A poodle in Dalian, Liaoning province, pretends to faint every time his owner plays mahjong, in protest at being ignored, local media reported.

The poodle’s woman owner became addicted to playing mahjong after she retired in October and recently found that every time she started to play the game her poodle would suddenly faint, the Peninsula Morning Post reported.

Later, she and her friends discovered that the dog was only pretending to faint in protest against the owner’s lack of attention.

Even if she was playing mahjong with friends at times, they would bring their own dogs to keep the poodle company.

The woman later decided to play mahjong less often and spend more time on taking her pet for walks.