Some dogs bark at the mail carrier. Some dogs bark at the vacuum. Mine saves his deepest suspicion for the inflatable ghost a neighbor puts out every October, a six-foot sheet with a face that, in my dog’s considered opinion, is clearly up to something.
That is the spirit of this Pet Collective video. A dog walks up to a plastic skeleton standing guard on a porch, takes it in, and gives it the full greeting. Sniff, wag, eye contact, a polite pause for an answer. The skeleton, being a skeleton, says nothing. The dog does not take that as a brush-off. He just tries again, because from where he stands, that is a person.
Honestly, the dog has a point. A figure with a head and arms, standing at human height and minding the house, reads as a resident. The only thing missing is the smell, and by the time your dog sorts that out, the introduction is halfway done.
Mine runs his own version of this with the inflatable ghost on every walk. Same cautious optimism, same hopeful pause, same nothing in return. Fall is a confusing season for a dog, and I have stopped expecting anything different.
Video by The Pet Collective. You can find more of their pet videos at youtube.com/@petcollective.
The clip is a compilation, so you get a few dogs and a few skeletons before it is over. Our dogs have already claimed their pumpkin for the season, and this is the same energy aimed at the spookier end of October. If your dog has started side-eyeing the decorations on your block, you are in good company. Mine has a standing disagreement with a ghost who has never once replied.