The Bad Times Trend With Your Dog or Cat: How to Make the Pet Version

The BAD TIMES trend started with a person arguing with the camera, but pets are what made it a trend: dogs standing on their hind legs, raising their paws for "hold on" and lunging at the lens, beat for beat. Here's how to make that video with your own dog or cat from a single photo.

The husky take the pet version follows. Your pet keeps its own breed, fur and markings; only the moves and the camera come from this clip.

What is the Bad Times trend dog video?

The original TikTok, by the French creator @bouuhyachaka, shows her having an over-the-top argument with whoever is holding the phone, lip-syncing Imael Angel's "BAD TIMES". After it went viral, pets made it their own. In the dog version, a dog stands on its hind legs and runs the same routine: paws up for "hold on", pointing, lunging at the lens.

Our pet version is built on one of those clips: a husky in a TikTok by @gothikzoul that re-performs the original take beat for beat, on the original's timing. Upload a photo of your pet, and it takes the husky's place.

Why a separate pet version?

The original Bad Times template also accepts pet photos — but its motion comes from a person. The video follows a depth map of the reference take, and that map carries the performer's silhouette. On the original, your pet has to fill a person's outline.

The pet version's depth map comes from the husky, so it carries a dog's silhouette. Your pet keeps animal proportions instead of being stretched into a human shape. Its breed, fur colour, markings and eye colour come from your photo; only the moves, the camera and the timing come from the reference take.

That also means the pet version is for pets only. On a person the dog's motion looks odd, so for people, use the original Bad Times on the homepage.

Does it work with cats?

Yes. Dogs, cats and most other pets work, as long as the photo shows one animal with a clear face. Because the motion comes from a dog's take, very long-bodied or very small animals can look less natural.

How to make the Bad Times trend video with your dog or cat

1. Upload one pet photo. A clear photo of your dog, cat or other pet, face sharp and toward the camera, one animal per photo.
2. Pick the tier, length and quality. Budget and Balanced make 10 or 15 seconds; Premium makes up to the whole 30-second take, up to 1080p. Videos start at 4 credits.
3. Generate and share. Your pet's video is ready in a few minutes as a vertical MP4 with the song, ready for TikTok, Reels or Shorts.

Make your pet's Bad Times video →

The pet photo that works best

The video keeps your pet's face, fur and markings from the photo, so the photo matters most:

• Face clearly visible. Eyes and nose sharp and toward the camera. Side profiles and blurry action shots lose the likeness.
• Some body in frame. Head and chest, or the whole pet, so the video gets its fur, size and markings right.
• Good light. Daylight or a bright room. Dark photos turn black fur into a shapeless blur.
• One animal. One pet per photo. Two pets, or a person holding the pet, make it unclear who plays the part.

Your pet doesn't need to be standing in the photo. Any clear photo works; the video makes your pet stand and act out the moves. A photo that shows its body just helps the proportions. The background of the photo becomes the room, so a shot from your own living room puts the argument there. JPG, PNG or WebP under 20 MB all work. More detail in our photo guide.

Lengths and prices

You pick 10, 15, 20 or 30 seconds, always from the start of the take, in 9:16. Budget and Balanced go up to 15 seconds; Premium renders the whole 30.

• Cheapest: 4 credits for 10 seconds on Budget at 480p — a good way to test a photo.
• The default: 15 seconds on Balanced at 480p, 12 credits.
• The whole 30-second take on Premium: 35 credits at 480p, 79 at 720p and 140 at 1080p. Each account's first full 480p video costs 20 credits.

No account? Buy one video at checkout: $3.99 for 15 seconds on Balanced, $5.99 for the same 15 seconds in 720p, or $6.99 for the full 30 seconds on Premium. Credit packs start at $9.90 for 20 credits, with no subscription, and credits never expire. The studio shows the exact price before you generate. See the pricing page for every pack.

If your pet's photo isn't approved or a render fails, the credits come back to your balance automatically — or, for a single video, the payment is refunded. Details are in the refund policy.

Posting your pet's video

The song is already in the MP4, in time with the moves. When you post, TikTok or Instagram may match it to the official sound, and you can swap it in from the app. A few captions people use with pets:

• My cat when the food bowl is half empty
• My dog when I said "no walk today"
• My cat at 5 a.m. when I'm still asleep

Label the video as AI-generated, as the platforms ask, and add #BadTimes #BadTimesTrend.

Want to know more about where the trend came from? Read what the BAD TIMES trend is. Got a toddler who'd steal the show instead? There's a toddler version too.

Bad Times AI is an independent tool, not affiliated with Imael Angel, the song's label or the trend's original creators.