History Main / KickTheDOg

** In {{Threatre/Me And My Dick}}, instead of comforting Joey after his failed proposal, Joey's Heart calls him fat and ugly.

A sign that EvilIsPetty. Compare with CantGetAwayWithNuthin, AndYourLittleDogToo, KickThemWhileTheyAreDown, TheDogBitesBack, ThrewMyBikeOnTheRoof, IWillPunishYourFriendForYourFailure. See "IfYoureSoEvilEatThisKitten" for when bad guys do a Kick The Dog test to make sure undercover heroes are really evil.

* The famous ''Franchise/NationalLampoon'' cover with the headline "If You Don't Buy This Magazine, We'll Kill This Dog" and a photo of a dog with a gun held to its head. There's a reason that cover was chosen as the page image for AndYourLittleDogToo.

->''"In the old days villains had moustaches and kicked the dog. Audiences are smarter today. They don't want their villain to be thrown at them with green limelight on his face. They want an ordinary human being with failings."''

* The famous ''Franchise/NationalLampoon'' cover with the headline "If You Don't Buy This Magazine, We'll Kill This Dog" and a photo of a dog with a gun held to its head.

* {{Team Starkid}} examples:

* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': If she thinks she can get away with it, Cinder Fall won't hesitate to twist the knife a little more. In Volume 5 "The More The Merrier", Jaune and Cinder get into a fight. When Jaune ''barely grazes'' Cinder's face, Cinder undergoes a near VillainousBreakdown at some random (in her eyes) kid getting a lucky hit and, to mock his DeclarationOfProtection, retaliates by lobbing a spear through Weiss, who had already been beaten down in another fight.

* The famous ''NationalLampoon'' cover with the headline "If You Don't Buy This Magazine, We'll Kill This Dog" and a photo of a dog with a gun held to its head.

A sign that EvilIsPetty; not uncommon with the ChaoticEvil. Compare with CantGetAwayWithNuthin, AndYourLittleDogToo, KickThemWhileTheyAreDown, TheDogBitesBack, ThrewMyBikeOnTheRoof, IWillPunishYourFriendForYourFailure. See "IfYoureSoEvilEatThisKitten" for when bad guys do a Kick The Dog test to make sure undercover heroes are really evil.

A sign that EvilIsPetty. Compare with CantGetAwayWithNuthin, AndYourLittleDogToo, KickThemWhileTheyAreDown, TheDogBitesBack, ThrewMyBikeOnTheRoof, IWillPunishYourFriendForYourFailure. See "IfYoureSoEvilEatThisKitten" for when bad guys do a Kick The Dog test to make sure undercover heroes are really evil.

What separates this trope from a character's other evil or cruel acts is that this bit of evil is gratuitous. It doesn't net the character anything or even advance the plot. The sole reason for this [[NarrativeBeats story beat]] existing is to place one or more characters squarely on the wrong side of the RuleOfEmpathy.

* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}: If she thinks she can get away with it, Cinder Fall won't hesitate to twist the knife a little more. In Volume 5 "The More The Merrier", Jaune and Cinder get into a fight. When Jaune ''barely grazes'' Cinder's face, Cinder undergoes a near VillainousBreakdown at some random (in her eyes) kid getting a lucky hit and, to mock his DeclarationOfProtection, retaliates by lobbing a spear through Weiss, who had already been beaten down in another fight.

** In "{{A Very Potter Sequel}}", Umbridge is telling Harry that [[spoiler: Sirius]] is going to be sentenced to the Dementor's Kiss, which kills the victim in Starkid's interpretation. She then happily says "and maybe he can say hi to your parents!"

* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'':
** Pretty much everything [[TheBully Cardin]] says or does. Special mention needs to go to his [[FantasticRacism racism against Faunus]]: in one scene, he's shown tugging on [[CuteMonsterGirl Velvet's]] rabbit ears and laughing at her before turning to his goons and saying "told ya they were real, what a freak". In a later scene in history class, he tries to explain Faunus military victories against humanity with "it's easier to train an animal than a human" - with poor Velvet [[spoiler:and Team RWBY's [[TheSmartGuy Blake Belladonna]]]] being present, too.
** Roman partakes in a bit of this when he kicks around an unarmed and very clearly helpless Ruby, pretty much for the sheer lulz.
** Yang's mother, Raven Branwen, partakes in this when she leaves a message for Yang -- notably, through Qrow and not told to Yang herself -- that [[spoiler:saving her life from Neopolitan was a one-off "kindness" that Yang shouldn't expect again. If Yang gets in that kind of nasty situation again, she's on her own.]]
** It comes across that [[spoiler:Mercury]] let Ruby get out into the stands area just in time to see [[spoiler:Penny be killed]]. That smile he has as she drops to her knees in tears.
** {{Subverted|Trope}} at one point by Taiyang, who gets into a heated argument with Yang about how mature she is and makes a joke about how she "must've lost some braincells [[AnArmAndALeg along with that arm]]". Yang (and Oobleck and Port) jump back in a moment of mortified shock... but then [[VitriolicBestBuds Yang thumps her dad in the shoulder and they laugh together]].

