Dog Rings Front Doorbell in Middle of the Night in Bizarre Viral Video

Footage of a dog who was seen ringing a homeowner's doorbell in the middle of the night has left people across the internet scratching their heads.

It's the stuff of nightmares: you're tucked up in bed, drifting off to sleep, when the doorbell rings. It's an unfortunate fact of life but late night visitors rarely bring good news.

Maybe it's the police. Perhaps it's something more sinister. But one thing it's unlikely to be is a visit from a four-legged friend.

Well, unlikely, but not impossible as a strange video shared to TikTok by catanddogstory demonstrates.

In the clip, which appears to have been filmed on a doorbell camera, an unnamed canine can be seen pressing the doorbell with their snout.

The doorbell chimes with the dog shown taking a step back either in surprise or with an expectation that the door is about to open.

Looking around, it then returns to the doorbell though this time rather than press it again, the canine appears eager to claim it for itself as a chew toy.

Uploaded a week ago, the video has been doing the rounds on TikTok where it has quickly amassed over 23 million views. It can be watched here.

As baffling an animal video as you are likely to find, the video poses more questions than it answers. Like how did the dog end up outside that house in the middle of the night? Do they live there? Is this a common occurrence that usually ends with the canine inside the house?

Perhaps, unsurprisingly, dog lovers commenting on the clip were similarly perplexed by what was going on and instead sought to offer up a variety of theories.

One of the most compelling came from kaceydickman who wrote that the pet pooch "could be a service dog trained to ring a doorbell in case of an Emergency." Thatbitxhsuzy wasn't convinced, noting the canine "was pretty shocked by the sound" of the bell.

Some found the footage slightly unsettling to watch. "Am I the only one that was kinda creeped out by this?" Savannah Doreen asked. Lostnstarz was similarly perturbed, commenting: "What became of this little soul?"

Others like SammyJ815 could see why the homeowners might be wary of opening the door. "I wouldn't have answered the door," they said. "If it was the daytime probably but not in the middle of the night."

Some imaginations were going into overdrive. "If a serial killer taught a dog how to do this it would be game over," beadeerz, a TikTok user who should probably lay off the horror movies for a while, commented.

Newsweek has contacted catanddogstory for comment.

According to the American Kennel Club, dog owners are increasingly turning to tools like bells to better communicate with their dog and explain things like when they need to go outside.

"Many dogs will naturally begin going to the door, in some cases also barking, when they need to go out," they explain. "But introducing a bell or button can help your dog clearly tell you what they need and want. This skill is useful for dogs of all ages, and can be particularly helpful while potty training."

This isn't the first time a dog's strange behavior has been caught on a security camera. One canine was recently busted stealing a package from a neighbor's doorstep while, prior to that, a pet pooch was filmed somehow driving a golf cart into a parked car.