Who’s Doing the Fooling This April Fool’s Day?

This April Fool’s Day, Tiktok and Instagram will surely be filled with challenges meant to have us rolling on the floor laughing. From disappearing behind blankets to putting our dogs in ridiculous diets, it’s hard not to bust our guts—all at the expense of our precious pets. But sometimes, our dogs get the last laugh (or so they think).
 
Whether it’s to avoid something they don’t want to do or it’s just a game they want to play with their humans, the disappearing act is one of dogs’ most beloved pranks. Does it work? Rarely ever! Nevertheless, it’s always disarmingly adorable.
 
Check out Tasha, the silly puppy hiding behind a pot to avoid cutting playtime short. She’s hidden from view when her human opens the door and calls for her. But when she hears the door close, she pops her head up a tiny bit to see if the coast is clear.

 Equally precious is this Labrador’s effort to hide behind a tree. At first, his tail wags incessantly in his excitement about finding the perfect hiding spot. Then, he keeps very still, as if holding his breath to make sure he doesn’t give away his location.

 Although it’s incredibly funny when dogs unsuccessfully try to hide, it’s not really the smartest thing they’ve done to deceive their humans. Believe it or not, some smart doggos have actually learned to fake an injury to get their way. 

Here’s Hairy faking a limp to get some attention from her human. She quickly recovers when she’s told she should probably rest her paw and skip her walk for the day.

Here’s another pup dramatically dragging his hind legs around, as if he's completely paralyzed. When someone pities him and tosses over a few pieces of bread, he quickly gets up on all fours to pick up his tasty treats.   

Unfortunately, pretending they’re hurt doesn’t always put food on the table. In some cases, the joke can be quite costly. Here’s Billy the Lurcher on his way to the vet after developing an unexplainable limp. Several tests and hundreds of dollars later, his owners learned that he faked a limp to show solidarity to his human who had a broken ankle. What a heartwarming, albeit expensive, prank.

 
Sometimes, though, humans can see right through their dogs’ drama. This one thought a fainting spell could help him avoid a nail clipping. Unfortunately, it didn’t fool his mom at all.

 
Dog pranks aren’t just funny when they play them on humans. In fact, it’s even more hilarious when they try and fool each other. Check out this dog who successfully tricked her brother to jump in the pool. That brother was definitely bamboozled!

 
Unfortunately, some dogs take their pranks too far. Take a look at this dog who plays dead so convincingly that his sister is inconsolably wailing beside him.

 But arguably the cutest, most adorable prankster is this toy poodle. She hides patiently behind a wall as she waits for her human to walk up the stairs. Her perfectly-timed peek-a-boo tells you she’s a pro!  

 
Our dogs always find ways to brighten up our lives with their playfulness and sunny disposition. But there’s really nothing more adorable than silly pups showing their sense of humor. Although pulling a prank on them might be hard to resist, make sure they know it’s all in good fun by showering them with lots of treats and belly rubs.

Happy April Fool’s Day!