Shade, who lives in Massachusetts, USA, gave the dramatic response as her owner asked if her paw was okay. The clever canine had torn her paw pad and had been wearing a bandage, but appeared to be ‘milking it’ to get an extra treat or two.
The tri-coloured pup held her poorly paw off the ground as her owner asked: “Your leg’s broken?”
The shepherd nearly gives her game away as she leaps up to greet her owner and hops around the kitchen wagging her tail.
Her owner, a dog trainer and breeder from Massecheusettes, asks the dog: “Shade, do you think you’re gonna make it? Are you dead?”
Shade dramatically flops onto her back, and plays ‘dead’, but quickly lets her owner know she was only joking, and just wants a treat.
The video ？ posted to the @telltaleaussie account ？ has been viewed 746,600 times in 48 hours, with over a thousand comments who can’t believe how dedicated she was to her acting role.
One said: “That’s a death drop if ever I’ve seen one.”
Another added: “She understood the assignment and did the extra credit too.”
“And the Dogscar for the best dramatic performance goes to Shade,” said a third.
Australian shepherds are a very intelligent working dog, bred for working on ranches, so have strong herding and guarding instincts.
The Kennel Club describes them as having ‘great stamina’ as well as being ‘loyal, attentive and animated’. And Shade certainly lives up to her breed standard.
Another adorable Australian shepherd that stole the hearts of TikTok users was Willy.
The one-year-old pup waits until his owners say ‘grace’ before eating his dinner, and even waits to be excused from the table when he’s done.
In the video ？ which has amassed 4.7million views ？ Willy even holds his paw out at the table for his owner to hold.
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