Heard that foreigners have completely lost their minds.
Earth Online's overseas server has updated its DLC, allowing dogs mistakenly born as humans to revert to their basic skills.
In videos circulating on the internet recently, you might see scenes like this: foreigners with avant-garde mental states choosing to become dogs. Although their bodies remain human, their psychology and movements are exactly like those of dogs. Not only that, they have their "owners" lead them on leashes, wear accessories symbolizing dogs, and crawl around on the streets... because they have developed a "canine self-identity."
The concept of self-identity can be roughly understood as "an individual's cognition of self, gradually formed and developed through long-term interaction with others in a certain social environment." Nowadays, more and more people no longer pursue unity across physiological, psychological, and social aspects—for example, I might feel my gender is an attack helicopter, and no one can tell me otherwise. Unfortunately, even though I've long been an attack helicopter, I still haven't planned to learn the Lightning Whirlwind Slash. However, those foreigners labeled as "following the canine self-identity trend" are different; they seem to genuinely be acting like dogs.
It is said that they possess canine souls trapped in unfortunate human bodies. They dream of becoming dogs and long to live like them—which is precisely why they wear specialized Dog.exe costumes and engage in various Dog.exe-like social activities in public.
According to foreign media, about 1,000 humans who self-identify as dogs held a street protest outside Potsdamer Platz station in Berlin, Germany, in 2023, demanding support for "cross-species rights." Yes, although this bizarre news only recently went viral on the Chinese internet, it had been discussed on the foreign internet years ago. In the original video, barking was incessant; closing your eyes, you would never believe these creatures were human.
At the time, many foreign netizens suggested calling animal control immediately, noting that expired rabies vaccines could be used in bulk; others claimed carpet bombing could easily solve the problem. Regardless, most netizens held conservative views on this behavior, finding it incomprehensible—perhaps this is what the Mayans saw when they predicted the end of the world.
Recently, this old news began spreading widely on the Chinese internet. Many of the screenshots cited above come from popular videos in recent days. Meanwhile, numerous marketing accounts solemnly explained the situation, analyzing the participants' psychology clearly: "We Europeans are actually descendants of dogs; we must identify with Dog.exe culture, so we crawl on the ground..."
Such discussions certainly have reason to exist—after all, both Chinese and foreign netizens were stunned by these shocking images. In broad daylight, how could such pseudo-humans—or pseudo-dogs, since even dogs would want to chew them up—become so prevalent and spark a massive "canine self-identity trend"?
In reality, the truth is not as outrageous as rumored. The so-called "canine self-identity trend" is actually a phenomenon of exaggeration and misunderstanding.
But don't get too excited. Although it sounds like a plot twist, it's not entirely one. Even without exaggeration or misunderstanding, the truth behind the original video and the activity itself still appears somewhat bizarre to the average person. What looks like traditional private kink between two people is, in fact, exactly that kind of kink.
To be precise, what they are doing is a form of role-play, known as "Puppy Play." In other words, they don't "believe they are dogs"; they "role-play as dogs." In this so-called "game," participants take on two roles: handlers and pups.
In this dynamic, the handler, being human, is responsible for caring for one or more pups. The pups wear special masks or props and mimic puppy behaviors—such as obedience, playing with bones, and roughhousing—to let go of the "human world," focus on the present moment, and enjoy the fun of being a puppy.
They objectify themselves, claiming this helps them break free from世俗 constraints; they shed the complex social responsibilities of being "adult humans" and need only be happy and obedient like puppies. This activity has a long history, and numerous similar videos can be found on video platforms.
Of course, the explicitness on camera wasn't actually that shocking; most of it was simply role-play. Perhaps their mental states are so avant-garde that things imaginable to ordinary people seem trivial by comparison.
But if we're just talking about this specific play, it's at most a form of public exposure kink. So where did the thousand-person gathering mentioned at the beginning come from? In reality, the chaotic scenes you saw mostly originated from "Folsom Europe," the largest street festival in Europe themed around leather and fetishism. Held annually in Berlin since 2004, its origins can be traced back to Folsom Street Fair in San Francisco, which started in 1984.
This activity, which has considerable historical roots, is certainly not what's called "canine self-identity." It is merely a type of play conducted under specific times and rules, mostly confined to niche communities. Only as their numbers grew and more images surfaced did it attract public interest and misinterpretation.
In 2023, rumors circulated online claiming, "Germans dressed as dogs to protest for cross-species rights." This rumor was even reported by media outlets like The New York Times and the Daily Mail, showing a lack of rigorous fact-checking. However, someone soon traced the source and debunked it: this was an exaggerated interpretation conflating transgender issues with animals. Moreover, there is currently no large-scale "cross-species" movement of this magnitude.
What people saw was one of the key components of this event, the "Puppy Play" mentioned earlier. Participants collectively dressed as dogs, creating the bizarre spectacle we see today. Due to its shocking nature, combined with the possibility that some extreme groups might actually do similar things, foreign netizens spread this amusing rumor—as for the truth, few cared.
Now, this bizarre spectacle has re-entered China, reposted by many marketing accounts without verification. They mix various sources of information—including "Puppy Play" from "Folsom Europe" and other different "Puppy Play" activities—exaggerating niche fetishes into some kind of trend.
This led many domestic netizens to transform into conservatives, lamenting that "foreigners have completely lost their minds." As for the truth, not many people actually care.
Only after verification will you discover that this phenomenon has existed for a long time. Although the truth is as bizarre as the rumors, a bizarre truth is better than even more bizarre rumors—they didn't just decide to become dogs recently; they've wanted to for a long time. They aren't crazy; they are consciously engaging in role-play. Aside from the clickbait titles, there's nothing new here; it's all just an interpretation of a niche community that attracts attention through novelty.
For people in these niche circles, perhaps they only truly become human when they choose to become dogs; perhaps only then can they obtain the purest pleasure. As for how to view them? I can only say: do not participate, do not endorse, but do not demonize either—as long as they stay within their own circles and don't affect others.
Looking at it this way, sometimes those who create the memes best capture the essence of the matter: This is just BDSM—Master, I understand now. It's truly a case of seeing the mountain as a mountain, then not as a mountain, and finally as a mountain again.
