This lazy dog in Scotland has gone viral on Twitter; apparently folks out there really relate to his lack of interest in leaving what looks like a supremely comfy bed.

In the 16-second clip, you hear the dog’s owner saying, “Come on we’ll go a walk, walk, walkies.”

My dad trying to get Malcolm out of bed. Most human dug on earth. pic.twitter.com/tdCJhodIja

— Mhairi-Louise Brennan (@mlcoolj1) November 1, 2018

Not even food couldn’t persuade this warm, cozy pup – whose name is Malcolm – to get out from under the covers.

The dog’s owner, Mhairi-Louise Brennan, posted the video of her dad cajoling the dog to Twitter and at press time here, it had more than 260,000 views.

How long CAN dogs sleep?

According to the American Kennel Club, most dogs average about 12-14 hours of sleep per 24-hour cycle. Older dogs tend to need more (just like older humans). They tire more easily and benefit from additional rest to function properly. Similarly, pups (like human babies) tucker themselves out with all the exploration and play and so can sleep quite a bit, as well.

Larger breeds, too, tend to sleep more than smaller ones.

Breed is a factor, as well, when it comes to a dog’s sleep cycle.

Working dogs, often bred to be active in longer shifts with tasks that need their complete attention can spend most of their day active while other breeds, meant more for companionship and sedentary lifestyles, will sleep more.
while dog sleep patterns are similar to humans’ – their breathing slows, their blood pressure drops and their heart rates decrease and generally in about 10 minutes’ time enter the REM (rapid eye movement) phase. This is when you might see them “chasing rabbits,” legs or feet or tail twitching and even whining and making noise.

Interestingly, though, as humans have extended sleep cycles, spend about 25 percent of that time in the REM stage. Dogs only stay here for about 10 percent, due to their inconsistent sleep schedules. Since they have the wonderful, enviable ability to fall asleep easily and rouse to alertness quickly, they need more total sleep than we do to make up for the lower REM rates during their cycles.

We really don’t deserve dogs, but at least we can award them for being so wonderful.

This July, a six-month old golden retriever named Todd saved his owner, Paula Godwin, from a rattlesnake bite. He was recently crowned winner of the first ever “Milk-Bone Dog of the Year” award at the 8th Annual Streamy Awards for his heroism… and virality.

There are probably a thousand poems, cookie fortunes, calendar quotes and memes about how we don’t deserve dogs, all of them true, but we can do our best to celebrate them however possible. And so this year, the Streamy Awards, which honors the best in online video and its creators, added a category for dogs, “the Internet’s favorite animal.”

Streamy Awards creator, Drew Baldwin, told Billboard, “The world wouldn’t be the same without dogs, lives are often transformed because of them, and it’s time that we honor all the joy they give to us.”

Although the adorable competition was stiff, this year’s winner was Todd, a dog we told you about here at Life With Dogs back in July when he stepped between his owner and a rattlesnake while out on a hike, nearly losing his life in the process.

Todd braved the snake, and all the medical treatments that followed after being bitten, and his story — naturally — went viral.

He beat out two other contenders for the Streamy: Louboutina, “The Hugging Dog,” who found Internet fame for giving warm hugs to everyone she meets on the streets of New York City, and Pierre, a costume-donning therapy dog who who brings smiles joy to the patients at UCLA’s Mattel Children’s Hospital and travelers at LAX.

Online vote determined the outcome and Todd received a trophy and a customized piece of art from the Streamys for coming out on top.

Todd’s owner, Paula Godwin, first shared their harrowing tale on Facebook just after it happened: “So this morning was up bright and early to go on a hike on seventh street, carefree. It was a beautiful morning, but as we were walking down the hill I literally almost stepped on a mf rattlesnake. But my hero of a puppy Todd saved me. He jumped right in front of my leg where I surely would have got bit. This is what a hero looks like. Please say a little prayer for my sweet hero.”

Little Todd spent 12 hours at the vet where at times it was touch-and-go, but thanks to quick medical action and anti-venom – he made it! Godwin wants to make sure other pets will be able to get the same treatment.

