Beagle won’t get treat unless puppy sibling sits, so she takes action

Puppy training requires a great deal of patience as owners find themselves repeating the same commands over again until it finally gets through. While dog owner Faith Housley, 22, is more than happy to wait for her puppy Mr. Claude to learn the ropes, her rescue dog, Dolly Pawton, is less enthusiastic.

While Housley, of Washington, D.C., was holding a treat to get the 10-week-old cavalier King Charles spaniel to sit, Dolly realized that neither of them would get anything unless he sat. So, the beagle and Basset hound mix took action by using her paw to force Mr. Claude into a sitting position, so she could finally get her well-earned treat.

For the most part, Dolly enjoys having a puppy brother, but Housley tells Newsweek that Dolly is “the epitome of a teenager in dog form,” and sometimes Mr. Claude’s antics test her patience. Every now and then, she tires of his unruliness and shows him how it’s really done.

Housley shared the hilarious clip of Dolly nudging Mr. Claude to sit (@faithhousley on TikTok and @faith.housley on Instagram) and it delighted internet users. In just a matter of days, the clip has already gained more than 9.8 million views and 2.1 million likes on TikTok.

“We like to teach the dogs many tricks, and most of the time, Dolly will only do it if she’s getting food,” Housley said. “While trying to teach Mr. Claude to sit, Dolly would pull him down in a gentle but stern way.

“Dolly is hilarious. She has the personality of a human and I’m so proud of her for taking a responsible role in Mr. Claude’s upbringing. She’s enjoyed most of the tasks associated with being the big sister.”

Needless to say, this wasn’t just a one-time occurrence either. Dolly found herself doing this during most feeding times and whenever Housley tells them to sit on command. Thankfully, Mr. Claude “got the hint” eventually and can now sit down without his sister’s helping paw.

Dolly, who was rescued from a local shelter six months ago, has loved learning what it’s like to “be a real dog” in her forever home, and now she’s passing on her wisdom to Mr. Claude too.

Although they might be best friends now, she wasn’t too sure about the puppy at first. Housley joked that Dolly was “confused about his size” when they first met, and she wasn’t keen on his boundless energy either—especially when it impacted her beauty sleep.

Since then, the duo has become inseparable, and Dolly even appears to be passing on some of her sass to Mr. Claude.

“Slowly, she was able to show him the ropes in many different ways,” Housley told Newsweek. “I think she’s even giving him her attitude because he’s developed a defiance when he doesn’t want to walk. He will sit down and just wait for someone to pick him up instead.”

“Dolly has also showed him what emotional support bone is and even though it’s twice his size, he manages to carry it around wherever he goes,” she continued.

Dolly has certainly adapted well to her big sister duties, and Housley loves sharing their funny sibling moments on social media. As much as she tries to tell people about Dolly’s human-like attitude, it’s only when they see it for themselves that they truly get it.

In Housley’s words, Dolly “thinks she runs the world” and everyone else has to get in line. It’s her world, we’re just living in it.

“Dolly is my first dog, and we are so lucky to have found her. She has been a light in our lives, and I don’t know what we would do without her. They may be just a portion of our life, but we are their entire lives, and we will do our very best to make it count,” she continued.

With over 1,600 comments on the viral video already, many TikTokers lauded Dolly’s impatience with the puppy.

One comment reads: “Dolly said, I don’t have time for this.”

Another TikToker wrote: “she didn’t even have to look down.”

While another commenter joked: “this is why we need siblings.”

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