Dog rides sheep and delights the internet: “Toughest worker on the farm”

Frankie may not be your average working dog, but she certainly knows how to get the job done. The French Bulldog’s sheep herding skills recently went viral on TikTok.

In a clip shared with @frankiethefrenchkelpie, Frankie can be seen jumping onto the back of a sheep and then hopping from one to the other. This tactic involves pushing the sheep onto a ramp in the back of a truck.

The task has impressed viewers more than once, but only recently a video recorded 4.1 million views.

According to the American Kennel Club (AKC), French bulldogs are eager to please their owners and are “relatively” easy to train. It looked like Frankie’s owner had two other larger dogs working on the farm. So maybe they helped speed up the training process.

It turns out that dogs like Frankie aren’t just a hit online. For the first time in three decades, Labradors are no longer at the top of Americans’ favorite breeds. In 2022, the French Bulldog became the new top dog according to the ALC’s list of most popular dog breeds.

According to the AKC, Frenchies are smart dogs and “can fit into different lifestyles.” They are described as “adaptable” canines that fit well into an apartment due to their size.

However, Frankie has proven that size doesn’t matter, and it turns out she’s not the only one. Newsweek previously published an article about a Frenchman named Lync who apparently enjoys riding sheep. And it’s not just dogs that enjoy working on the farm. Cats do that too.

An orange cat owner told it before Newsweek that their pet likes to “think he’s the boss on the farm.” She said he was trying to hunt the sheep, cattle and chickens. So maybe it’s not so unusual for a Frenchman to work on a farm after all.

So far, the footage of Frankie in action has received 26,100 likes and over 280 comments. The owner replied to a user and called Frankie.[the] hardest worker on the farm.”

“There’s no way a French guy thinks he’s a border collie,” said another commenter.

Another user described the technique as “crowdsurfing.”

But it seems not all French people are cut out for farming, one owner said, writing: “Damn. My Frenchman is such a diva that I have to carry him when the ground is too muddy.”

Newsweek asked @frankiethefrenchkelpie for comment via TikTok and was unable to verify the details of the case.

Do you have any funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet that you would like to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend and they could appear on our Pets of the Week list.