“We are ecstatic because this is the first ever Milk-Bone honor, so everyone is going to remember Todd the hero dog,” she told Billboard. “We were able to start a fundraiser to help other pets, raising money for dogs who can’t afford anti-venom. There’s a lot of people out there who can’t afford the $500 dose and their pets die because of it.”

Check out Todd and all the other finalists here:

Generally speaking, when con artists scam good, honest people out of their money or possessions, the Internet doesn’t give them an ovation, but somehow, Princess is different.

This clever fox of a shar-pei or shar-pei mix (to our eye, anyway) knows how to work that cute, worried-looking face of hers into a delicious free meal – and precisely where to go to get it.

Her owner, Betsy Reyes, posted on Facebook that Princess leaves the house at night and heads straight to the local McDonald’s parking lot, where she pretends to be a stray in order to get free food. Employing all the standard tactics your own dog uses to glean scraps from the table at dinner, Princess – simply put – works it, scoring fries, burgers and all the fast-food goodies dogs worldwide can only dream of.

“If you see my dog @ [sic] the McDonald’s on shields, quit feeding her fat ass,” Reyes wrote on Facebook. “She’s not even a stray dog. She’s just a gold diggin’ [email protected]@ b*tch that be acting like she’s a stray so people will feel bad for her & feed her burgers.”

The best part? Reyes headed out to bust her dog in the act, taking video in the process as she lurked like a private investigator in the McDonald’s lot, watching Princess work her crafty magic on the patrons. Have you ever seen any busker or panhandler with a success rate like this?

And this hilarious one where Princess recognizes that she’s been busted begging!

For sure, there are healthier habits a dog could have – and we hope that Reyes finds a way to keep her dog from getting out (and super-sizing herself with meals way too fatty, salty and rich!) – but we really have to give this crafty pup credit for her smarts. And admit that we, too, enjoy a good, crispy sleeve of French fries once in awhile.

She is, without a doubt, one of the most enterprising puppers we’ve had the pleasure of seeing go viral on the Internet.

my dog has ear medicine she needs and the other one also thinks he needs it too.. nobody has the heart to tell him it’s pretend.. pic.twitter.com/Vshe7dhl3b

— chloe copley (@chloecopley_05) September 12, 2018

Okay so one of Chloe’s dogs needs ear medication. We’re not sure why, but really, it’s not important.

What IS important, is that the pup’s sibling clearly wants in on the ear meds action. Mostly because it comes with a nice, vigorous, post-squirt ear massage.

So his parents, doing what we’d likely all do, oblige the pupper with a “fake” administration of the meds with the supplementary two-handed ear squeeze.

And everyone’s happy.

Especially us. Because we love this video.

Do dogs get jealous?

According to science: yes.

Back in 2014, researchers at the University of California discovered that dogs were far more likely to snap and push at their owners if they felt they were being excluded from their affection.

“Our study suggests not only that dogs do engage in what appear to be jealous behaviors but also that they were seeking to break up the connection between the owner and a seeming rival,” said lead researcher Professor Christine Harris in an article published by the Telegraph.

“Many people have assumed that jealousy is a social construction of human beings – or that it’s an emotion specifically tied to sexual and romantic relationships. Our results challenge these ideas, showing that animals besides ourselves display strong distress whenever a rival usurps a loved one’s affection.”

Adapting a test previously used for six-month-old babies to canines, University of California researchers monitored the reaction of 36 dogs in their own homes when their owners ignored them in favor of a stuffed dog, which could bark and wag its tail, or a bucket with a Halloween design.

The dogs were filmed and the video rated for a variety of aggressive, disruptive and attention-seeking behavior and found that the pups were roughly twice as likely to make contact with their owner — touching or pushing — when he or she was giving love and affection to the plush dog than when exhibiting the same behaviors at the plastic bucket.

Surely by now you dog lovers have heard of the “snoot challenge,” but in case you and your dogs have been living under a rock of late, a quick Instagram search of the #snootchallenge hashtag proves that more than 11,000 dogs around the world have already jumped in the latest internet challenge fray. Some accomplish, some fail; both can be hilarious, as the many online videos prove.

What’s the snoot challenge?

