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People Are Sharing Things Pets Accidentally Conditioned Them To Do (17 Answers)
Animal training is, simply put, the manipulation of behavior. We teach them to respond to specific conditions or stimuli for various purposes, such as companionship, protection, and entertainment. Sometimes, however, the roles get reversed.
Last week, Reddit user Bb345687 asked other people on the platform "What has your pet accidentally conditioned you to do?" The post went viral immediately.
"I actually asked the question in response to another question I had seen the same day, 'What have you accidentally conditioned your pet to do?'" Bb345687 told Bored Panda. "These kinds of role-reversal follow-up posts are pretty common, though usually, the initial post asks a question of men or of women and the follow-up post will ask about the other binary gender. I just thought it'd be funny to include the voices of our pets in the conversation."
From changing the water in a pet's bowl to waking up early, the responses have been pouring in, and as of this article, there are over 11,000 of them. Looks like our pets have gotten pretty good at getting us to dance to their tune.
(The photos used in the article are stock images and not from the people who commented)
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#1
I talk in a very feminine voice to my dog, she was a abused rescue and was scared of men... so being a man, I just change my voice when I would talk to her.
Bb345687 said they've definitely had pets condition them to do different kinds of things in the past as well. Accidental or intentional, they can only guess. "The example that comes to mind is that once I was trying to train my cat to scratch her scratching post instead of my carpet, so I'd give her a treat every time she used her scratching post. She learned to expect the treat, though, and even after she was consistently using the scratching post, she'd come get me to get her treat," Bb345687 recalled. "Now I just instinctively move towards the treat bag whenever I hear her using her scratching post."
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#2
I will stay in bed a extra hour or so every morning, doing work on my phone, purely so Gypsy can get in some prime snuggles.
When my alarm goes off, Gypsy comes running in and announces her pleasure of having an awake human to give her pets. We spend 10 minutes doling out lovies before she finds a spot to snuggle against me. Then I stay here. Don’t move. Don’t disturb the kitty.
She always looks disappointed on the days she doesn’t hear my alarm and I meet her in the livingroom instead.
Bb345687 said the attention their post has received was super overwhelming, definitely not something they had expected. "I didn't find the 'disable inbox replies' button until really late in the game, so I got a few thousand notifications throughout the day," they explained.
The upside is that they get to read through a lot of the responses. "I'd say I learned that it's crazy how similar and yet so different our pets can be. So many people had hilarious or cute stories of the ways in which their pets are quietly manipulating them, but each one was unique and often heartwarming.
"It really highlighted the kinds of important roles our pets can play in our daily lives."
#3
My cat has helped me with my ptsd. We had an armed home invasion a handful of years ago where they busted the door in and so whenever I hear loud banging, or noises in the house that I dont recognize, then it can make me go into a full on panic. Knowing my cat can hear way better than I can and will always go to the door is she hears someone outside of it, I've started looking at my cat to see if she is concerned about the sounds before my anxiety is ramped up too badly.
It has vastly improved my mental wellbeing.
#4
My cat has 3 legs so he can’t bury his poop. I now follow him out when he poops to cover it for him or he gets very anxious. I’m not sure exactly when this started, but I’m officially a sh*t shoveler.
#5
Calm down when I start to lose my temper or get frustrated. Whenever he hears me sigh or swear, he runs to me, rests his chin on my arm or leg and looks up at me with concern. This has made me so aware of how my energy can impact those around me and I have really gotten my anger under control since he started doing this. He's one of the goodest boys and I am grateful for him every day.
#6
One of my dogs has several barks: a play bark and a squirrel bark and other dog things that are normal dog barks. He also had what we call his “emergency bark”. The emergency bark is what he does when he thinks there is serious danger. It is EXTREMELY loud and makes us jump every time. He usually reserves it for things like the time I fell down the stairs and he scream barked for my husband to help, or when someone is in our front yard, or when he cornered a possum in the backyard.
However, since my husband started working from home this dog barks his emergency bark at my husband if he tries working past 4pm. My husband now has learned to stop working at about 3:50 every day to avoid that jarring sound.
#7
My mother's dog tells her when it's time for her evening meal. As in my mother's evening meal. The dog knows she eats after my mother, so when she starts to get peckish she goes and bugs her to start cooking.
When I go back to visit, we'll be sitting chatting and the dog will sidle in and become A Presence In The Room for maybe 30 seconds until my mother casually looks at her watch and says "I suppose we better think about eating". She's completely unaware of what triggers her decision.
#8
My wife just got out of the cat’s chair on our front porch after he strolled up and meowed. Crazy thing is, it’s not our cat.
#9
My cat sleeps under the blanket snuggled up to me. Even when Im at a hotel I instinctively raise the blanket a bit so he can crawl in.
#10
Before I run in the morning I usually scarf down a banana. Ever since we got my sweet dog, I scarf down about two thirds of my banana and he gets the last part. It’s become our little thing, an unspoken agreement
#11
I open the tinfoil as quietly as possible. My cat loves tin foil balls, and whenever he hears it he runs over and looks at it longingly (despite him having at least 24 tin foil balls already). You can't call him with a treat bag or tin, he only comes for the foil.
#12
When I get up to go to the bathroom I stand in the door and wait for my elderly cat to come in before I close the door. He likes to keep me company. If he doesnt come in right away I'll call for him and if still nothing I'll start walking around the house looking for him
#14
Sleep with my hand off the edge of the bed cause my dog will come boop my hand when he’s ready to go out in the morning.
#16
Make kissing noises at things. I used just to do it to get my cat’s attention, now I accidentally do it at everything I want. Sometimes that can include people.
#17
Hide under a duvet within seconds of waking because I can already anticipate when my cat will come and insist I get up.
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