It turns out, teaching an old dog new tricks isn’t just a saying—it’s possible!
A TikTok user has claimed to have taught her dog how to play UNO, showcasing their skills in a video that has been viewed nearly 40 million times.
In the clip, Haley Dicken plays the classic card game with her two dogs: Dunkin, a 10-year-old Labrador Retriever/Pit Bull mix, and Splash, a 2-year-old German Shepherd/Australian Shepherd/Husky blend.
Dicken, better known as @haleyandthepets on TikTok, explained that she utilized short training sessions focused on the limited color vision dogs possess to teach them the game.
“I started with just two colors, blue and yellow, because those are the ones they can see best,” she shared.
“I placed most cards in the correct color. I set up four blue cards around a middle blue card, then one yellow. Whenever I picked a blue card, they got a reward.”
As she continued training, Dicken introduced more challenging colors to help develop their skills. She kept the sessions to about 15 minutes, ensuring her dogs stayed engaged and eager to learn.
It took them about seven or eight sessions to really grasp the concept.
“The dog’s attention span can diminish if the sessions are too long, but brief and frequent sessions make them want to keep learning,” she noted.
“It’s all about having fun and connecting with them,” she added. “If they’re enjoying it and picking up something new, that’s a win for everyone.”
This isn’t the first instance where dogs have showcased their smarts. They’ve made appearances in commercials, TV shows, and even movies.
Eventually, Dicken mentioned that she was able to teach Dunkin to recognize patterns, matching numbers on cards, which elevated their UNO games further.
Dunkin has gone viral before, too. Earlier this year, Dicken shared a moment where she was running around the kitchen, dancing to Naughty Boy’s “Lalala,” while Dunkin snatched a knife from the counter.
She humorously compared the scene to a “low-budget live-action ‘Scooby-Doo’ remake.”
