Why dogs and cats are suddenly watching Sealook on Netflix

Viral clips show pets staring, pawing and listening as animated seals slide across the screen. The trend is real; the science offers clues, not proof that every pet has found a favourite programme.

Edited by Scoop · 5 minute read · 23 September 2026

The audience reviews are unusually direct. A dog walks up to the television. A cat plants itself in front of the screen. An animated seal squeaks, slides across an icy background and earns the sort of fixed attention many human dramas would quite like to borrow.

The programme is Sealook on Netflix, a short-form South Korean animation about a seal colony. Fresh Guardian reporting describes a wave of pet-reaction videos, including one Instagram clip of two goldendoodles that its owner said was nearing 10 million views.

That is strong evidence of a trend, not a controlled experiment. The useful question is narrower than “does Sealook work on pets?” It is why the show might catch some animals’ attention—and why another dog or cat may glance once, leave the room and decline to become content.

Sealook was made for people, not pets

Sealook first appeared in South Korea in 2022 and later reached Netflix. Its episodes are built from very short, largely wordless scenes: rounded seals move against simple snowy backgrounds, make high-pitched sounds and get into compact visual scrapes.

Netflix’s own feature, published on 18 September, acknowledges the growing stream of dogs and cats watching the series. The Guardian then interviewed owners, veterinary researchers and Leah Yeon of co-producer The Pinkfong Company. Yeon said the response from pets was unexpected; the production was not designed as animal television.

That distinction matters. A promotional description can identify the programme and its format. It cannot establish what a particular pet sees, hears or understands. Nor can a collection of popular clips tell us how many pets ignored the same scenes and were never filmed.

Movement and animal content are plausible clues

There is research behind the idea that some dogs attend to screens. A 2024 study in Applied Animal Behaviour Science surveyed owners about 1,246 dogs and included video-viewing tests for a smaller group. Owners commonly reported that movement drew their dogs’ attention, while animal content—especially other dogs—was the strongest subject category.

That gives Sealook a plausible starting advantage. Its characters move like animals, the backgrounds are visually spare and actions happen in brief bursts. The programme also uses squeaks and other prominent sounds. In the Guardian report, companion-animal behaviour specialist Dr Emily Blackwell suggested those noises may resemble prey sounds or familiar squeaky toys.

Plausible is the important word. The 2024 research examined owner-reported screen behaviour in dogs; it did not test Sealook, did not establish a formula for pet television and does not show that an attentive animal understands the plot. The current viral clips include cats as well as dogs, but the cited dog study cannot simply be stretched into a feline result.

A viral pet clip leaves most of the room outside the frame

The Guardian tested the trend with Ozzy, a four-month-old goldendoodle. His interest changed during the viewing and increased when sound returned, but he soon moved on. That modest result is as useful as the more spectacular clips: pet attention varies, and it may last seconds rather than an episode.

Social video also selects for the striking moment. A cat pawing at a cartoon seal is more likely to be posted, shared and recommended than a cat sleeping through it. Repetition across feeds shows that many owners are trying the same programme and that some pets react visibly. It does not produce a response rate for the wider pet population.

The 2024 dog survey has similar boundaries. Owners volunteered observations, and the authors note that owner-reported behaviour can be subjective. Sporting and herding dogs appeared more likely to interact with screens, while older dogs were reported to engage less often, but those associations do not predict an individual animal’s response.

How to try it without turning the television into a target

If an owner wants to see whether a pet notices Sealook, the fairest test is brief and optional. Start at an ordinary volume, keep the animal free to walk away and watch its whole response rather than only the photogenic paw on the screen.

An interested dog may approach, track movement, look around the television or react to sound; those behaviours also appeared in the published survey. If a pet repeatedly lunges at the screen, becomes agitated, cannot settle or seems frightened, stop the viewing instead of extending it for a better clip. Secure the television and keep enough distance to prevent an excited animal from knocking it or being hurt.

Screen time should not be sold as a replacement for exercise, play, scent exploration, rest or contact with people and animals appropriate to the pet. The research establishes attention to video content, not a universal enrichment benefit. A quiet animal staring at a screen is not automatically relaxed, and a pet that walks away has not failed the test.

The best explanation is interestingly incomplete

Sealook combines several features that research and expert commentary suggest can attract some pets: animal-like movement, uncluttered scenes, contrast, short actions and prominent squeaks. Its viral moment also feeds itself. Owners see reaction videos, try the programme at home and post the most convincing responses.

What remains unknown is equally clear. There is no published Sealook trial measuring how dogs or cats respond across a representative sample. Viral view counts belong to videos made by people, not to the animals watching the programme. And attention alone cannot tell us whether a pet recognises a seal, expects a squeaky toy or is simply investigating a surprising sound.

So the trend survives its fact-check, but in a smaller and more interesting form. Some dogs and cats really do appear transfixed by Sealook. Science can explain why the moving, noisy animals might catch their attention. It cannot promise that the next viewer on the sofa will give it five paws.

Sources and update record

Published 23 September 2026. The Guardian’s original report, Netflix’s Sealook feature and the 2024 companion-dog screen study were checked shortly after midday BST. Viral-view figures and named expert comments are attributed to the Guardian; Netflix supports the programme history and format; the peer-reviewed study supports only the bounded findings about dogs and screen attention. The illustration is conceptual and does not reproduce Sealook characters or depict a real pet-reaction video.