In it, a person creates a space with his or her fingers — generally round, triangular or (awww!) heart-shaped. They then hope the dog will approach and stick its snoot in said hole (which makes for a super-cute boop-snoot photo-op).

Pics and videos of the dogs accomplishing or miserably failing the challenge have taken over various social media sites and are melting hearts and inspiring laughter everywhere. Some dogs seem to know exactly what they’re supposed to do; others, not so much.

Some are lured in with treats, others seems to have already been treat-conditioned.

Of course, this is the Internet, so there’s been no shortage of people finding reasons why the snoot challenge is dangerous, demeaning, or otherwise detrimental to the dogs’ health or self-esteem, but reports from vets have countered these claims, noting that the snoot challenge can help condition dogs to having their faces handled — a great trait for safe application of medical exams!

Additionally, some experts say that the snoot challenge can help to train dogs to wear a muzzle or post-surgical cone if ever necessary, aiding them in growing comfortable putting their snouts into small openings.

As long as owners are gentle, there is no harm to be caused during the #snootchallenge! And of course, if your pet seems uncomfortable, you should not force the dog to perform the challenge.

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It’s not uncommon for young children to be a little frightened (and sometimes oddly intrigued) by the mall escalator, but a dog? Well, we admit they must seem freaky to dogs who aren’t acclimated! At least this dog’s owner has no problem giving her Labradoodle the loving support it needs to make the trip!

This pup was straight-up “NOPE!” when it came time to use the lift at a Georgia mall, but found that once ensconced in human companion’s arms (and facing the other way) he’d be able to manage.

Giving her what can only be described as a lanky-limbed dog’s version of a bear hug, he bravely navigated his fears while enjoying some comforting rocking.

Admit it, you’d do this for your dog, too, wouldn’t you? ?

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Last week we told you about a lovely Lab mix (now named Hope!) that surveillance video captured as she was dumped by the side of the road in a suburb of Springfield, MO.

The Greene County Sheriff’s Office posted to their Facebook page that the woman believed responsible was arrested on July 13.

The video showed a woman letting her dog out of her car, shutting the door and speeding away. One posted by the camera’s owner, it quickly went viral.

She was arrested for animal neglect and abandonment, a class C misdemeanor.

The dog had severe burns on her paws after running on the hot pavement until she was found.

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Glenn Blake’s security camera captured something we all know happens too much — but it’s still achingly hard to watch.

Yesterday, an SUV pulled up near Blake’s home, east of Springfield, MO, let a dog out and then sped off. You can see the dog give chase after the vehicle leaves the frame.

Blake later posted the video on Facebook with the following statement:

Person dumping dog in our neighborhood this morning 10 July at 10:13. Please share. I had no idea this video whould (sic) spread so fast and so far. Here is more information all in one place. This is at Farm Road 148 and Farm Road 205. Three miles east of Springfield, MO just off of Hwy D. The Greene County Sheriff’s Office was notified. Deputy Turner was able to locate the dog. At this point the poor dog was getting dehydrated and weak. The Deputy was extremely concerned and caring and provided the dog with water and comfort. The temperature reached 96 degrees today. GCSO called Rescue One https://rescueonespringfield.com/ and they promptly arrived to care for it.

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As stated above, Blake got in touch with the Greene County Sheriff’s Office, which dispatched a deputy in response.

“Really, all the credit should go to Deputy Turner,” Blake told the Springfield News-Leader. “He went out of this way to find the dog, get a hold of it, get it cooled off and get it water. And the adoption agency (worker). Kudos to both of those people.”

He told reporters the deputy spent at least a half-hour tracking the dog and checking with neighbors to see if they’d seen her.

Once found, she was handed off to Rescue One, a Springfield-based dog rescue with a vast network of fosters. An emergency volunteer from the organization met the deputy at the scene. A rep for Rescue One confirmed the dog is now safe in foster care, though she was badly dehydrated and had suffered some burns to her paws from the hot pavement.

Knowingly abandoning an animal without making arrangements for its care is illegal in Missouri. The sheriff’s office is continuing to investigate.

“Somebody knows this person, with all the views the video’s gotten,” Blake said. “I’ve got a feeling that at this point, this person knows she’s been caught.”