A dog owner from Pennsylvania has revealed in a heartwarming TikTok video what her new puppy taught her 11-year-old Chihuahua, and internet users can't cope with it.
The viral video shared on Friday under the username @ddsnurface, shows the pomsky puppy, Frankie, a mix between a Pomeranian and a Siberian husky, chilling on the bed, practicing his first howls as her mom records him.
Then all of a sudden, his older brother, Rico, who had never howled before in his life, starts howling along with him. A series of clips, shows them coordinating their howls by the window, making precious memories together.
The poster, 39-year-old Ashley Pamplin from Pittsburgh, told Newsweek that she was woken up by Frankie making his first ever howl, so she immediately rushed to record it, but then Rico unexpectedly joined him.
"I could tell he was about to start 'talking' so I started recording. That was his first howl. Then right after my 11-year-old Chihuahua joined right in! He has never howled in 11 years. I loved it because it's like they were both realizing they could howl at the same time. Then after that they would often howl together."
Rico was the poster's only pet for 11 years, and even though he was initially annoyed by the puppy always being "in his face" they managed to form a strong bond, and soon started enjoying howling together.
"Unfortunately, my Chihuahua, Rico, passed since I recorded this. And I have two more pomskys that are the siblings of the one in the video. But I cherish those videos because he had his own wolf pack before he died," Pamplin added.
Howling is normal behavior for dogs, says Georgia-based veterinarian Dr. Jess Kirk on her website Vets Explains Pets, and they do it for a variety of reasons, including communication, emotional expression, and environmental triggers.
But sometimes it can also be a sign of separation anxiety or other medical issues. To address this problem you should first get your pup checked by their veterinarian to rule out any possible medical reasons, once they give you the green light, you can work with a dog behaviorist to help train them.
However, not all dogs howl. An article by Dr. Fiona Gilston, published by Vet Help Direct, explains that some dogs are more likely than others to bark. These include northern breeds like the Siberian husky and Alaskan Malamute, and hunting breeds like the beagle and bloodhound.
Ancient dogs, those who were bred closer to the point of domestication, including shar pei, basenji, akita and saluki, are also more likely to howl than other breeds considered more modern.
The video quickly went viral on social media and it has so far received over 1.4 million views and 306,400 likes on the platform.
One user, Dannie, commented: "Little man was feeling those howls in his little Chihuahua soul."
Roo said: "He knew how, he just didn't have a pack to do it with till now."
XJalynnx added: "He looked over at him like he wasn't expecting him to be that good his first time."
Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.
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