pet shaming
CommonPosting a photo of a pet holding a sign that describes the bad thing it did.
Always affectionate. The humor comes from the absurdity of the crime, the pet's expression, and the fact that the pet has no idea what is happening. It is never genuinely punitive.
Real-world examples4 examples
| # | Example | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | he ate an entire stick of butter off the counter. pet shaming him immediately. | The dog did something absurd and the owner is going to post about it in the format. | reddit, 2023 |
| 02 | made a pet shaming sign for my cat. she knocked it off the table. she has no remorse. | The cat responded to the shaming sign by destroying it. | x, 2024 |
| 03 | I ate my owner's AirPod. I have no regrets. | A pet shaming photo captioned from the pet's perspective, showing zero guilt. | instagram, 2023 |
| 04 | she woke me up at 3am to play. pet shamed. zero sympathy. | The pet's crime warranted public documentation. | tiktok, 2024 |
Use it when
- Posting a photo of a pet with a sign describing its misbehavior.
- Talking about the format or genre of pet crime confessions.
- Describing the act of calling out a pet's bad behavior affectionately.
Do not use it when
- You are genuinely punishing or humiliating your pet.
- The content is actually distressing or unkind to the animal.
Origin and context
Originated around 2012 when the Facebook page 'dogshaming' went viral. The format spread to dedicated subreddits and Instagram accounts and became a durable internet staple.
- First seen
- 2012
- Confidence
- high
Cite this page
Use this stable URL to reference the entry.
https://slang.fyi/pet-shamingUpdated: 2026-08-29License: CC BY 4.0