A video of a rescued dog reacting to his owner speaking too loudly has racked up 2 million views online, breaking many hearts along the way.
The TikTok clip shared by Alexis Brianna, 26, (@aalexis_brianna) shows Chico, a pit bull, sitting on the sofa while barking at his owner Christine, 46, who is asking the white dog, “why are you upset?”
Brianna, a content creator, told Newsweek that her mom recently found Chico on September 17, and he has been settling into their home in Atlanta, Georgia. However, he cannot bear loud noises, which is why Brianna asked her followers about his reaction to them.
“He was found tied to a tree with ants all over his body and in his bowl,” told Brianna, adding: “He looked sad and sick so my mom started talking to him.”
A screenshot from the viral video showing Chico barking at his owner followed by a recent image of him wearing a raincoat.
Alexis Brianna
“He started wagging his tail but he looked scary so they called animal control but they never came,” she continued.
“My mom decided to take him back to work on her lunch break but because he is big and a pit bull nobody wanted him.
“He stayed at work with her for the last hour of the day showing how friendly he was and she took him home. My mom called the shelters and the local police had no reports.
“She took him to the vet to check for a chip and shots, then waited for three days before naming him.”
‘Anxiety-Based Behavior’
Even though the dog, who is described as “spoiled,” now has a loving home, it seems he is triggered by loud noises. Newsweek discussed the video that has 274,400 likes with certified dog behavior consultant Allie Bender, who is based in Illinois.
She said: “It could be a sign of trauma but doesn’t automatically mean that it is. It sounds like it’s an anxiety-based behavior but we would need to know more information to know the exact cause, and often we don’t get to know that information with rescued kiddos.”
The co-owner and founder of Pet Harmony, LLC and the co-author of Canine Enrichment for the Real World has provided the following tips for Christine.
“The first step is typically a medical workup as pain can often exacerbate sound sensitivity. After that, we want to mitigate the stress as much as possible by managing the environment to decrease triggers. Then we can work on helping him to feel comfortable around loud sounds. For dogs who express anxiety-related behaviors I typically recommend folks work with a behavior consultant,” she said.
TikTok Reacts
Over 1,700 users have flocked to the comments section to add why their thoughts.
One user said: “Oh sweet baby. He probably associates loudness with violence or something negative.”
“He was surrounded by people who screamed at him and now thinks you’re yelling at him and he’s nervous,” suggested another.
Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.
