When Charlotte Ward returned from an eight-day trip, she wasn’t expecting the reception she got from her Sprocker spaniel dog.

In a video on TikTok with more than 456,000 views, Ward shared the moment she returned from vacation and was reunited with her dog—but she wasn’t pleased. “When you return from a holiday without your dog and this is the reception you get,” the text overlay said.

The spaniel, who was left with a friend for eight days, was sitting in the passenger seat in the car, facing away from her owner, refusing to look and clearly upset about her time away.

As the video gained more attention on TikTok, people shared their thoughts in the comments.

“I love how dramatic dogs are,” wrote Megan.

Viewer Dean said: “My Marley used to sulk for the first day after we got back.”

“This was my dog when we got back. Wouldn’t cuddle me on the sofa. Just stood there side eyeing me,” posted Cookie.

How Do Dogs React to Being Left Alone?

A 2011 study by researchers from Eötvös Loránd University in Hungary looked into how dogs respond emotionally and behaviorally to being separated from their owners.

Canines were placed in an unfamiliar test environment where owners left the room for a period of time, leaving their dog alone. The canines’ behaviors were then observed, from pacing and moving around the room to stress-related behaviors such as whining, barking and licking.

Researchers recorded how much affection, proximity-seeking, or excitement the dog showed. After this, owners were given a questionnaire to find out how their pets usually behaved when left home alone. Owners noted behaviors including chewing, scratching, barking, howling and even urinating indoors.

Dogs labeled more “anxious” or “happy” by owners tended to be more active and stressed when alone during the test and showing more affection when reunited with their owners.

While those with suspected separation-related disorder (SRD) are more active and vocal when alone and often displayed behaviors such as pacing, barking and destructive tendencies. Despite this, their greetings weren’t necessarily more affectionate than the other dogs, indicating that emotional responses don’t always equate to more joy when being reunited.

This isn’t the first time a dog has shared clear upset after their owner returned home. In 2024, people were left in stitches when Snow the golden retriever refused to acknowledge his owners after they returned from vacation.

Newsweek reached out to @charlotteward85 via TikTok for comment.

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References

Konok, V., Dóka, A., & Miklósi, Á. (2011). The behavior of the domestic dog (Canis familiaris) during separation from and reunion with the owner: A questionnaire and an experimental study. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 135(4), 300—308. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2011.10.011

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