Animals dad jokes

Why animal dad jokes work so well

Animals are the easiest subject for a pun, because the animal's name does half the work. A bear with no teeth is a gummy bear, a magician dog is a labracadabrador, and a sleeping bull is a bulldozer. Kids already know the animals, so they understand the setup straight away, and that makes the groan arrive faster.

That's why animal jokes are usually the first dad jokes children learn. They suit ages five and up, they're clean, and they work equally well at the dinner table, in the car or on a school lunchbox note.

How to tell an animal dad joke

A good groan depends on delivery as much as the pun:

• Ask the question slowly and let the kids guess. "What do you call a sleeping bull?" gets better answers than the punchline does.
• Keep a straight face and pause for a second before the punchline. The pause is half the joke.
• Own the groan. If the room moans, you've won, so repeat the punchline and look pleased with yourself.

A quick guide to the animals in this list

• Sea life: the oysters that won't donate (shellfish), the fish in a bowtie (sofishticated) and the clever fish that live in schools.
• Farm animals: the cow that went to space for the Milky Way, the chicken with the drumsticks and the sleeping bull.
• Pets: the magician dog and the cat whose favourite colour is purr-ple.
• Wild animals: the toothless bear, the penguin that builds its house, the alligator in a vest and the bees with their honeycombs.

Keep the groaning going

• Food & drink dad jokesif the animal puns left you hungry
• Wordplay dad jokesfor pure puns with no animals involved
• Things Dad always saidthe classic lines every kid has heard