The Brief: The "Don't Pet Challenge" on TikTok sees creators recording their pet's reaction to being tricked into thinking they were going to receive a rub.
DEEP DIVE
Pet challenges are arguably one of the cutest videos you’ll find on TikTok. The latest challenge sees creators motioning to their animal friend as if they’re going to pet them, but they stop just a few inches short. Their animals’ reactions are priceless.
These videos began growing in popularity in late August and early September. These videos are linked by audio that provides instructions on how to perform the challenge. That audio is from dog account @Therealcooper.
Many of these videos are also found under the associated hashtag #DontPetChallenge which has over 10.6 million views.
@Therealcooper’s video saw the fluffy pup eagerly rush toward his owner’s hand for a rub. The video received over 312,000 likes and 1.6 million views.
@therealcooper Watch till the end ☺️☺️#PlayBall #dogsoftiktok #davidstesla
@Tararseven’s video featured her black cat named Nyx. The four-legged feline looked absolutely devastated upon realizing something was off. The video garnered over 2.5 million likes and 10.7 million views.
@tararseven Nyx gave an error. #mycatisbroken #petchallenge #PerfectAsIAm #stepintolove #fyp #carsoftiktok
In @How.to.parrot’s TikTok, their pet bird nestled himself under his owner’s fingers in order to get a rub. The video amassed over 917,000 likes and 3.3 million views.
@how.to.parrot
This trend has also been done with frogs, ponies, and monkeys.
@nekogekko Well that went pretty much as expected 😅 (yes I originally filmed it upside down like an idiot) #frog #frogtok #readySETgo #MyOrder #DateNight
@camryn.bryant “Ponies are the sweetest things in the world!” #AnimalFriends #dogsoftiktok #miniaturepony #brat
@gaitlyn.rae #gaitlynrae #dontpetchallenge #fyp #foryourpage #fypシ #capuchin #monkey #lover