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What Is the 'Cooked Dog' Meme? The 'Dog Closing Eyes In Sunset' Reaction Image And Its Memes On TikTok Explained
Pets have always been one of the main sources of reaction images and other exploitable memes on the internet. While TikTok's shifted social media behavior to focus on short videos, this didn't stop netizens from finding ways to continue to meme dogs and cats hilarious pictures, like the "Dog Closing Eyes" meme, also known as "Cooked Dog" or "Dog Closing His Eyes Halfway In Sunset," going viral recently.
The elderly brown Labrador Retriever peacefully closing his eyes during a setting sun has been all over people's For You page on TikTok and even Instagram Reels, but who is this dog, how is it being memed and why does it look like he's accepting his fate after something terrible happened?
Let's explain the origins of the "Cooked Dog" meme and the creative ways TikTokers are editing the viral image for jokes.
What Is the Cooked Dog Meme?
Also known as Dog Closing Eye, this meme showcases a brown Labrador retriever with its eyes shut, enjoying the warm sunlight seemingly appearing like he's in a moment of reflection or retreat.
The image first appeared online in November 2024 when TikTok user @username80827372 posted the image of the chocolate lab with the caption, “How it feels when you break something in the house then you hear your parents car pull up.” The picture is also commonly paired with a sample from the song "Say You Love Me" by D. J. Rogers.
How Is The Dog Closing Eye Meme Used On TikTok?
TikTokers quickly embraced the Dog Closing His Eyes meme format to create hilarious texts aligning with the labrador's hopeless stare. The relatable nature of the dog's image seemingly struck a chord with users like @spark.×3, who posted a transition video transforming into the dog closing eyes meme, paired with the caption, "When you up late and you hear your door open."
The meme is often used to recreate everyday stressful scenarios, like in an example from TikTok user @dayonu_00, who posted a similar transition video using the cooked dog meme accepting his fate after he forgot his father's date of birth.
What Are Some Notable Cooked Dog Meme Examples?
Since its inception, the Cooked Dog meme has inspired numerous funny images on TikTok. Here are some of the viral images posted on the short video platform.
For the full history of the Cooked Dog, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.