she added, “The eyebrows are saying ‘What the fluff?’ LOL!” and @TTsoftAaf made us laugh with, “I see pet but I don’t feel pet.”

@Orb Tok said what the dog was thinking, “I can’t feel my face.” @Guittarmom88 agreed, “Am I tripping or are you tripping, I’m really freaking out right now man…” Another commenter added, “‘My human is broken’ LOL!”

Commenter @Just Another Jenn made everybody smile with, “It’s reiki style petting!” @sugarpants425 added, “That poor dog is so confused. He doesn’t know which one of them has the problem! LOL!”

Dogs are great judges of character, and research shows that they may know when we’re lying. The American Kennel Club (AKC) uses the example of pretending to throw their ball or an imaginary treat; they may look for it, but then look to you with disappointment on their face, like they’re asking, “Why are you faking?”

“For a dog to know you’re lying, they need to have a sense of your mental state. In other words, they need to know what you know. That’s a sophisticated cognitive skill. For years, the ability to attribute false beliefs to others was considered something only humans could do.”

It seems pretty clear that the Golden in this video knows his dad is pulling a fast one on him. When we finally tried it on our dog, she had the same reaction!

This story was originally reported by PetHelpful on Nov 1, 2025, where it first appeared in the Pet News section. Add PetHelpful as a Preferred Source by clicking here.