The social media platform TikTok is a leading destination for short-form mobile video with users from all over the world watching content. With a company mission to inspire creativity and bring joy, it is no surprise that accounts featuring dogs are popular. We reached out to top dog influencer accounts to learn more about them, their funny dog TikToks and the four-legged social media stars.
Bunny the talking dog — @whataboutbunny
Have you ever wondered what your dog was thinking? Bunny, an Old English Sheepdog and Poodle mix, can tell you!
Alexis Devine didn’t set out to have her pup Bunny and Bunny’s brother, a Standard Poodle named Otter, become TikTok stars. She started sharing their interactions on a whim. Despite the pups having no idea they were becoming popular online, the content she was posting engaged viewers — 7.5 million of them.
People love Bunny’s ability to communicate — through words! She has a board with more than 100 FluentPet buttons. The buttons are used to record words that can be “spoken” by a dog when stepped on. Alexis explains that Bunny the talking dog uses the buttons to “communicate how she is feeling, what she wants, when she is in pain and how annoying her little brother (Otter) is.”
Alexis didn’t expect her posts to go viral. Bunny the talking dog tapping buttons with her paw to tell her, “Mom, love you” was one of the first posts to gain a large volume of viewers. A more recent post shows Bunny telling Alexis’ dad, who is dog sitting at the time, “Love you.” Grandpa’s reaction, caught on a security camera, is one of genuine emotion as he leans down to tell Bunny the talking dog that he loves her, too. It’s this honest communication that viewers can’t get enough of.
Bunny does most of the talking, but recently Otter is getting in on the action, too, sneaking over to his big sister’s collection of words. Bunny’s not the only dog in the family who gets to communicate with the humans.
Find Alexis, Bunny and Otter on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter @whataboutbunny.
Family friendly dog influencer — @EllieGoldenLife
Kevin Bubolz, and his Golden Retriever, Ellie, create online content to support their mission – spreading smiles to their 4 million TikTok followers.
Kevin first learned how much happiness a dog can bring to humans while he was deployed in Afghanistan as an Army pilot. His unit was accompanied by a dog named Zac, who spread joy even under the harshest environments. “Upon returning home from deployment,” Kevin explains, “I decided to create the same happiness within my local community.” He trained Ellie as a therapy dog, and they spent years volunteering in schools, nursing homes and hospitals.
But during the pandemic, when volunteering in person wasn’t an option, Kevin and Ellie needed another avenue. At the time, Kevin was pursuing his MBA in marketing and reached out to undergraduate students asking where they spend their time. The answer he thought he heard was “The TikTok.”
Upon creating an account, and realizing it was called just “TikTok,” he immediately saw the appeal. He remembers, “I became enamored with the ability to connect with people around the world via short-form video.
The co-stars are known for their family-friendly, entertaining content. During one of their videos, called Ellie’s Taste Test Tournament, Ellie had over 125 million views while showing amazing restraint in front of yummy treats. In the post, Ellie samples delicious salmon by barely flicking her tongue over the food after Kevin gives the cue, “You can taste.” Ellie then ponders which she will choose while waiting for her cue to take her reward.
Ellie loves creating content. When Kevin says, “film,” Ellie comes running into the room and flashes her famous smile. A smile that you can learn how to teach your dog to do, on cue, in one of the team’s posts!
Find Kevin and Ellie on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and Facebook @EllieGoldenLife and their blog goldenretrieverlife.com.
The most lovable TikTok dogs — @gusgusinthecity
TikTok wasn’t Susan’s first foray into the world of social media. The trio, Susan (who prefers to only go by her first name) along with her French Bulldogs Gus Gus and Marty, had a large following on other platforms when friends suggested giving TikTok a try.
Susan discovered she loved how creative and fun the platform was, specifically how it incorporates music into the videos. She gives credit to TikTok for being pioneers of that feature.
Marty is a big draw, but it is Gus Gus who starred in their first viral post, a clip where you can hear him vocalize a noise that sounds like he is saying, “Mom.” Then, there was the first time he received his now signature haircut, a fur tattoo (a pattern shaved into the fur) at a pet convention in Las Vegas. The clip went viral on many platforms.
Susan explains that it was the French Bulldogs’ “cute faces, big ears and cuddly personality” that initially drew her to them — and it seems their 1.1 million followers have a similar reaction. Susan admits, “The [followers] just love how cute and funny they are. People really live for Marty’s weirdness!”
It seems Gus Gus and Marty’s big personalities were meant to be viral. Their mom shares, “They LOVE making people happy, so what do they get out of it? They get to spread joy and kindness around the world!”
Find Susan, Gus Gus and Marty on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube @gusgusinthecity.
The ultimate funny dog TikToks — that dog guy @jauncydev
How did Jonny Devaney become known as “that dog guy” on the internet when most of his TikTok posts don’t include his Samoyed, Thor or any dog for that matter? Jonny’s posts often show him personifying different dog breeds and their well-known characteristics. In his funny dog TikTok “If Dogs Were People” series, Jonny portrays dogs as humans who are being robbed, playing cards, interviewing for a job, house shopping, listening to music in the car and more.
We all know that, given a human body, a Chihuahua would listen to music while rocking out, head banging to the lyrics, while, in contrast, a yellow Lab would joyfully rock back and forth to the groove while eating potato chips. Jonny brings those visuals to life for his 1.9 million TikTok followers.
Having grown up around dogs – his mom owns a dog walking/boarding business – he already knows the unique personalities of many dog breeds. He does additional research online to help identify the common traits he can poke fun at. Then, after formulating the skit, Jonny gives it his all to make you laugh. He says his hardest TikTok to film was “dogs after they get groomed.” He explains, “I had to belly flop into a puddle. I say ‘had to’ but nobody made me do it. I stood there for about 10 minutes just working up the courage to belly flop into an inch of water.” Jonny didn’t just share the hilarious final clip, but also posted behind the scenes of him psyching himself up for the performance.
Jonny recently became a full-time dog influencer, making an income off merch and brand deals. “I would just like to say thank you to everyone,” he shares. “The world is a scary place, and all I have ever wanted to do was take people’s minds off it and laugh for a little bit. Having such a large following, I am able to do this every day and it is incredibly fulfilling.”
Find Jonny on TikTok and Instagram @jauncydev; he’s expanding to YouTube soon.
