Dog freezes in fear among Halloween cat props on TikTok. ‘Thought he was a decoration’
A TikTok video of a black lab frozen in the middle of several black cat Halloween props has gone viral, but viewers have different explanations for why the pup wasn’t moving.
Lilly Flores, who lives in Texas, shared a video of her dog on Oct. 9 with the caption, “When your lab is terrified of cats.” In the video, Maverick the lab is deathly still and surrounded by five Halloween cat cutouts in the front yard.
When the family calls to Maverick, he doesn’t respond and stays motionless.
“He looks like you paused him,” one person commented on the video.
“Haha, I thought ‘no way that’s a real dog,’” another person said.
The video got over 12 million views, but some viewers don’t think Maverick was scared at all.
One dog expert told CNN that it appeared Maverick was pointing — an instinctive behavior for hunting dogs.
“Pointing” is when a dog will freeze in place, often with one paw up, to notify owners of something interesting ahead, according to Hill’s Pet. Breeds more likely to point include spaniels, retrievers and setters, according to the company.
“If you have noticed that your dog likes to point at things and does it frequently, his breed may be more naturally inclined to do this action,” Hill’s writes on its website. “If he’s a mutt, it may even help you to figure out some of his ancestors!”
After the Floreses move closer to Maverick, his tail begins to wag and he soon is pulled out of his Halloween-prop hypnosis.
“I watched a few times, thought he was a decoration,” someone commented. “Love this.”
This story was originally published October 27, 2022 at 6:22 PM with the headline "Dog freezes in fear among Halloween cat props on TikTok. ‘Thought he was a decoration’."
