A pet owner's list of the random things their beloved golden retriever is scared of is proving a source of much amusement to fellow animal lovers online.
Nugget the dog might come in at about 66 pounds, but underneath it all she's about as fearless as a newborn puppy. Or at least that's what the list of things she's afraid of would have you believe.
In a post shared to TikTok under the handle nuggetkoh, the canine's human companion reels off all of Nugget's unusual phobias. You can watch the clip here.
As animal species go, dogs are a fearful bunch. In a 2020 study published in Scientific Reports, researchers from Finland decided to dive into what, if anything, scares our four-legged companions.
A team of scientists analyzed the behavior patterns of 13,715 dogs across 264 breeds. The research showed that 72.5 percent of the dogs studied as part of the investigation experienced some form of anxiety-like behavior.
According to the study, 32 percent struggled with noise sensitivity while 29 percent were affected by a sense of general fearfulness. More specifically, 17 percent were found to be fearful of other dogs while 15 percent were fearful of strangers and 11 percent of novel situations.
Nugget's fears are a little more specific than that. In a video watched more than 400,000 times on TikTok, the golden retriever's owner offered a selection of the "random things" she is afraid of.
According to the clip, Nugget is scared of "bigger than usual" leaves and a "cat poster" she encountered at a local swimming pool. In the video, the dog can be seen barking at the poster for an extended period of time. It's clear she is not a fan.
The video then cuts to adorable footage of Nugget wearing a special doggy-adapted raincoat. But while it might appear super cute to us, it's anything but for Nugget.
As a voiceover on the clip explains, it turns out Nugget is actually "scared" of her own reflection while wearing the raincoat and can be seen barking at her mirror image while wearing it.
But while big leaves, cat posters and raincoats may be a source of some concern for Nugget, the video showcasing her reaction to these fears has proved popular on social media, with fellow dog lovers flocking to comment on her unique list of fears.
"To be fair that leaf was massive," one viewer on TikTok joked with another commenting: "Can't blame her, I would be scared of myself in pink raincoat too."
A fellow dog owner revealed: "My lab has gotten scared by a semi large mushroom once... And an empty chips bag" while a second canine owner wrote: "Our 140lb Newfoundland is scared of stickers. She hates anything sticky and runs away the minute we peel any sticker off anything."
A third pet owner said: "My cat walks up to dogs the size of wolves without fear, but is afraid of clothing lying on the ground" with a fourth adding: "My big dog is scared of light, dark, the wind, spaghetti, open spaces, closed spaces, men, hats, men in hats, bears, men with beards & wooden flooring."
When it comes to being scared of random things, it would appear Nugget is definitely not alone.
Newsweek reached out to Nuggetkoh for comment.
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.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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