A new trend on TikTok worries dog experts who warn of the risk of bites
Published on 10/25/2021 at 12:24 p.m. Written by Alexandre Dieu in the Miscellaneous Facts category
Bringing your face close to that of your dog, while making sudden gestures and threatening head movements... Using your 4-legged friend as a vis-à-vis to make a "talking smack" video is also stressful for the dog. animal than dangerous to oneself.
"It's not great, it's not smart, it's not funny," says a veterinarian sharing her feelings about a new TikTok fad putting dogs under stress. The specialist, who calls herself "Cat the Vet" on the same platform, asks Internet users to stop this practice, which can also lead to serious injuries in the event of a bite, as reported by Newsweek this Sunday, October 24.
Emerged a few months ago, the trend in question consists of filming oneself while one mimes a person angry because another has peddled gossip about him. The audio appended to the images is presumably taken from a comic scene posted on TikTok or another social network. The female voice warns the slanderer that she has taken taekwondo lessons and that if he continues to gossip, he will have to deal with her.
"He'll bite you if you continue like this"
Many netizens have taken over the character and posted their videos on TikTok, YouTube and others. They appear there either alone or in front of someone else (the companion / companion, a friend, etc.). So far, nothing very worrying, quite the contrary; what a good mood. On the other hand, the situation poses a problem when the chosen vis-à-vis is a pet.
To prepare herself to become a pilot, Muluemebet Emiru had to learn how to drive a car and acquire a drivers' license … https://t.co/sOcU06eaaC
— 🌹 Grief Grown Wild 🧝🏾♀️ Perpetually Gaslit 🐝 Mon Nov 26 08:41:39 +0000 2018
In one of these videos (above), we clearly see the discomfort of a dog facing his mistress when she has her face a few centimeters from his, adopting the threatening posture associated with the talking smack mode. The canine expresses it in particular by showing its teeth. For Cat the Vet, "this dog is incredibly unhappy, he will bite you if you continue like this". The vet recalls that the TikTok application is used by children and that they “will copy you and get bitten in the face because they thought it was cool because you did it”, before praying people to stop.
Reply from the author of the video: “We posted a satirical video, on a satirical platform where authorized users are 14 years and older. Parents are responsible for their children's use of electronic devices and what they watch. According to her, the argument according to which the youngest reproduce what they have seen has no place here. "My child robbed a bank because he watched a movie about the bank robbery," she continues.
Joe Nutkins, dog trainer and behaviorist affiliated with the Kennel Club, also reacted to this content posted on TikTok. Contacted by Newsweek, he said "watching some of the videos was actually quite disturbing, really." He noted obvious signs of stress in the body language of these dogs, such as turning their heads slightly to divert their gaze from that of their owner. Some also do the "whale's eye", which consists of positioning the head and eyes to show the white of the latter, thus signifying that they do not like the situation they are faced with.
Also read: A dog with a twisted jaw keeps hope of finding a loving family forever
"A terrifying pattern where animals are visibly frightened and confused"
Another clue noted by Joe Nutkins, the position of the ears which is "associated with stress or sends signals of calming", as to ask the person to stop this behavior. He adds that the dog can react by biting at the time, but also later when he finds himself faced with something that will remind him of this situation. His "last resort is going to be to turn around and bite," he warns. Even in cases without serious injury, this can affect the relationship and trust between the animal and its owner, according to him.
Same observation from Ryan Neile, head of behavioral services at the British association Blue Cross: "It's a terrifying trend where you can see that animals are visibly frightened and confused by the behavior of the animal. human ".
“You should never yell at a pet (even if you are pretending) because it only causes distress and fear. And being this close to its face could easily cause the animal to react and cause serious injury,” he concludes.
