What It Means If Your Dog Brings You Random Objects as a 'Present'

A dog owner has shared a theory on social media as to why her dog keeps bringing her gifts.

On June 11, TikTok user @adayinthelife_ais, a pet owner in the U.K., posted a video showing her dog, a collie crossbreed she rescued, bringing her things from around the house, be it shoes or even blankets.

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In a caption accompanying the clip, the dog owner suggested her pet pooch was behaving in this way for a specific reason.

"If your pet brings you a present when you're home, it's called excitement displacement," she wrote. "They are so overwhelmed with excitement and emotion, they attempt to calm, distract or relax themselves."

Newsweek has contacted @adayinthelife_ais for comment via TikTok.

According to the poster, when owners first get home, dogs have such "big feelings" that they need to let them out in this particular way. At the time of writing, the video has received more than 500,000 views, with fellow dog owners sharing similar experiences in the comments section.

"Our guy does this," one wrote. Another agreed, "My pup does this every morning when I wake him up." A user added, "Mine will bring anything that is available toy, piece of screwed up paper, sock, glove tea towel."

Susan Nilson, a professionally accredited cat and dog training and behavior expert, told Newsweek it is possible the dog in the video is engaging in a displacement behavior.

"Dogs often use displacement behaviors to 'self-soothe,' meaning they show behaviors that seem a bit out of place as a way to reduce feelings of stress, tension or anxiety," she said. "It's similar to when humans bite their nails or jig their leg up and down when seated. So for example, you might see a dog engaging in excessive sniffing, drinking or sleeping to try to avoid a potentially scary or uncomfortable situation."

Nilson agreed that these kinds of behaviors can occur in "positive situations," such as the return of a human to the family home.

"It's a way of redirecting their excitement and energy, but again, can also help them self-soothe and calm down when they are overly excited," she said. "I think this is the most likely explanation for the dog in the video's behavior. It's probably not about bringing a gift to their human but more likely that they're just so excited that they need to do something with all that positive emotion."

Nilson added a caveat, however. She said some dogs are simply natural "gatherers" that like to pick up things without chewing them, most notably shoes.

"Shoes in particular often have strong scents from their owners, which can be very appealing for dogs and also give them a sense of safety and security," she said.

"Carrying shoes is also a really effective way for dogs to interact with their owners," she continued. "If they learn that picking up a shoe—whether it results in complete panic over an expensive designer shoe or laughter, praise and attention—gets their owner's attention, they'll most likely keep doing it because attention is rewarding."

Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com.