Springer Spaniel Lays the Guilt on Thick Pleading for Mom to Play Outside

As a dog mom, there are few things in the world that I love more than my dog asking me to play with her — honestly, dogs have a special way of making us humans feel loved. But unfortunately, I'm not able to say yes every time. Sometimes, she wants to go outside and run around when I'm working or otherwise engaged, and even though it's sad to let her down, it's just what happens sometimes. The times I do get to say yes are even more fun because of that, though I'm not sure she'd ever see it that way herself!

Saying no also means being hit with a guilt trip of wild proportions, like what happened to the dog mom in the Instagram video below. This Springer Spaniel isn't messing around... and he might just win this one.

On Instagram, @myboyrudder shared what happened when her Springer Spaniel , Rudder, got turned down when he wanted to play while his mom was busy: those puppy dog eyes came out of the woodwork so fast!

Sweet Rudder is standing right outside the door, clearly inviting his mom to pay with him, and even when she tells him that she's working, he's not willing to take no for an answer. That little paw reaching out to her is too much!

"I'm busy," she says, which only makes him look sadder than ever before. Won't somebody please play with this poor dog?!

In the comments, everyone's sharing how Rudder's face would have been impossible to resist. "I would be unemployed," one person admitted.

It's true — it must have been so hard for her to say no and go back to work, but somebody's gotta pay for the treats!

Do Dogs Guilt Trip Us On Purpose?

Rudder certainly isn't the first (or only) dog to lay on the guilt trip when they don't get their way, but since dogs' emotions can sometimes be different than the ones we project on them as humans, are they actually making these sweet faces to get us to change our minds?

According to The Guardian , one study University of Portsmouth, aimed to discover whether or not dogs are capable of intentionally manipulating their humans with their facial expressions. Ultimately, it doesn't seem like they are — at least, not the way we think of guilt tripping as people.

They did discover that facial expressions like puppy dog eyes are "potentially active attempts to communicate" it's not clear if there's a meaning behind it the way we think there is.

If these guilt trips are unintentional, Rudder is effortlessly convincing the internet that someone should stop what they're doing and play with him right now. Whatever the reason he's making that face, it's working!