People Are Obsessed With Pet ASMR Videos—But Are They Safe?

Do you love pets? Do you love ASMR? Then chances are, you also love pet ASMR — a genre that took off on social media a few years ago and seems to be enjoying a bit of a resurgence. 

There are two main types of pet ASMR videos: chewing videos and spa videos. Both feature adorable dogs (and occasionally cats) either munching on crunchy foods — watermelon, cauliflower, bell peppers, or even just bits of kibble —  or blissfully receiving full-body spa treatments including nail trims, massages, sheet mask facials, and moisturizing balm applications to their paw pads and snouts. 

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You watch these videos with the sound on, letting the combination of cute, permissive pets and enhanced audio induce a gentle tingling sensation. It’s all very innocent. 

Or is it?

Yes. Yes, it is. Don’t worry. We’re not here to yuck your yum about pet ASMR or tell you that there is some dark secret lurking behind these videos. They are just good, clean fun. But that doesn’t mean we don’t have many, many questions about them.

Why do people like these videos so much?

ASMR stands for “autonomous sensory meridian response.” It’s a physical response some (but not all) people have to certain gentle stimuli, like soft whispering or rhythmic tapping, a gentle scalp massage, or even a particularly pleasant image. ASMR videos are designed to relax viewers and can even help you fall asleep. 

“I love watching them when I’m in bed,” says Frank Pacheco, a tech professional working in New York City. “They are just so soothing. The dogs’ tiny movements and the adorable little sounds of contentment they make trigger a very calming emotion in me. It’s like watching them relax helps me relax.”

Pacheco’s favorites are the spa-treatment videos, but watching dogs calmly eat their vegetables is soothing, too. “I can’t really explain it,” he says, “but watching a dog eat a cucumber or a piece of watermelon puts the stress of my daily life into a new perspective. And their calm energy, the sound of their breathing, it’s mesmerizing.” 

“I prefer the cat videos,” litigator Amanda Devereaux says. “They are not as common as the dog videos, but I’m a cat person, so I save the ones I like and just watch them over and over. There’s also something really indulgent about watching a video of a cat purring while I’m laying down with my own cats and hearing them purr beside me at the same time. Sometimes they even sync up. That’s really nice.”

She adds: “There’s also this video of a cat crunching on kibble. Her nose scrunches up in this super cute way and I swear I can actually feel it. It’s great.”

Why are older pet ASMR videos popping up in people’s feeds again?

The height of the pet ASMR trend came in the post-COVID years — around 2022 and 2023 — when many people were still spending a ton of time at home, working from home, chilling with their pets. It was a simpler time. Certainly a less politically volatile time. Maybe that’s why videos from back then seem to be making the rounds again. After all, there is nothing the internet loves more than nostalgia. Even if it is nostalgia for the very recent past.

“At this point, everything I watch is old,” says Sarah, a management consultant in Washington, D.C. who prefers to be identified by her first name only. “The world is just too crazy and messed up right now. Every day is a new crisis. A new horror. I hate scrolling on social media. It just stresses me out and makes me sad. At this point, I only stop for things I recognize. Most nights, I just watch Sex and the City or Friends on HBO Max and flip through my saved posts on IG. New things are too risky. I just want stuff I know I will like that won’t traumatize me.”

Sarah has two dogs of her own and takes tremendous pleasure in watching and listening to them sleep. “Sometimes, at night, I just listen to them breathe,” she says. “They have the cutest little snores. Sometimes, I wake up so stressed out about the world and my job, and it’s like the only way to get back to sleep is to focus on their breathing. And if that doesn’t work, I have a handful of pet ASMR videos that I’ll sometimes watch as well. Although I am trying to spend less time staring at my phone.”

How do pets feel about making this kind of content?

If you’re worried that the animals in these videos are being mistreated in some way, you probably don’t need to be. “From what I can tell, the dogs in these videos seem perfectly content,” says Jessica Jacobson, trainer and dog behavior expert at Dapper Dog Training. “It looks like they are used to this kind of treatment. It appears to be part of an established routine, taking place in a familiar environment. They are just calmly enjoying being groomed or eating whatever it is their human is feeding them.”

“I imagine the pets in these videos really just enjoy getting so much attention,” says veterinarian, Dr. Randall Cannon. “If they like it, I see nothing wrong with it.”

Is this something you should be doing with your own pets?

If watching these videos makes you want to try feeding your dog vegetables or giving your cat a spa day, go for it. Just be sure to avoid foods that are bad for them, including onions, garlic, grapes, avocados, and tomatoes. But if your pet enjoys crunching on cucumbers, green beans, carrots, or the occasional slice of watermelon, that’s fine. As long as you’re maintaining a balanced, species-appropriate diet with enough high-quality protein and essential nutrients, a few snacky vegetables here and there won’t hurt. 

As for spa days? Well, the payoff may vary.

Jacobson and Cannon both suspect that most pets wouldn’t enjoy spa treatments nearly as much as the animals in these videos appear to. “Most dogs don’t love getting their nails trimmed and would never just lay there calmly while you covered their face with a sheet mask and put cucumber slices on their eyes,” Jacobson says.

“I suspect the humans making these videos ultimately get more out of these spa days than the animals do,” Cannon adds. “The humans are doing to the dogs what they would like someone to do to them. It’s fine, if the dog enjoys it, but I doubt most dogs would.”

If you really want to pamper your pet in a way they’ll appreciate, Dr. Cannon has a suggestion: “Take them to the park, and give them ample opportunity to explore and play. That’s the kind of thing dogs actually enjoy. Moisturizing their feet is probably unnecessary.”