Once dog owners see it, it’s hard to resist trying to duplicate it. There are thousands of these videos — sometimes referred to as “hands-in” or “all hands-on deck” — on TikTok. One account posted a compilation of clips, which has been viewed more than 32 million times.
Jenny Keller did the challenge with her daughter Ally, 18, and their 5-year-old maltipoo Goldie, after Ally showed her the trend on TikTok. The short clip ends with mother and daughter cracking up laughing.
“It was funny that she totally did it the first time,” said Keller, who lives in Seattle and posted the sweet moment on social media.
Experts say there are several reasons some pups are all in, and others have no interest.
“Dogs have the ability, much like children do early in life, to mimic or mirror what they’re observing,” said Philip Tedeschi, co-director of the Institute for Animal Sentience and Protection, and a professor at the University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work. “They’re such close and observant participants in our lives.”
It also has to do with them wanting attention and trying to please.
“Dogs use their paws not dissimilarly to the way people use their hands,” he said.
Dogs that do it right away are likely used to giving their humans a paw, whereas those who aren’t experienced paw-givers sometimes shy away from the challenge.
“Many dogs are trained early on to do things like shake hands, so I would suspect that a lot of dogs see it as a fairly familiar behavior,” Tedeschi said.
Other experts agree that training is relevant to a dog’s ability to do the challenge.
“I do think there’s a training component that plays a role here,” said Julia Espinosa, a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University studying dog behavior and cognition. “Different responses might be a generalization from their training history.”
Owners shouldn’t be dismayed if their dog doesn’t put in a paw.
Some dogs respond by using their muzzle, which Espinosa referred to as “their third hand,” while others lick their owners’ hands or look at them for affirmation on what to do. Plus, whether the palm is up or down, she said, could be a crucial factor for some dogs.
“It’s not important that you put your paw in, it’s important that you respond and engage in some way,” she said. “Dogs are super interactive and very in tune with their people.”
Pups view their humans as their pack.
“Dogs feel like they’re at home and in their best place when they’re connected to their family members,” Tedeschi said. The hands-in challenge is “an opportunity to lean into their family.”
Still, some dogs refuse to partake.
“Dogs are individuals, just like us,” Tedeschi said. “A dog might do it one time and then get bored with it and not want to do it next time or have a sense of humor where he thinks he’s going to interrupt the party.”
After Megan Robicheau saw a hands-in video on social media, “I just had to do it,” she said.
It took her 6-year-old Dachshund, Roswell, several times to nail it, but ultimately, he succeeded.
“The first few tries he was just sniffing and licking our hand, and then he finally understood,” said Robicheau, who lives in Boston. “He likes to be involved in all family activities.”
Espinosa believes the same is true for most pooches.
“Dogs are really attentive and responsive to our behavior,” she said. “Dogs are willing to engage with us and are really excited to participate in what we’re doing. It just shows a nice dog-human interspecies bond that’s going on.”
Olivia Caputo tried the hands-in challenge with her boyfriend and 2-year-old Shih Tzu, Enzo. After putting his paw in, Enzo looked up lovingly at Caputo.
“His reaction was just so cute,” said Caputo, who shared Enzo’s hands-in challenge on TikTok, and the video has been viewed more than a million times. “Everybody loved it.”
The hands-in challenge seems to have struck a chord with people around the world.
“What I think is more interesting in some ways than a dog’s ability to do this is the human’s reaction when the dog does it,” Tedeschi said. “Everybody starts laughing or cheering or hugging.”
“What you’re seeing there is how important it is to people to be able to have these connections with their dogs,” he continued. “That, to me, is the most heartwarming thing.”
