Owner Figures Out Surprising Reason for Lump on Golden Retriever's Head

A dog owner has shared how she discovered that her dog was smarter than she thought, thanks to an often overlooked anatomical feature.

Adria Barich, who lives in Los Angeles, shares hers and Oatmeal's life on Instagram at @adriaandoatmeal, and in a video shared on April 26, she showed off Oatmeal's "knowledge bump."

Barich showed clips of the conspicuous lump on Oatmeal's head from varying angles, explaining that it was, in fact, the "occiput," known colloquially, a "knowledge bump."

The lump, located where the skull meets the neck, is a bony formation that serves to protect the dog's skull and brain.

Once thought to be a sign of heightened intelligence, experts have since revealed that the occiput doesn't exactly correlate with these traits. Instead, it is a natural anatomical feature, most easily seen in breeds including golden retrievers, bloodhounds, Labrador retrievers and English setters.

Perhaps the most famous version of the occiput in pop culture is in Disney favorite Pluto the dog who has a distinctive lump at the back of his head—something that adds up as he is a bloodhound breed.

While the occiput is a normal part of a dog's anatomy, if you notice an unusual or new lump on your dog, it is always a good idea to consult a veterinarian.

Barich light-heartedly quipped in the caption, "He's got more brains than I give him credit for," in the caption on the Instagram video, that has been viewed 1.2 million times.

Newsweek reached out to @adriaandoatmeal via email for comment.

In thousands of comments, people shared their reactions to the video and knowledge lump.

Instagram user jamsjournal__ wasn't so convinced: "My family calls it a smart bump but my dog used to eat his own poop so idk how smart it is."

While gaysnooopy recalled: "My mom always calls my golden a cone head because of it!!!" And fellow dog owner rafimartini added: "My golden had it too, we called it her unicorn."

Other commenters seemed to agree that the size of the bump didn't necessarily correlate to the intelligence of their pup.

Totallynottony66 said: "My dog has a huge knowledge bump but he literally runs into walls."

While razziliciousart said: "My dog has one, too. We called it the Pluto bump. But yeah we were like 'she doesn't have the brain for this to be a smart lump, this is a big dumb baby lump.'"

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