Golden Retriever 'Showing Off' Seahorse Toy to Neighbors Is the Picture of Innocence

This statement is certainly true of my dog, but I wouldn't doubt that it's true of plenty of others, too: If the choice is to be indoors or outdoors, she'd choose outdoors every single time. It's not just that she loves running around in the backyard or spending plenty of quality time with her humans while getting some fresh air, but my dog is truly nosy. She loves to see what's going on, alert us all if Amazon is making a delivery to a house in her eyesight, and issue a friendly bark to anyone who might happen to cross her path.

Knowing that, it's no surprise that when she's inside, she's usually posted up at the window, the second best thing to actually being outdoors — or that the Golden Retriever in the video below seems to enjoy doing the same thing, especially if it means it's time for a little show and tell.

In this TikTok video shared by @chowderandgumbo on Wednesday, September 25, this sweet Golden Retriever named Gumbo is perched at the window upstairs in his house with his current favorite toy by his side.

"That feeling when your mom finally opens up the sunroom so you can show off your seahorse to the neighbors," Gumbo's mom wrote in the video.

He looks very proud to be sitting at the window, arms resting on the couch, and probably overhearing all the juicy neighborhood gossip in the process. If I saw a dog like Gumbo in a window, doing a little people watching, it would make my whole day, so I have a feeling his neighbors probably loved to see his seahorse toy.

This is going to be his new favorite hobby now that the weather is nice enough to keep the windows open, according to what his mom wrote in a comment.

"From now until winter he will be up there showing something new off to his friends every day," she wrote.

Why Do Dogs Show Off Their Toys?

Usually, when a human wants to show off something to one of their friends, it's because they're proud of it, or they think the other human is going to like it, but somehow, when dogs exhibit this behavior, the reason behind it can be even sweeter.

According to Dewkes, dogs like to show off or bring their humans their toys because it's one of the ways they communicate that they love us — and that they trust us with one of their most special possessions.

Other times, they're trying to communicate something different, like that they'd like some attention from you or they're bored and would like to play.

I hope everyone who saw Gumbo and his seahorse showed the appropriate amount of excitement. He deserves it all!