A Utah woman heard her golden retriever bringing her a ‘surprise’ and started filming. It was a large chef’s knife, blade pointing out

A Utah pet mom, Jenna Ledesma, was recently shocked when her golden retriever, Winnie the Pooh, brought her a large chef’s knife instead of a toy. As she noted in her caption on TikTok, “I always film when I hear Pooh Bear bringing me a surprise but didn’t expect a weapon.” The blade was pointing straight out, and for a tense moment, Ledesma feared the dog had already cut itself.

In the video, Ledesma gasps and begins a frantic attempt to retrieve the knife. Between urgent commands of “Hold on” and “Leave it,” she repeats “Oh my God” and even asks Winnie, “Do you want me to call daddy?” When she couldn’t pull the knife from the dog’s grip, she checked Winnie for injuries and found that the dog wasn’t hurt, since Winnie’s lip had simply folded around the blade.

Eventually, some cajoling and an offer for a treat got Winnie to let go of the blade. The post ended with a clip of Jenna in the kitchen, looking at a happy Winnie, and a knife on the floor. She just told her pup, “Stop with the knives. Okay? Enough.” The video went on to get more than 10 million views, and in her Instagram caption, Ledesma wrote, “Good thing no one overreacted.”

Winnie’s choice of a weapon over a toy amused the internet

In the comments section, an Instagrammer joked, “Somebody said Pooh bear turned into Pooh shiesty,” while another remarked, “Your chances of getting killed by a golden are low but never zero.” A TikTok user commented, “Basically held you at knifepoint for a treat,” and “What in the gentle parenting.”

Dogs can form strange associations, like one dog who became scared of his food after eating a live bug, but bringing objects to their owners is common behavior. According to ElleVet, dogs often use their mouths to explore the world and communicate. Reasons for this behavior range from simply wanting to give a gift or channel excitement to seeking attention or trying to self-soothe during stressful moments.

ElleVet noted that golden retrievers are a breed with strong instincts for retrieving and holding items, and this behavior is often in their DNA. If a dog’s habit of picking up items becomes dangerous or disruptive, experts suggest ignoring the behavior, redirecting the dog to a toy, or ensuring they get enough exercise.

Teaching a reliable “drop it” command is also a helpful safety measure. Anti Cruelty explained that this process involves offering a high-value trade, and rewarding a dog with a treat whenever it releases an object on command helps it build a positive association with the cue.

Over time, Anti Cruelty noted, owners can fade out the treats while still offering praise so the dog responds even without a snack on hand. Practicing with a variety of objects also helps the dog learn that the command applies to anything it picks up.