Raccoons aren’t supposed to be house pets, right? Right?! TikTok user @itsmamariles has us questioning that now, as she recently posted a 79-second TikTok featuring her pet raccoon that really seems to think he’s a dog. The TikTok video has the caption, “Raccoons are for sure not house pets, but I like to live life on the edge, OK.”
The video starts with a caption reading, “Life with a free-range pet raccoon that thinks he’s a dog.” The first clip shows the raccoon’s human parent with the raccoon in her lap, saying, “You’re going to say, Hi,” while trying to get the raccoon to wave. Then it quickly switches to a clip of the raccoon again in the TikTok creator’s lap, saying, “You be sweet boy.” The raccoon gets up as the human parent repeats herself, “You be sweet boy,” before the raccoon chases her off the couch.
The Pet Raccoon That Thinks and Acts Like a Dog
Then there are multiple clips of the raccoon trying to jump into her arms, but the TikTok creator repeatedly tosses the raccoon (safely) back onto the couch like a game. Next, the video shows the raccoon lifting himself onto the back of the couch to look over it, as if he’s keeping watch. It looks exactly like a small dog standing up, looking over a sofa to keep watch. “This is my pet raccoon that guards my front door,” the TikTok creator says.
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The raccoon then seems to hear something and gets a bit more apprehensive before going to his human parent for some reassurance. “What is that?” she whispers. “He freaks out and has to watch the front door,” she continues, as the raccoon then starts playing with her hand. “And he literally thinks he’s going to protect the house or something,” she says. “I don’t know. But then if anyone walks in the front door, he runs underneath the couch.”
That’s the way the video concludes. The pet raccoon goes from playing with his human parent to keeping watch on the front door to snuggling next to her and getting some pets. We have to admit that it is all very dog-like.
Related: Feisty Raccoons Have a Splashing Good Bath Time, Just Like a Couple of Little Human Kids
This story was originally published by PetHelpful on Dec 4, 2025, where it first appeared in the Pet News section. Add PetHelpful as a Preferred Source by clicking here.