History Main / KickTheDOg

!!Examples Subpages:

!!Examples:

** The Fable 3 trailer ends with a chicken getting shot after trying to escape from a slaughterhouse.
** The trailer for the Fable reboot begins with a beautiful fairy exploring a forest and ends with her getting eaten by a frog.

For bad people who ''literally'' kick dogs, see BadPeopleAbuseAnimals. For the RealLife phenomenon called [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kick_the_cat "Kick the Cat"]] or "Kick the Dog", you'll be wanting ChainOfHarm.

For bad people who ''literally'' kick dogs, see BadPeopleAbuseAnimals.

* KickTheDog/WebComics

* ''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 been beaten by Vernal to the point of total aura depletion and was clearly helpless. Weiss looks down at the spear jutting out of her body, gasping in pain and fear in a twisted repeat of how Pyrrha died, before she collapses and Jaune rushes to her. [[spoiler:Thanks to Jaune's Semblance, which was awakened in no small part by this very act of cruelty, Weiss gets better.]]

[[quoteright:250:[[ComicBook/GIJoeDevilsDue https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cobra-commander-kicks-a-puppy.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:250:Would-be [[TakeOverTheWorld Dictator]]. Murderer. Kidnapper. Terrorist. [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking Puppy punter]].]]

In cartoons, [[AssholeVictim someone who does this]] can be [[KarmicProtection legally]] [[ThisMeansWar harassed]] by WesternAnimation/BugsBunny, Daffy Duck, or [[WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}} the Warner Brothers and their sister Dot]]. The ScrewySquirrel, however, won't wait that long.

'''WARNING!''' Enacting this trope, particularly in the presence of a heroic character, may result in the following: BerserkButton, RoaringRampageOfRevenge, CurbStompBattle, the aforementioned LaserGuidedKarma etc. Do not attempt this trope unless you're feeling suicidal.

This trope is often used to counter or prevent a character from being seen by the audience as a DesignatedVillain or StrawmanHasAPoint. These tropes tend to occur when poor writing or characterization causes a character to become more [[UnintentionallySympathetic sympathetic to the viewers than intended.]] Since the writers can't just give these villains their just desserts if the audience likes them too much or [[RootingFortheEmpire prefers to take their side on an issue]], an effective Kick the Dog moment can make them lose their sympathy and make them punishable again. This can [[TropesAreTools backfire though.]]

When a character does something evil for no apparent gain, because the author wants to demonstrate that he's not a nice guy and shift audience sympathy away from him.

->''"In the old days villains had moustaches and [[TropeNamers 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."''

* ''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 been beaten by Vernal to the point of total aura depletion and was clearly helpless. Weiss looks down at the spear jutting out of her body, gasping in pain and fear in a twisted repeat of how Pyrrha died, before she collapses and Jaune rushes to her. [[spoiler:Thanks to Jaune's Semblance, she gets better.]]

'''WARNING!''' Enacting this trope will result in the following: BerserkButton,RoaringRampageOfRevenge, CurbStompBattle, the afformentioned LaserGuidedKarma etc. Do not attempt this trope unless you're feeling suicidal.

'''WARNING!''' Enacting this trope will result the following: BerserkButton,RoaringRampageOfRevenge, CurbStompBattle, etc. Do not attempt this trope unless you're feeling suicidal.

[[folder:Theater]]

* Again in ''Theatre/{{MacBeth}}'': one of the witches [[RippedFromTheHeadlines has a ship tempest-tossed "sennights nine times nine"]] simply because the captain's wife told her to fuck off.

Of course, the crux of this trope isn't just the cruel act; it's also about the innocence of the victim, ie they have done nothing to warrant their abuse. If the target is an AssholeVictim instead, the cruel act can become a sympathetic one for the villan/anti-hero instead. If going after the [[AcceptableTargets Acceptable Target]] is a coincidence, it becomes KickTheSonOfABitch; if the victim was [[EvenEvilHasStandards specifically targeted]] for their assholery, it becomes PayEvilUntoEvil.

* In ''{{Theatre/Trifles}}'', this is the reason as to why John Wright was murdered. Being the abusive spouse that he was, he took that up a notch when he kill his wife, Minnie's, canary, taking away her last bit of joy in her life while married to him.

** In Threatre/MeAndMyDick, instead of comforting Joey after his failed proposal, Joey's Heart calls him fat and ugly.

* In ''{{Theatre/Trifles}}'', this is the reason as to why John Wright was murdered. Being the abusive spouse that he was, he took that up a notch when he kill his wife, Minnie's, canary, taking away her last bit of joy in her life while married to him.