Owners Renovate Layout of House, but Dog Didn't Quite Get the Memo

A family making renovations on their dream home were left in stitches when their pet dog couldn't make heads or tails of the changes to the house.

Couple Krista and Nathan, from Nottingham in the UK, saved for years to remodel their home, and last year finally began doing work on their ground floor.

But while they were over the moon to see their dream home start to take shape, their three-year-old beagle, Diesel, was utterly baffled by the changes.

In a hilarious video shared to TikTok account @Wagapup, which racked up hundreds of likes within hours of posting, Diesel can be seen sitting patiently outside the back door, waiting to be let in.

But the camera then shows that the back door doesn't lead outside at all: Diesel was already inside the house.

In the clip, Krista takes a few steps to the side and calls Diesel, who walks sheepishly around the corner but still hasn't grasped he doesn't need the back door to be opened.

Diesel's owners, who run dog accessory company Wagapup together, shared the video with the caption: "When you're renovating and the dog hasn't figured out the new house layout yet," adding: "I swear he's smarter than this!"

Beagles are generally considered intelligent dogs, but a recent study published in the journal Nature Scientific Reports, which put 1,002 dogs of 13 different breeds through intelligence tests, found that border collies performed among the best in the experiment, while Labrador retrievers scored near the bottom.

The study's co-author, Katriina Tiira, told Newsweek at the time: "We expected that breeds would differ from each other in most traits, and they did. This was well visible for testers doing the smartDOG testing in practice—breeds had typical cognitive profiles in the test."

And Stanley Coren, author of The Intelligence of Dogs, told Newsweek that according to his research, the seven dog breeds with the highest working and obedience intelligence were the border collie, poodle, German shepherd, golden retriever, Doberman pinscher, Shetland sheepdog and Labrador retriever.

Speaking to Newsweek about her beagle's encounter with the renovations, Krista explained: "We have been saving up and last year we started the new kitchen/diner extension, and remodeling of the ground floor. Since opening up the back of the house, but leaving in the kitchen door, this is where Diesel has got confused!"

She said Diesel "used to sit at the back door to be let in, and still can't get his head around the fact that by sitting there now, he is actually inside the house. The only reason we still have the door there is to keep the heat in until we finish the new room, and he still sits there every single day."

The couple, who asked to be referred to by their first names only, have a strong bond with Diesel, who has been with the family since February 2021, at the height of Covid-19.

And when they first brought the pup home, he was "really unwell."

"We got him registered to the vet immediately, and after some antibiotics and lots of cuddles we finally got him back to full health," she said.

Three years later and Diesel is "the biggest part of our family," and incredibly smart—when it comes to anything other than finding his way around the newly refurbished house, that is.

"We taught him to sit, stay, roll over, play dead etc from a really young age as we thought the more training we did straight away the better our bond would grow," Krista explained.

"He was house-trained at just a couple of months old. We can't fool him with the treat-hiding toys, as soon as we try to give him one to keep him occupied, he figures it out straight away. And we hide treats around the house and garden and tell him to 'find it' and he will find every one without any help."

Diesel, who is the couple's only pet, is "the cutest, funniest little dog with such a personality," Krista said.

"I think anyone with a dog will understand that they literally can be your world and they will always be there in the good times and there to help you through bad ones."

Krista's video of a baffled Diesel proved popular online, with TikTok users commenting a series of hearts and laughing faces under the clip.

And one user admitted: "My dog does something similar. We have a door from the living room onto the patio, and another door on the same side. If you go through the other door our dog sits at the living room door to be let out but will only go to the other door when you start walking towards it!"

Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.