Teaching a dog to sit, stay and shake is one thing, but when you teach your dog to play golf, drive a lawnmower and feed a calf, you’ve gone to a whole other level.
That’s what a Mississippi man has done with his British Labrador retriever, Brewski, and his TikTok videos have been watched by millions.
Chance Crawford of Houston, Mississippi, an avid golfer, said he posted a video of Brewski reading a putting green on TikTok two or three years ago and the response wasn’t exactly viral, but when he reposted it earlier this year, the number of views exploded.
So far, the video has been viewed 4.5 million times.
“I guess the right people started seeing it or something,” Crawford said. “I had a million views by the time I looked at it.”
Crawford followed with a video of Brewski making a putt. Currently, it has 8.3 million views.
Watch: A yellow Labrador retriever puppy named ‘Brewski’ drains a long putt on a Mississippi golf course
“It shocked me,” Crawford said. “I never expected that. It’s crazy how he blew up overnight.”
Watching for direction from owner Chance Crawford of Houston, Brewski, a 7-year-old Labrador, moves forward on a toy electric tractor Thursday, July 20, 2021. The dog has to push a foot pedal to make the toy move. The pair have become TikTok sensations after Crawford posted Brewski driving the tractor and putting. Currently, they have over nine million likes and around 175,000 followers.
@heytakeachance If you teach a dpg to fish, you feed him for a lifetime #fishing #bassfishing #catchfish #bass #dogsoftiktok #dogsoftiktok #labrador #dogfishing #funnyvideos #funnydog #funnyy #funnyanimemoments #funnydogvideos
He has a knack for training dogs
And the views kept coming. Crawford said a friend told him he couldn’t teach Brewski how to fish. Crawford took it as a challenge and did it. Of course, Crawford posted video of it on TikTok and it made a huge splash, too. It’s been viewed more than seven million times.
“The fishing video was at over 5 million in two days,” Crawford said. “It was very shocking to me.”
Another video features Brewski driving a zero-turn radius lawnmower and has been viewed 3.7 million times.
“He can drive anything if he can reach the gas,” Crawford said.
Those videos and others have racked up an amazing 9.2 million likes and around 175,000 followers on the social media platform, but how does he train a dog to do these things? Crawford teaches dogs basic obedience commands for others as a hobby, so he has experience. He said it’s a matter of a knack he was born with, spending time with the dog and positive reinforcement.
“I’ve always been good with animals since I was a kid,” Crawford said. “I always trained my dogs to do tricks.”
He’s taught Brewski how to do a lot of other things, too.
Making money and learning new tricks
“He can play dead,” Crawford said. “He can pick up anything.
“He can bring drinks out of the fridge. He’ll throw them away for you. He even helps me garden by picking fruits and vegetables for me. He’s learning how to skateboard right now.”
Other videos show Brewski bottle-feeding a calf, driving a boat and playing tic-tac-toe.
With such internet success, many are probably wondering if Brewski is making money.
“We’re making a little bit,” Crawford said. “We plan on finding some bigger sponsors here in a little bit. We’ve been talking to Bass Pro and TaylorMade.”
Another question people are probably asking is what will Brewski do next. Well, he’s 7 years old, but that doesn’t mean old dogs can’t learn new tricks.
“You’ll just have to stayed tuned and watch to find out,” Crawford said.
You can follow Brewski’s adventures at heytakeachance on TikTok.
Do you have a story idea? Contact Brian Broom at 601-961-7225 or bbroom@gannett.com.