Woman refused to share her favorite chair with her dog — then the pup pulled an Oscar-worthy stunt to steal the spot from her

After pulling off her little scheme, the dog wore a triumphant look that seemed to say, ‘Ha! Gotcha!'

PUBLISHED 3 HOURS AGO

(L) Woman playing with her dog in the living room, (R) The dog on the couch. (Representative Cover Image Source: Getty Images | (L) MoMo Productions, (R) Anthony Brawley Photography)

Dogs are smart, and their owners know it best. A woman once found herself competing with her dog for their favorite chair, where she sat to watch TV. While she knew her pup would do anything to stretch out on the most comfortable seat in the house, the pet owner did not expect her dog to pull an Oscar-worthy stunt to steal the spot from her. Under a Reddit post (u/TasPyx) asking for stories about when dogs outsmarted their owners, a woman (u/GothicGingerBread) detailed how her pup got the best of her.

Smiling woman with coffee cup looking at German Shepherd dog while sitting on sofa in living room - stock photo
Getty Images | Photo by Westend61 — Smiling woman with coffee cup looking at German Shepherd dog while sitting on sofa in living room . (Representative Image Source: Getty Images | Photo by Westend61)

“I had a girl who loved my papasan chair; the problem was, I loved it too,” she wrote. Recalling an unforgettable evening, the dog owner said her pet once limped into the room while she was sitting on the chair. The pup had held up her paw in the air, hinting at a possible injury or pain, which immediately worried the mom. “I jumped up to see if I could figure out what had happened (she'd been walking just fine a few minutes before),” the post added. The owner closely examined her paw for anything that might have been caught in her toes and even moved around her leg to see if the dog was feeling pain.

Dog with an injured paw. (Representative Image Source: Pexels | Tima Miroshnichenko)

The pup was calm while the owner checked her limbs. Confused, the owner leaned back to have a good look at her, and that is when she made her move. The dog whipped around the woman and jumped into the papasan chair to claim the spot. She “threw herself down into it, and then looked at me with an expression that clearly said, ‘Ha! Gotcha!’” Before she got a hint of her act, her beloved pet had already seized the coveted chair.

Sad german shepherd pondering deeply.(Representative Image Source: Pexels| Photo Rajesh Balouria) — Sad german shepherd pondering deeply. (Representative Image Source: Pexels | Photo Rajesh Balouria)

In another encounter, one of her other dogs had pulled a similar stunt. He loved pulling the dish towel off the oven door handle. One day, when the owner caught him sneaking by with the towel, she snatched it back. The dog put up a show to divert his owner’s attention. She had stuffed the towel behind her back to keep it out of reach, but the pet pretended to snuggle with the owner on the couch until he caught hold of the towel and fled the scene. Another pet owner (u/SimplyTheApnea) chimed in with a hilarious trick their dog used for treats. They walked out every night to pee, and later, the dog was treated with snacks by the owner. Their routine was simple as the owner watched the dog squat to pee, confirming that she was done for the night.

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However, one night, the owner went down the stairs and rechecked the spot where the pup had peed. Turns out, she was fake peeing to get treats most nights. The owner did not have any idea and wondered about the many times they had been fooled by their dog. Dogs possess the ability to deceive their owners to get something they want, reported a study published in the journal Animal Cognition. The researchers confirmed that pets have the cognitive "capacity" to use strategies that benefit their lives.