Controversial Sign About Family’s ‘Dramatic Dog’ Has Pet Lovers Talking

A redditor who shared a photo of a sign in a front yard with a dog “sulking” in the background has prompted a lot of opinions from dog lovers. The post about the dramatic dog seems cute to some redditors but has alarmed many others.

Redditor micindra recently posted the photo captioning it, “Found in the wild, couldn’t resist posting.”

The handwritten sign reads:

If you see a little dog near this sign…
Please don’t worry, she is not lost, she lives here
Her name is Chrissy and she is sulking,
She is very friendly and loves fuss but she refuses to come inside unless we give her one of her treats…we are out of treats.
If you witness her faking her own death by laying in the road and pretending she has been run over, walk on by.
She is just looking for sympathy as she has had no treats.

There is a dog lying in the background of the photo which may be Chrissy.

Some redditors immediately shared their stories of dogs they knew who have faked an injury to get attention or treats.

Cold_Gold_2834 shared, “I had a little yorkie that had an injured leg at one point and realized that people gave her so much extra attention when she had it. So afterwards she would run up to people and when she got close she would draw up her leg like it was a gimp leg. It never failed to get her laughs and extra pets.”

TriceratopsBites wrote, “My Jack Russell will fake a limp, usually if he’s done something bad and doesn’t want to get in trouble. Sometimes he forgets which leg is supposed to be injured and switches to the other one. His injury is miraculously healed if we go throw sticks in the back yard.”

ser_kay_ commented, “Mine would pull an Oscar-worthy ‘I’m being abused’ act when she didn’t want to go outside or in her kennel. Freezing, cowering, showing her belly, refusing to move…it was incredibly pathetic. But the second I picked her up she’d start wagging her tail and generally acting like nothing had happened.
(To be clear, my parents’ dog has actual PTSD and I’m very familiar with dog body language as a result. It was obvious that my dog was just being a drama queen.)”

“I knew a dog that would fake a limp if he was feeling lazy or the weather wasn’t to his liking,” funktheduck shared. “No limp in the house or yard but as soon as he got leashed up magically his front leg hurt. But, you could tell him ‘no, we’re walking’ and the limp would go away. Before I figured out his ruse, he conned me into carrying him a couple times.”

Some redditors said they would give in to Chrissy’s “drama queen” performance. “I’d cave, off to buy her treats,” said one reader.

But other dog lovers didn’t see Chrissy’s actions as cute at all. They were upset by the thought of Chrissy lying in the middle of a road to get attention.

BorkusMaximus3742 wrote, “Not to kill the mood but if your dog is chilling in the middle of the road, you should maybe just go get your dog instead of making a cute sign.”

YingYangYolo asked, “Why in the world would you be okay with your dog staying outside if it’s known to lay itself in the middle of the road?!”

“These people are honestly neglectful and don’t deserve animals.” f**k_classic_wow_mod exclaimed. “This is awful.”

RockyRickaby1995 noted that leaving a dog unsupervised and loose isn’t smart. “I honestly hate when people leave their dogs loose and unsupervised,” they wrote. “I don’t care how cute and sweet it is, be a responsible dog owner and get a leash.”

GreatBallsOfFIRE added to RockyRickaby1995’s comment: “Especially if the dog is prone to laying in the middle of the street!”

Heyimrick concluded, “Yeah these sound like irresponsible owners who have conditioned their dog. Never leave your dog unleashed and unattended wtf.”

“It infuriates me to see dogs roaming the streets,” permabanned007 said. “I’ve had to peel my neighbor’s dog off the asphalt because of their negligence. F*cking assholes.”

Another redditor didn’t understand why Chrissy’s owners didn’t just get more treats. “Wouldn’t it have been easier and quicker to just buy more treats than make this sign?” AlanaK168 asked.

ThePurpleKnightmare also admonished the owners. “So basically these people leave their dog outside, in the front yard, where the dog can run off and lay in the street, or even get abducted. I feel like someone needs to take this dog for themselves, if it stays with these maniacs it’s probably going to be hit by a car.”

Others didn’t understand why Chrissy’s family didn’t put in more effort. f**kedyomama2 wondered, “Just… Pick her up? Or grab the collar and force her inside?”

Many readers certainly didn’t agree with Chrissy’s owners attitude. What do you think?

When it comes to getting a dog to listen, it’s all about spending the time with your dog to condition a behavior you want.

It is better to positively reinforce your dog to carry out a behavior you want them to do, then to leave them to learn a behavior that could get them (and you) into trouble. And it’s not always necessary to use treats to encourage positive behaviors.

Dog trainer Zak George shares his tips for how to get your dog to listen without treats.

Dog trainer Victoria Stillwell of ‘It’s Me Or The Dog’ often shares how challenging it can be if dogs don’t listen and how by letting it continue can lead to out-of-control situations.

In all cases, consistency in training is key.