The internet is a curious place filled with strange, questionable and amazing content. More recently, video challenges have taken the internet by storm, growing in popularity and becoming viral. It’s one thing to make a fool of yourself, a friend or even a stranger for the sake of capturing a gut-busting moment, however, throwing your pets into the mix is its own separate level of comical genius.
To make things easy, I listed the seven best pet based viral challenges to sweep the internet. I think they all perfectly encapsulate why people need to keep exploiting their four-legged friends for a good chuckle.
Canine Friends
If you consider yourself a dog person, then you’re in for a real treat because these three dog-specific pet challenges will leave you howling for more. Though these pet challenges are essentially owners making jokes out of their pets, dogs are easy targets for shenanigans and generally couldn’t care less.
1. Dog “Snoot” Challenge
A lot of these pet challenges leave me wondering how they even began. In this pet challenge, owners create a circle with their fingers, similar to making an okay sign, and their dogs subsequently nuzzle their muzzle into the hole. It’s an odd thing, and I’m not sure why dogs feel the need to fill in the space with their face, but it’s cute and that’s really only one of the few requirements to winning a pet challenge.
When it comes to the Snoot challenge there are some variations. Aside from making the “okay” symbol, some will use both hands by bringing them together to make a larger circle. Instead of just the snout, dogs will try to squeeze their whole head into the shape.
Another variation is the “check mark,” where you stick your index and middle finger out, and your thumb erect. If successful, your dog will come up and rest its furry chin on the inside of the checkmark shape.
2. Dog “Egg” Challenge
This pet challenge can be a messy one, and that’s because the challenge is all about putting an egg in your dog’s mouth, hence its name, the “egg” challenge. The whole point is to see if your fur baby is gentle enough to hold an egg in its mouth without breaking it. To my surprise, many dogs complete this challenge with much success.
From what I understand and based off what the linked video suggests, this viral pet challenge began with Golden Retrievers. The breed is known for having a “soft mouth,” a trait that is of great use to hunters who use the breed for retrieving game without destroying its integrity or consuming it. Although Golden Retrievers initially inspired this pet challenge, it has been done successfully by many other dog breeds as well.
3. Dog “What the Fluff?” Challenge
My personal favorite is the “What the Fluff?” pet challenge, mostly because the dogs reactions are priceless. This challenge is an amateur disappearing act of sorts because it involves dog owners hiding themselves behind a blanket big enough to fully conceal themselves, and then running into another room before dropping the blanket, which alludes to vanishment.
Dogs that fall for it will stand in confusion, run after their owner and check all rooms of the house or even circle and pace in panic, no doubt wondering where their human just went.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umFoo96P0h4
Feline Friends
Calling all cat crazed folk: if you’re a lover of awkward cat reactions then look no further. I’ve rounded up three fantastic cat-specific pet challenges for all of you feline fanatics out there.
Cats are known for lazing about, looking all fat and sassy, so it’s hilarious to see owners interrupt their cat’s naps with such challenges.
1. Cat “Square” Challenge
Again, I’m really not sure how a challenge like this came about to begin with, but perhaps it’s for the best. The Square challenge requires cat owners to use duct, tape, masking tape, crafting tape or really any kind of visible tape (nothing like clear scotch tape) to make a square outline shape on the ground or floor.
Once the square has been created, it’s all about waiting and watching to see if your cat will sit inside of the square outline. It’s an interesting thing because some cats feel inclined to fill in the formation. Perhaps it feels like a space of protection to them or some kind of barrier, and if that’s the case I’d feel kind of terrible for laughing at them, but only kind of.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXE5fNMYWg0
2. Cat “Cucumber” Challenge
I’ve been told before to stop playing with my food and to eat it instead, but there’s no fun in that and it seems that some cat owners feel similarly. I find it amusing that a lot of these pet challenges seem to involve being playful with food. However, the Cucumber challenge is less fun and more scary for cats.
The Cucumber challenge entails carefully placing a whole cucumber behind or near your unaware kitty. Cats will turn around to see the intricately placed vegetable and jump back in what seems like fright. I’ve seen other instances where cats will not notice the cucumber until they stumble upon it with their tiny paws and arch their backs in alarm at the motionless food.
I’ve thought about why some cats react to the cucumber the way that they do, and the only reason I can come up with is that its appearance resembles that of a snake or other carnivorous reptile, which could be threatening to a cat.
3. Cat “Breading” Challenge
Keeping with the food theme of pet challenges, the Breading challenge is another favorite of mine, mostly because it is just so random and ridiculous. For the Breading challenge, cat owners are tasked with cutting out a hole in the center of a piece of bread and fitting it onto their cat’s face. It’s almost the same as the dog Snoot challenge, but I don’t think cats are as willing to shove their face into a restrictive slice of carbohydrates the way a dog might be, which in itself adds to the humor of it all.
Cat’s reactions to being breaded are hysterical, because some cats will think their head is stuck in something and they will continuously try to back themselves out of the slice of bread. A cat walking backwards is by no means graceful and watching it’s beyond entertaining. Some cats will have no reaction at all, and instead will just accept their new bread head as they continue snoozing.
Sometimes I wonder if we’re tricking our pets at all with these challenges or if they let it happen because they know it’s so entertaining for us. If you’ve got a dog or cat of your own, then I urge you to try out some of these pet challenges yourself. Just remember to give your animal all of the love and attention that they deserve afterward.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8du14oxTM8
4. Pet “Cheese” Challenge
I guess even cats and dogs love cheese, and I don’t blame them. The pet Cheese challenge is the latest pet-based viral challenge to surface and it’s quite simple: acquire a piece of cheese (the flimsier the better) and toss it at your pets head.
Reactions to the cheese slice varies from pet to pet, but I’ve noticed that dogs tend to be more coordinated in terms of catching the piece of cheese with their mouths and eating it. Cats, on the other hand, are stupefied as the rubber-like texture of the cheese clings on to their fur, making it difficult to get off.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JRQ6L-PCWQ
