History Main / TheDogIsAnAlien

* Stitch from ''Disney/LiloAndStitch'' pretends to be a dog despite looking more like a blue koala (even when he [[RetractableAppendages hides away]] the [[MultiArmedAndDangerous second set of arms]] and antenna). According to the tie-in comics, however, it explains that one donor of his genetic composition was from an Earth puppy, so he was intentionally created to resemble one regardless. It's not very effective. The universal reaction on seeing him is "You're sure it's a dog?" Basically, he only passes because no-one can come up with any alternatives (and RuleOfFunny).

* Stitch from ''Disney/LiloAndStitch'' pretends to be a dog despite looking more like a blue koala. According to the tie-in comics, however, it explains that one donor of his genetic composition was from an Earth puppy, so he was intentionally created to resemble one regardless. It's not very effective. The universal reaction on seeing him is "You're sure it's a dog?" Basically, he only passes because no-one can come up with any alternatives (and RuleOfFunny).

Compare AlienAnimals.

!!Examples

[[folder: Advertising ]]

* A Budweiser commercial opens with a dog coming out of a house. It runs to the middle of nowhere and gets taken on board an alien ship. The ship takes the dog to the alien leader's quarters on another planet, where the dog presses a button on its collar and reveals that it is actually an alien in disguise.
** What did he learn on Earth? "WAZZAAAAAP!"

[[folder: Comics ]]

* In ''ComicBook/TheIncredibleHercules'', we find out that [[spoiler:Kirby, the coyote pup that Amadeus Cho had adopted, had been long-replaced by a [[{{Shapeshifter}} Skrull]] imposter. While the real coyote was safe and unharmed, the Skrull!coyote had accompanied Cho for the better part of a year before TheReveal.]]
* ComicBook/KryptoTheSuperdog
* ''Comicbook/{{Runaways}}: "My dog's a [mystically cloaked] genetically engineered psychic dinosaur from the 87th century."''

[[folder: Films -- Animated ]]

* Stitch from ''Disney/LiloAndStitch'' pretends to be a dog despite looking more like a blue koala. According to the tie-in comics, however, it explains that one donor of his genetic composition was from an Earth puppy, so he was intentionally created to resemble one regardless.
** It's not very effective. The universal reaction on seeing him is 'You're sure it's a dog?' Basically, he only passes because no-one can come up with any alternatives (and RuleOfFunny).

[[folder: Films -- Live-Action ]]

* The Creator/DisneyChannel Original Movie ''Can Of Worms'', has the protagonist new sidekick be an alien talking dog.
* Frank the Pug from ''Film/MenInBlack''. The AnimatedSeries revealed that under his dog suit he looks like a green dog. Also he is apparently prone to dog like behavior and it's not part of the disguise.

[[folder: Literature ]]

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

* Series/{{ALF}} did this from time to time, with varying degrees of success. For instance, on one occaision, he was seen by a hobo who thought he was a kangaroo... and promptly leapt off the train they were riding.

[[folder: Video Games ]]

[[folder: Web Comics ]]

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

* ''{{WesternAnimation/Futurama}}'''s Nibbler is a bit of an odd example as everyone knows he's an alien. What they don't know is that he's a member of an incredibly advanced alien race. And he can talk.

* KryptoTheSuperdog

** The [[PuppeteerParasite Yeerks]] once tried to infiltrate "[[Area51 Zone 91]]" by infesting wild horses, which are allowed to wander on and off the area without people paying much attention. Another time [[DangerouslyGenreSavvy Visser One]] was working to genetically engineer sharks so that they could be infested and used on Leera, [[SingleBiomePlanet an ocean planet]] inhabited by amphibious aliens.

* Literal in ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'', where the Chee bonded the essence of their Pemalite masters to wolves to create dogs.

* In ''Turning Point'', the first book of Lisanne Norman's ''SholanAlliance'', the CatFolk Kusac hides his sapience by pretending to be one of the local felines. Carrie then takes him into her home on account of his injuries.

