Patrick Warburton Says ‘Seinfeld’s’ Puddy Invented Raw Dogging Flights
Puddy was the original airline raw dogger.
At least according to Patrick Warburton, the actor who played Elaine’s stoic beau on Seinfeld. “Raw dogging,” as it relates to airline flights, describes the viral trend featuring travelers who endure entire plane rides without a book, music or movie as a distraction. The practice became so popular in meme-world that the American Dialect Society named “raw-dogging” its 2024 word of the year.
Years before the trend took off, however, Puddy was staring into the meaningless void. In the Seinfeld episode, “The Butter Shave,” Puddy and Elaine reconcile after another breakup on a transatlantic flight. All is hearts and flowers until Puddy decides to gaze straight ahead for the entire flight instead of reading a book offered by Elaine. No nap, no literature — just studying the back of the seat rest for hours.
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Elaine tries to accept Puddy’s choice for a moment before losing it and breaking up with him yet again. “I cannot take this!” she says. “I mean, look at this! Nothing has changed! We’ve been back together two hours, and we’re having the same problems we had 12 hours ago!”
Not everyone reacts like Elaine, but some people do think raw dogging is strange and uncomfortable. All that time, simply alone with one’s thoughts? Many shudder at the very idea. And now that raw dogging has “become a bit of a thing,” Warburton has taken to TikTok and Instagram to say he feels “a bit responsible” for passengers who pull a Puddy.
Warburton is doing more than offering “Puddy proof” that he’s behind the fad — the comic actor is worried about the mental health of raw doggers. “My concern is that somebody’s gonna get hurt if you go into this thing blindly,” he warns, tapping his temple. “Just not reading, not watching something — you better be okay with what’s going on up here, inside your ol’ noggin.”
Take it from a pro — Warburton confesses that he’s not always comfortable with what is flying around his own brain. At least “it’s weird and entertaining at times,” he says.
“Just be careful, that’s all I’m saying,” Warburton concludes. “It’s not for novices.”
