Dog's Ploy To Get More Treats Has Internet Obsessed: 'Toxic Queen'

It's undeniable that dogs are intelligent animals and that they can manipulate their owners' feelings, as demonstrated by Rhubarb's tactic to get more treats.

The pit bull and Labrador mix has been hailed as a "toxic queen" by her owner, who uploaded a video of the dog demonstrating puppy dog eyes while hiding behind the couch.

The on-screen text explains why, it said: "Rhubarb has learned if she hides after dad hurts her feelings, it makes him feel extra bad which equals more treat potential.

The footage shared to an account dedicated to the 2-year-old dog, @rhubarbthedoggo, has racked up over 902,000 views since February 6.

The reason why Rhubarb was upset with her owner may come as no surprise to dog owners—of course, it was over food. Owner Hailee, 26, explained that her fiancé, Joe, 29, dared to eat chocolate without offering any to his furry friend. Of course, this was never an option as chocolate is toxic to dogs but poor Rhubarb doesn't know that.

"We tend to share all of our meals/snacks with Rhubarb as long as they're dog-safe, because we want her to enjoy the finer things in life!

"Rhubarb wanted to try the chocolate," said Hailee, who lives on Vancouver Island, off Canada's Pacific Coast. "He told her no and she got upset and sat in the corner."

"She is a sensitive, active, anxious, smart, stubborn girl, who loves cuddles and being cozy! Rhubarb is treated like a princess in our house, so this trick comes as no surprise," she said.

"She has only done it a few times! This was the only time I took a video of her doing it. It always breaks our hearts when she does it, so her goal is accomplished."

With more than 57,000 likes, Rhubarb's video is set to be a hit online. In the comments, the owner tells other users her pet "never gets yelled at" and is treated like a princess.

The owner also reassured that "she is spoiled with love every day" and receives cuddles "all night."

One user complimented: "Clever girl, she knows how to play the extra treat game."

The owner agreed: "She's mastered this game."

A third comment referred to the dog as a "strategic queen".

Indeed, dogs can manipulate their owners and it has been proven by research. The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) says that human preference may have influenced the evolution of dog facial features, particularly "puppy dog eyes."

According to the PNAS study, dogs' facial muscles changed during domestication from wolves to conform to human communication norms. All domestic dogs have the same muscle that raises the inner eyebrow, but wolves do not have that particular muscle.

Additionally, it appears from analyzed behavioral data that dogs raise their inner eyebrows more often and more intensely than do wolves. According to the researchers, dogs possessing these "puppy dog eyes" were more highly selected because they were preferential to humans.

Internet users are no stranger to puppy dog eyes as social media is full of clips of pets putting their skill to the ultimate test to get what they want. Previously, a doggy day care center shared photos of the canines' faces before and after seeing treats. As you can imagine, the dogs' sad facial expression soon changes to a happy one.

It turns out that dogs are more able to get their own way than you may have thought. Newsweek has published numerous articles about spoilt dogs, and one husky has even learned how to roll his eyes if his puppy dog eyes aren't doing the trick!

Update 02/08/24, 3:05 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with comment from the OP, Hailee and original content.

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