Dog fires owner from “job” of throwing ball, finds hilarious replacement

A dog owner is looking for new ways to put her throwing skills to good use after effectively being fired from games of fetch by her pet pooch.

Baseball, darts and maybe even a bit of shot put; those are the kind of activities one Denmark-based pet owner might be considering taking up after the mother of all snubs on a recent walk with their Australian shepherd.

In a video posted to TikTok under the handle happy_aussie_riley, a dog by the name of Riley appears to have hit upon an ingenious way of playing fetch without the need for any human involvement.

Quite what it is that makes fetch such a popular pastime among our four-legged friends remains unclear.

Debbie Jacobs, a certified dog trainer and the author of A Guide To Living With & Training A Fearful Dog, believes dogs derive a sense of satisfaction from the act of chasing a ball and carrying it in their mouths, rather than from interacting with a human.

“They don’t need to be rewarded for the behavior,” she told the Huffington Post. “If you like playing football, you play football even if you don’t get paid to do it. It just feels good to do it.”

That certainly appears to ring true for Riley, who has found a way to cut out her human from the process entirely.

In the video, the clever pup can be seen, decked out in a yellow raincoat, realizing that if she drops her ball at the top of a small hill in the middle of an idyllic-looking Danish forest, it will roll down for her to then chase and bring back up for another go.

Riley the Australian Shepherd plays fetch solo.
Riley the Australian Shepherd. She’s hit upon a great new way to play fetch.
Riley the Australian Shepherd. She’s hit upon a great new way to play fetch.
TikTok/happy_aussie_riley

Suddenly her owner’s role as thrower-in-chief has been made entirely redundant, much to the mock-outcry of her human companion.

“All that throwing practice and my dog would rather play ball with a hill,” she wrote alongside footage of Riley testing out her new approach over and over again.

While chances are that Riley will become bored with playing “fetch” on this small hill, he will soon realize that there are bigger and better slopes out there that present yet more opportunity for him to play his favorite game without having to rely on a human for help.

Her owner certainly seems to think the writing is on the wall. A caption accompanying the video reads: “BREAKING NEWS: Dog owner’s job passes over to hill.”

This isn’t the first time a dog’s fetch-based exploits have gone viral.

One recent popular clip saw a heavily sedated dog attempt to continue playing fetch despite his decidedly drowsy antics. Then there was the dog that dazzled the internet with a spectacular “Olympic dive” to fetch an errand ball.

Last but not least there was the incredible story of the whip-smart blind dog who devised an ingenious way to play fetch despite not being able to see the ball.

Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com.

Uncommon Knowledge

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

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