* In ''LegacyOfTheWizard'', Pochi looks like a dog when hanging around the family home, but when selected as a playable character he turns into something that is definitely not a dog.

[[AC:Advertising]]

[[AC:Comics]]

[[AC:Films -- Animated]]

[[AC:Films -- Live-Action]]
* The Creator/DisneyChannel Original Movie ''Can Of Worms'', has the protagonist new sidekick be an alien talking dog.

[[AC:Literature]]

[[AC:LiveActionTV]]

[[AC:VideoGames]]

[[AC:WebComics]]

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]

* In the short story, "Puppet Show", by FredricBrown, an old prospector brings a very ugly Rubber Forehead Alien out of the wilderness on muleback, and the guest is questioned by the military. After a bit of subterfuge, it turns out that the guest is a robot, and the prospector declares himself to be the real alien. The interrogator expresses relief that the master race of the galaxy looks human after all... at which point, the prospector reveals itself to be a robot as well, and the ''mule'' asks what a "master race" is and why its appearance should matter.

* In [[Creator/DeanKoontz]]'s horror/screwball comedy novel ''Literature/TickTock'', Del's dog is an alien who has been sent to watch over her. He's very intelligent, but still has the playful personality of a dog.

* In the short story, "Puppet Show", by FredricBrown, an old prospector brings a very ugly Rubber Forehead Alien out of the wilderness on muleback, and the captive is questioned by the military. After a bit of subterfuge, it turns out that the captive is a robot, and the prospector declares himself to be the real alien. The interrogator expresses relief that the master race of the galaxy looks human after all... at which point, the prospector reveals itself to be a robot as well, and the ''mule'' asks what a "master race" is and why its appearance should matter.

* The comic book story "[[http://www.misterkitty.org/extras/stupidcovers/stupidcomics149.html Rover's a Good Dog!]]" from ''Forbidden Worlds'' #106, which is about a race of evil alien dogs sending an agent out in the guise of a domesticated Earth dog to photograph the plans of a top-secret American weapon. However, the agent becomes compassionate to the inventor and his family, and ultimately doesn't have the heart to go through his mission, instead sacrificing himself to save the family.

* The cat in ''KidVsKat'' is an alien that looks like one of those hairless cats.

* In ''TheIncredibleHercules'', we find out that [[spoiler:Kirby, the coyote pup that Amadeus Cho had adopted, had been long-replaced by a [[{{Shapeshifter}} Skrull]] imposter. While the real coyote was safe and unharmed, the Skrull!coyote had accompanied Cho for the better part of a year before TheReveal.]]

* Stitch from ''Disney/LiloAndStitch'' pretends to be a dog despite looking more like a blue koala. According to the tie-in comics, however, it explains that one donor of his genetic composition was from an Earth puppy, so he was intentionally created to resemble one regardlessly.

* This happened once in an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation

[[AC:Film]]
* The Creator/DisneyChannel Original Movie ''Can Of Worms'', has the protagonist new sidekick be an alien talking dog.

* ''InvaderZim'': GIR disguises himself as Zim's pet dog. ... his disguise being a lame costume with a zipper and a tongue sticking out.
* {{Futurama}}'s Nibbler is a bit of an odd example as everyone knows he's an alien. What they don't know is that he's a member of an incredibly advanced alien race. And he can talk.

* In "Phantoms" a gelatinous being can send out autonomous drones to do tasks. One of these is a white dog that fools soldiers and gets close enough to send out tentacles and kill them. Later, the dog is used to keep tabs on the surviving humans.
* In "The Hidden" a parasitic alien creature hides in other beings and uses them. It temporarily uses a dog, but (as in the original "Who Goes There?") it wants to be a man, not a dog.

* In JohnScalzi's ''Agent to the Stars'', the gelatinous Blob-like alien the protagonist meets eventually takes on the form of a dog in order to come off as more appealing to humans.

The most common variant of this trope involves a dog that's an alien, however, it can also apply to other types of animals, and "alien" can be substituted for virtually any sentient fictional species. If the alien is not intentionally disguising itself as a dog, but gets mistaken for one anyway, it's ThatsNoDog.