What a good boy.
Rachel Ebel, a photographer from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, has taught her 3-year-old Dalmatian named Griffin to smile on command.
And it only took her three years, six months and 18 days of training to accomplish the goal.
“The ‘Dalmatian smile’ is an endearing, though at times terrifying, trait that’s unique to the breed,” Ebel told HuffPost. “It’s something they’re known for. And as a photographer and dog lover, I found myself wondering how difficult it’d be to teach him to share this unique quirk on command for the camera.”
Ever since Griffin was a puppy, Ebel has been praising him whenever he busted out his awkward little smile on his own accord. But he did it randomly, which made it was difficult to teach.
“The other day, he happened to show it right as I was giving him a treat, so I took advantage and kept working on it with him,” Ebel said. “Ten minutes later, he was a pro.”
She has also came up with a command that lets Griffin know she wants him to flash his pearly whites.
“I tell him to ‘Smiiiiiile’ in the highest-pitched, most obnoxious voice possible. It’s not pretty, but it works,” she said.
Ebel was so proud of her accomplishment that on Tuesday she decided to post Griffin’s cover girl grin to Reddit and it immediately got a lot of attention.
People seemed to really dig the Griffin’s smirk and proved that the cute pup wasn’t alone in his weirdness in the comments.
Ebel also told HuffPost that she’s gotten mixed reviews from friends about Griffin’s smile.
“The reactions from my friends have ranged from admiration to terror, but I’m just proud of my strange, beautiful, camera-ham of a dog,” she told HuffPost. “While it’s admittedly a little creepy looking, I actually happen to find it adorable. What’s that quote again about ‘having a face only a mother could love?’”
If Reddit is any indication, Ebel is certainly not alone.