Dog fakes potty break to go out, owner soon learns why: “Had other plans”
An owner who let her dog outside for a bathroom break couldn’t believe she had been lied to after hearing barks coming from the backyard.
Listening to her dog’s commands, the owner opened the door and let Rheia outside for a potty break. She expected it was business as usual. But as she shared in a January 7 TikTok video under the account @rheiarottie, her dog wasn’t going to the bathroom. It was all a ploy because her rottweiler “had other plans.”
When the barks started, the owner immediately went to the window to see what the commotion was about. She looked outside to discover Rheia standing tall, focused on something in the distance. The owner slowly moved the camera to see what the dog was barking at and revealed the culprit.
Rheia’s plan involved having a serious, barking standoff with the nearly full moon. The moon’s size didn’t matter or how far away it looked. Rheia saw it as a potential invader and went into guard dog mode. And she wasn’t going to let up.
The caption reads: “She seems really proud about it.”
@rheiarottie/TikTok
The owner told Newsweek via TikTok that her dog’s barking at the moon “happens from time to time.”
“She always asked to go for toilet when she needs and sometimes we can sit in the living room and hear her barking at something,” the owner said. “Sometimes it’s a moon and sometimes sun.”
Dogs are descendants of wolves, and it is believed they bark at the moon because it is ingrained in their DNA. However, a Wag Walking article says that wolves don’t howl at the moon. Their howls are used to communicate with each other, and because they are nocturnal animals, this communication happens to be at night when the moon is out.
The article also said that dogs have heightened senses at night, meaning they might hear distant barks and howls, which will prompt them to reply. The light from the moon could push dogs into fear or anxiety, and barking is their natural reaction.
TikTok Reacts
The TikTok video amassed over 25,100 views and 918 likes as of Tuesday. People couldn’t stop laughing at Rheia’s determination.
“Just guarding the house for you,” commented one viewer. A second added: “How dare that moon be in the sky bothering her?”
Someone suspected she might’ve thought the moon was a toy: “The plan: Mom, get me that really big ball up there. This one’s too small.”
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