MNN - Mother Nature Network

There are few things in life happier than a happy dog. It doesn't matter if it's because they hear you pull into the driveway after work or if they find something particularly smelly to roll around on in the backyard; if a dog is happy you are going to know about it. You can see them just vibrate with pure unfiltered joy, as if they can't believe that life can be this good.

 

Thanks to the ubiquity of cameras and YouTube, there are scores of videos of supremely happy canines just waiting to be found. To save you a little time, I spent my day wading through the river of adorable and picked out eight of the happiest dogs on YouTube. Enjoy!

 

National Guardsman comes home

There is an entire subset of happy dog videos showing happy pups greeting their soldier-owners back from tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. This is one of my favorites in that genre. For what it lacks in length it more than makes up for in passion. Gracie the dog nearly wags herself out after realizing that her owner, Capt. Andrew Schmidt of the U.S. National Guard, is home. This video became so popular when it first appeared online that the "Today" show did a piece on it.

 

 

Soldier surprises shepherd

We have one more video of a dog welcoming a soldier home. Kodiak can't believe that his owner is home while on two weeks of R&R. I love how he keeps leaving the room and then coming back in, overjoyed to find that his owner is still there. 

 

Birthday balloons are for popping

Bunk the dog is a lucky dog. On his second birthday, Bunk's owner fills his apartment with balloons and lets him loose to wreak toothy havoc on them. The results are total canine chaotic bliss.

 

Home from college

This video is similar to those showing soldiers coming home but with a collegiate bent: This one is of Sunny the dog welcoming her owner Jonathan home from college. The camerawoman and YouTube poster even claim that Sunny is crying. You can clearly hear Sunny snuffling as she dances around, wagging all the while. 

 

Will do laps for squeaky toy

This video beautifully illustrates the exuberance of a happy dog and his toy. Andy the dog makes the most of his small suburban backyard by ripping laps in well-worn loops after his owner throws out his little plastic squeaky fishy toy. A running dog is usually a happy dog. Throw in a squeaky toy and you have a happy, emotionally fulfilled dog.

 

The Doberman and the slide

This Doberman’s life changed dramatically on the day it figured out she could slide down the water slide into the pool. Dobermans are known for having a lot of energy and this looks like a great way for her to burn off the miles. The owner posted in YouTube that "she enjoys the pool more than I do." Make sure to watch this one all the way through to catch the dog's reaction to a change in water flow. She chases it.

 

Happy dog. Big tongue.

This dog is the picture of contentment. He's perfectly happy to sit there panting, waiting for its owner to throw him something to retrieve. No hurries; he's a dog. A good dog.

 

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