A man says he may have given his friend's dog "schizophrenia" by playing a game with a mirror, sparking discussion about the dangers of a seemingly harmless activity.
What did the mirror reflection do to the dog?
In a video with over 2.7 million views, TikToker Nick Norcia (@nick_norcia) issues a "warning for dog parents." He films a large white dog running in circles behind him.
"You see how it appears she's looking for something?" he asks. "This is where I come clean and talk about how I broke my roommate's dog."
He says he noticed the dog was interested in mirror reflections and decided to take a small handheld mirror into the backyard. He shows a clip of himself two years prior using the mirror to project a beam of light onto surfaces in the backyard as the dog runs to try to catch it.
"A lot of veterinarians specifically were like, 'Do not do this,"' he recounts. "They were like, 'This will literally give your dog a mental disorder.'"
He says that two years after playing the game, the dog still runs around aimlessly as if she is chasing a mirror reflection.
He suggests that it gave her a "touch of schizophrenia" and ADHD.
"She's always looking for something," he says. "This is your sign to not do that."
Did he actually give the dog a mental illness?
In the comments, viewers suggest the dog developed "laser pointer syndrome." According to experts at the American Kennel Club, the condition occurs when owners use reflections or lasers that their dogs can't catch to play with them. This can lead to behavioral issues, anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive behavior in dogs.
"Laser pointer syndrome. As someone else said, you literally changed her quality of life; she will literally be stressed the rest of her life trying to find something that she can’t catch," one writes.
"Laser pointer syndrome is real and can actually ruin your dog’s mental well-being. They’ll be frustrated and anxious," another says.
"Yeah. I’m a trainer. I’ve only worked with a handful with laser pointer syndrome. It is sad, but you don’t know what you don’t know. All the owners feel horrible after realizing what happened. Some dogs don’t get affected at all (I assume it has something to do with their drive). Some dogs even become aggressive over it," a third shares.
While Norcia clarifies in a follow-up video that he feels guilty for accidentally causing the condition in his roommate's dog, other dog owners assure him that "you don't know what you don't know."
"Give the guy a break, he didn’t know and now he does," a commenter says.
"Why are y'all acting in the comments as if he knew this would happen. Sadly, he made the mistake of doing it bc most ppl don’t know this can happen," another writes.
"This IS very sad, but he DIDN’T know. His making this video helps spread awareness. Obviously, he feels bad, he’s doing his part. Not everyone is perfect, I’m sure many of you judging him didn’t even know this until now," a third adds.
The Daily Dot reached out to Norcia for further comment.
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