“I had much less success with the puppy,” the ‘Family Switch’ actress admitted in the caption of her Instagram

Jennifer Garner with her dog Birdie. PHOTO: WE RATE DOGS/ YOUTUBE

Jennifer Garner’s golden retriever, Birdie, is on her team, and she isn’t afraid to show it.

The 13 Going on 30 star, 52, posted a video of her dog Birdie doing the popular “Hands in” (or “Paws in”) social media challenge on the first try on Instagram on Wednesday, June 5.

For the challenge, pet owners put their hands together in front of their cat and dog to see if the pet will join in, like a team preparing to do a group cheer.

“Trying the ‘hands in’ challenge with Birdie,” Garner wrote over the video of her and someone off-camera trying the pet trick in front of the golden retriever to see if the dog will play along.

In the clip, Garner and the other person stack their hands. Then, the actress tells the other person to lower their hand to make sure Birdie sees what’s happening.

“Did you see, Birdie? Yeah, you did,” Garner asks her pooch.

In response, the dog puts her paw on the human hands.

A delighted Garner laughs at the result and says, without surprise, “I mean, first time,” to the person off-camera.

“I had much less success with the puppy,” the Alias star admitted in the caption of the social media video.

Birdie is a certified therapy dog who often visits patients at the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles to provide comfort and support, so Garner and her friend probably expected the well-trained canine to pass the “Hands in” test on the first attempt.

Jennifer Garner and with her golden retriever Birdie.JENNIFER Gardner/Instagram

Philip Tedeschi, co-director of the Institute for Animal Sentience and Protection, explained to The Washington Post why many dogs understand the assignment on the first try.

“Dogs have the ability, much like children do early in life, to mimic or mirror what they’re observing,” he said, adding that dogs use their paws similarly to how humans use their hands.

Jennifer Garner attends The Daily Front Row’s Eighth Annual Fashion Los Angeles Award in 2024.EMMA MCINTYRE/GETTY

“Many dogs are trained early on to do things like shake hands, so I would suspect that a lot of dogs see it as a fairly familiar behavior,” he said.