A chiweenie with an overbite and 1.9m followers: how Tuna and Instagram’s other top dogs rake in thousands per post | Dogs

Tuna is a chiweenie with a hyperbolic overbite, a tongue that sticks out aggressively when he sleeps, a neck shrivelled like a raisin – and 1.9m Instagram followers. Fans tune in to watch him pose as Harry Potter next to platform 9¾, dress as a spicy tuna roll or to savour no-frills shots of him in closeup.

The miniature dachshund and chihuahua cross first came to the internet’s attention around 2012 and has been eliciting heart-eye emojis, lolz and thousands upon thousands of comments of admiration ever since. “He looks like someone’s grandpa on the couch after a plate of turkey and mashed potatoes”, reads a typical one.

Joshua Paul Dale, author of Irresistible: How Cuteness Wired our Brains and Conquered the World, lands upon the phrase “gap kawaii” to account for Tuna’s appeal. Kawaii being the Japanese term for cute, this particular form of it is “when you see this incongruence in something that’s cute.” In Japan, he says, “[the gap] intensifies the feeling of cuteness”. So Tuna is especially cute not despite but because of his less-than-symmetrical look.

Tuna might be the dogfluencer with the most memorable malocclusion but social media is full of others. There’s Loki the wolfdog (1.8m followers), a handsome beast most at home in the wilderness; Jiff pomeranian (9m followers) who holds world records for speed walking on hind legs and front paws; celebrity favourite Doug the pug (3.6m followers), who has been hugged by Dolly Parton; and Maya the samoyed (1.7m), who can wiggle his ears along to a tune.

So what makes each of these dogs so compelling? According to Jen Golbeck, an expert in social media and co-author of The Purest Bond: Understanding the Human-Canine Connection, “these dogs all share some traits”. They “look different than most dogs we would run into,” making them quickly recognisable. But perhaps most importantly, “they are very cute in unusual ways”.

It is the cute response that arguably underpins the entire dogfluencer world. When we scroll past a picture of a cute dog, says Dale, “you get this immediate jolt of something”. Then “a whole range of downstream things happen in your brain … [you get an] upwelling of general wellbeing and increased empathy.” Plus, he says, “it lowers our stress levels and can lower anxiety.”

Arguably, then, in all their flocculent glory, these dogs are doing us a service, because fluffiness is, says Dale, one of the things that triggers the cuteness response. Jiffpom is almost incomprehensibly fluffy. Maya the samoyed is also a fluffball, but while Jiffpom seems to lead a babyish life of pure pampering, Maya, according to Oona Hewitt, cultural research and insights director at We Are Social, is sometimes “showcased in relatable, very human, scenarios from landlord dramas to bed-rotting”. Who doesn’t feel better knowing a breed of herding dog can relate to the woes of renting?

Many of these accounts rely on costume. Jiffpom is frequently dressed up – as a unicorn, a leprechaun or just in cosy sweats. While others rely more heavily on the face. Maya looks as if she is naturally smiling: “Smiles have also been shown to be highly associated with cuteness,” says Dale, see also dolphins.

Loki couldn’t be more different. He is, says social media psychologist Samantha Cameron, “that wild spirit”. For Hewitt, he “plays into escapism” and a “rugged, outdoor and rewilded lifestyle – at a time when urbanism is associated with pressure, relentless pace and life lived through screens.”

It isn’t all about aesthetics, though. Narrative voice can have a big impact. In one video Maya asks for “just a smol bite pweez” of spaghetti bolognese. “Flea market with the girlies,” Doug “says”, while rifling a rail of secondhand knits. “How many days until Spring break?” he asks, reclining with a Corona. For those hooked on these accounts, disbelief is very willingly suspended as we feel we see into the mind of a hangry, Chappell Roan-loving pug.

There are of course ethical implications: the dressing up and anthropomorphism. These dogs bring a lot of joy and are often rescued from shelters themselves. But many of the most “cute” breeds are the result of intensive inbreeding. Somehow, the cuteness still hits, despite rational thinking. “Cute things capture our attention … sneak in under our radar and then before we know it, activated this cuteness response,” says Dale.

Given the amount these dogfluencers can earn, there is good reason to want to leverage puppy-dog eyes. According to one recent study, “pet influencers lead to higher engagement with the promoted content and willingness to buy the advertised product”, because “they are seen as more credible than human influencers”. These accounts could, says Cameron, “be earning thousands and thousands of pounds”. She says it works out to roughly £200 a month for every 10,000 followers, per platform.

Coffers are being lined now in particular. “We see an uptick in the popularity of dog content during major moments of social upheaval,” says Golbeck. For Hewitt: “At a time of heightened social dislocation and loneliness, rising costs and uncertain futures, successful dogfluencers are delivering escapism, absurdity and surrealism. Cloaked in cuteness.”