This talented golden retriever has taken the internet by storm with his amazing skill of balancing just about any food on his head.
Four-year-old Dexter from Derby, England, has been demonstrating his exemplary skills with typical household food products such as oranges, pizzas, and eggs.
“Dexter is just the happiest dog around,” Benjamin said. “His balancing trick is something we figured out he could do from when he was about 1 year old, so we immediately tried to teach him to perfect the skill.
“His followers on TikTok certainly seem to love the content we post,” he added.
Dexter, Benjamin says, will do the balancing trick as long as there is a fantastic treat waiting for him afterward.
“His usual go-to favorite foods are chicken, cheese, and sausages, so we always make sure to have some for when he is doing a trick,“ Benjamin said. ”One of the main reasons he’s so talented is because he is completely food orientated and will do anything for tasty food.”
Now, the adorable dog has received over 8.6 million likes on TikTok, with a lot of videos hitting well over a million views at a time.
“He has tonnes of viral videos on TikTok now, with his most viewed TikTok video on something like 7.3 million views now which is amazing,” Benjamin said. “He always gets comments on TikTok saying how amazing, cute, and talented he is.”
The family first welcomed Dexter into their home in May 2017 when he was just 8 weeks old and started to train him in various skills. Benjamin believes that training not only creates an attentive dog but also stimulates their minds keeping them busy and happy.
“He’s very clever and as soon as he learned the basics, we started to push the boat out,” Benjamin said. “With the balancing, it was no different.”
It took Benjamin only a week to teach Dexter the ropes, and before long, the smart canine became a balancing pro.
According to Benjamin, they initially taught him the skill of how to “stay,” which basically just involved him staying absolutely still.
“Once he mastered this, then we could put things on his head and say ’stay,' we would repeat this word and then eventually take the balancing object off his head and treat him,” Benjamin said. “He knows that if he doesn’t stay still then he won’t get a treat until he does and he’s now gotten incredibly good at it.”
Benjamin believes that the teaching of tricks and skills helps dogs in the long run to lead better lives.
Dexter, Benjamin says, is an incredibly loving and calm dog.
“As he’s a retriever, whenever anyone comes home, he'll quickly run to hold a blanket or a toy in his mouth and greet you whilst his tail wags in a windmill fashion,” Benjamin shared.
Outside of the house, Dexter is as excitable as it gets and always looks forward to his walks. A playful Dexter always chases rabbits, pheasants, ducks, and squirrels.
“This has led to countless occasions where he jumps over barbed-wire fences or into rivers which always makes for an interesting walk,” Benjamin said. “Tug-of-war is also something he has mastered and never seems to tire of, even if we have been at it for 20 minutes or more.”
Unsurprisingly, Dexter has become “the focal point of the family,” with everything revolving around him.
“We’ve often described him as the burning fire in the family home as he brings that warmth and joy,“ Benjamin said. ”Dexter is wholly reliant on us—we have the responsibility to protect him and give him a healthy lifestyle which means watching his diet and giving him two countryside walks a day.”
Benjamin believes that golden retrievers rely heavily on social connections and emphasizes that Dexter needs them just as much as the family needs him.
“[This] is why in the house he lies down in the middle of the kitchen where everyone walks past!” Benjamin said.
