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By Lucy Notarantonio
Senior Reporter
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Dogs are smart creatures who naturally adapt to the comfort and cosiness of a house—so when you see this chihuahua mix tapping a fireplace, you might think he wants the heating on.
But Louie isn’t cold; he’s hungry. The owner explained in the comments that he has been tapping the fireplace for eight years.
“He refuses to eat in the kitchen as he doesn’t like people walking around him while he eats so we put his food on the fire place,” they wrote. “[Then,] he started hitting the fire place if there wasn’t already food down.”
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The TikTok video shared to (@tooter.uaua) captioned: “How do you explain to a dog sitter that hitting the fireplace means it’s dinner time,” has racked up over 129,000 views and 18,300 likes at the time of writing.
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According to Purina, a common quirky habit many dog owners notice is food-burying. Whether they spend most of their time outdoors or indoors, dogs may try to hide their meals—outside by digging in the yard, or inside by tucking food under cushions, bedding, or furniture.
The behavior is usually practical: some dogs are saving a prized treat for later, while others are instinctively protecting it from other animals in the home. This is especially common in multi-pet households.
Louie’s quirks aren't just food related, he also “threatens” his owners by going near the TV when he needs the toilet.
They explained: “When he was being toilet trained he used to go behind the tv so we had to put a puppy mat behind it know he threatens us with let me out or I’ll poop behind your TV!”
So far, the video has received many comments from other owners sharing what their pets get up to.
“My chi would do this for me to put the fire on. If he heard it turn on from another room he would come whizzing straight in and plonk himself in front of it,” said one user.
Another shared: “Mine will literally attack us (in like a play fighting way) When she wants anything, food, the toilet, to go out for a walk, to go to bed. She just turns into this little demon and relentlessly play fights and then we have to figure out what she needs. As soon as she gets what she needs she calms down and goes to sleep.”
A third commenter expressed what their concern would be if Louie were their pet. “My [obsessive compulsive disorder] OCD would freak out thinking he was telling me the fire was [going to] blow or he could smell carbon dioxide.
The owner reassured: “If he hadn’t done this for years I would be stressed!”
In the end, this viral video is just another reminder that dogs always find their own ways to communicate—sometimes strange, sometimes hilarious, and usually pretty effective.
For Louie, the fireplace isn’t about warmth at all; it’s simply the quickest way to make sure dinner shows up on time.
Newsweek reached out to @tooter.uaua for comment via TikTok. We could not verify the details of the case.
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