Dog Closing His Eyes / Cooked Dog

About

Dog Closing His Eyes, also known as Cooked Dog or Dog Closing His Eyes Halfway, is a reaction image featuring an elderly brown Labrador Retriever peacefully closing his eyes as though enjoying the warmth of the sunset. The meme went viral on TikTok in early November 2024 and is typically used as a caption format to depict netizens' reactions while facing stressful or challenging situations. The Dog Closing Eyes meme is also accompanied by D. J. Rogers' "Say You Love Me," which plays in the background to augment the feeling of hopelessness and distress.

Origin

On November 6th, 2024, TikTok^[1] user @username80827372 posted the earliest known version of the Dog Closing His Eyes Halfway meme, which features the image of the Labrador with the caption, “How it feels when you break something in the house then you hear your parents car pull up.” The image is paired with a sample from the song "Say You Love Me" by D. J. Rogers, which amassed 282,000 plays and 6,000 likes in three months.

Spread

The meme format of the chocolate lab looking into the sun with its eyes closed saw significant traction on TikTok over the next two months, inspiring users to pair the image with captions about everyday stressful scenarios, such as getting caught in a mistake, preparing for a tough conversation or facing unforeseen consequences.

For instance, on December 28th, 2024, TikTok^[2] user @spark.×3 posted a transition video transforming into the dog closing eyes meme (seen below) paired with the caption, "When you up late and as hell and you hear your door open." The video amassed over 13 million plays and 2 million likes in two weeks.

On December 27th, 2024, TikTok^[3] user @dayonu_00 posted a similar transition video using the Dog Closing His Eyes meme (seen below), accepting his fate after he forgot his father's date of birth. The video amassed roughly 38 million plays and 5 million likes in two weeks.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References