If what is supposed to be a character's Kick The Dog moment is excessively horrible, cruel, or otherwise despicable enough to make an audience lose all sympathy for him, then he's crossed the MoralEventHorizon, if he's not on the other side of it already. If the Dog in question is someone the character cares about and discovers BeingEvilSucks, then they've [[KickTheMoralityPet Kicked the Morality Pet]] and ''might'' be in time to avoid a FaceHeelTurn. If the dog belonged to a minion, expect it to help cause a MookFaceTurn because EvenMooksHaveLovedOnes. On occasions, if karma works in the dog's favor, [[TheDogBitesBack he'll manage to get a last laugh]]. On even rarer occasions, after being pushed around too many times, the dog may decide to [[TheStarscream plan against the Big Bad for his own ambitions]], because BeingTorturedMakesYouEvil. When the dog-kicking is done in a way that (usually inadvertently) increases sympathy for the villain, it becomes StrawmanHasAPoint. If the character ''appears'' to be likable or sympathetic when introduced and the dog-kicking proves that he is actually evil, that is BaitTheDog.

** Roman partakes in a bit of this when he [[WouldHurtAChild kicks around an unarmed and very clearly helpless Ruby]], pretty much for the sheer lulz.

[[quoteright:250:[[Franchise/GIJoe http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cobra-commander-kicks-a-puppy.jpg]]]]

!!Examples:

* KickTheDog/AnimatedFilm

* KickTheDog/{{Film}}

* KickTheDog/{{Other}}
* KickTheDog/ProfessionalWrestling
* KickTheDog/RolePlay

* KickTheDog/FanFic

What separates this trope from a character's other evil or cruel acts is that this bit of evil is gratuitous. It doesn't net the character anything or even advance the plot. The sole reason for this story beat existing is to place one or more characters squarely on the wrong side of the RuleOfEmpathy.

What separates this trope from a character's other evil or cruel acts is that this bit of evil is gratuitous. It doesn't net the character anything or even advance the plot. The sole reason for this story beat existing is to place Bob squarely on the wrong side of the RuleOfEmpathy.

Why this trope works could be expressed in the words of William Cowper: “I would not enter on my list of friends (though graced with polished manners and fine sense, yet wanting sensibility) the man who needlessly sets foot upon a worm.” In other words, a cruel act, no matter how trivial, establishes someone as a cruel person. Conversely, the creator may show Bob [[PetTheDog being kind for no apparent gain]], to demonstrate that Bob is a nice person and someone the audience is meant to cheer for. Both devices are used to help the audience become emotionally invested in the story.

What separates this trope from Bob's other evil or cruel acts is that this bit of evil is gratuitous. It doesn't net Bob anything or even advance the plot. The sole reason for this story beat existing is to place Bob squarely on the wrong side of the RuleOfEmpathy.

If the evil act ''is'' directed toward an animal, however, a dog is usually the victim of choice, partly out of connotations of blind loyalty, partly from tradition. Arguably, however, substituting a cat can be even ''more'' shocking. After all, [[RightHandCat even bad guys like cats]]. So, the argument goes, if Bob goes out of his way to harm one, he must ''really'' be a bastard.

Needless to say, this trope can be enacted without harming any dogs. Any act or statement that shows the character's [[{{Jerkass}} meanness]] will do, such as a boss demanding an employee come in to work during Christmas when the employee's kid is [[LittlestCancerPatient in the hospital]], or a passer-by stealing from a blind beggar's coin dish, or TheDragon inflicting a vicious NoHoldsBarredBeatdown on the hero or one of his TrueCompanions or {{Protectorate}}. A PoliticallyIncorrectVillain can kick the dog by showing gratuitous racism, sexism, homophobia, or some combination of such non-PC traits. If the event happened off screen in the past, just have Bob [[ReminiscingAboutYourVictims fondly recall the incident]] and make it clear that he has no remorse whatsoever. Bingo, mission accomplished.

If what is supposed to be a character's Kick The Dog moment is excessively horrible, cruel, or otherwise despicable enough to make an audience lose all sympathy for him, then he's crossed the MoralEventHorizon, if he's not on the other side of it already. If the Dog in question is someone the character cares about and discovers BeingEvilSucks, then they've KickTheMoralityPet and ''might'' be in time to avoid a FaceHeelTurn. If the dog belonged to a minion, expect it to help cause a MookFaceTurn because EvenMooksHaveLovedOnes. On occasions, if karma works in the dog's favor, [[TheDogBitesBack he'll manage to get a last laugh]]. On even rarer occasions, after being pushed around too many times, the dog may decide to [[TheStarscream plan against the Big Bad for his own ambitions]], because BeingTorturedMakesYouEvil. When the dog-kicking is done in a way that (usually inadvertently) increases sympathy for the villain, it becomes StrawmanHasAPoint. If the character ''appears'' to be likable or sympathetic when introduced and the dog-kicking proves that he is actually evil, that is BaitTheDog.

Kicking the Dog is also done for no practical reason (apart from demonstrating the dark side of the kicker); if the perpetrator does it because they care about their victim and want to help them somehow, they're being CruelToBeKind; if their actions have a broader purpose à la [[IDidWhatIHadToDo doing what had to be done]], they're trying to ShootTheDog ([[MercyKill that's what you do when Old Yeller has rabies, after all]]).

-->--'''Creator/AlfredHitchcock'''