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)
This post may include affiliate links.
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."
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."
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.
Whenever my cat does something bad I hiss at her (not aggressively, just enough so she'll understand not to scratch the couch, jump on the table, etc.) since she doesn't understand the concept of no. We got a kitten about a month ago, so I've started to need to discipline him more often.
Anyway my friend was annoying me the other day and out of pure habit I hissed at him. The people around me just turned in my direction and I felt like a psychopath lmao
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.
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.
I've shared this before, but I got my dog Snoopy when I was 10 years and ever since he was a puppy he had this weird love for lettuce. He would go absolutely nuts for it, so whenever I had a sandwich or a burger I would give him some of my lettuce.
Over the years it became a ritual that whenever I prepared any food for myself that involved lettuce, I would grab some extra lettuce for him, so I could toss it to him as I ate.
He passed away 5 years ago after nearly 17 years together, but I still find myself grabbing that bit of extra lettuce for him. It's kind of funny that his little quirk has still stuck with me for all these years and I honestly never want it to go it away, because it's a little way for me to remember him.
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.
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.
when I come home, my dog comes to the door all excited, wagging her tail, making this “woowooowowoo” sound. it’s not quite howling, but it’s not barking either.
I started to “woowowooowo” back to her, because it amused me.. but now if I don’t, the sound she makes will turn into barking (which is very noisy and unpleasant).
so basically she’s trained me to have this dumb “woowoowoo” conversation with her, in order to keep her from yelling at me.
Haha I say "stop" or "don't even start your sass" and my dog gets this shocked look... Then stomps her paw. I started the foot stomping thing when she was a puppy to show her I was serious if she ignored me and she quickly picked up on doing it back. She's now taught it to my toddler, who groans and stomps right back at her.
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.
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.
My parents cat prefers to drink water directly from the tap before. Every night before bed he’ll hop onto their sink and meow until someone turns on the tap for him, then when he’s done he’ll meow again until someone turns off the tap and carries him to bed.
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
My dog and I do the same thing, only with bombpops. I eat the white and red portions, and then my dog will sit and wait patiently for the blue part. My boyfriend thinks it's insane but it just makes her so happy.
Me and my cat have a nice little system going
If she sees me approaching in the dark, she lets out a little meow. Then I have to say 'it's ok!' to acknowledge I know she's there. If so she will just stay where she is, and let me clamber over her
Tossing bits of food on the floor. I actually found myself, a grown ass adult, throwing a piece of turkey on the floor OF MY OFFICE because I am so used to having two dogs under my feet at all times. Thankfully I realized what I’d done quickly and cleaned it up, but my coworkers probably thought I lost my mind for a minute.
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.
Last summer my cat had seroius health problems, he had to spend some days in the animal hospital. My place was so empty without him and that was the time i realised basically i adjusted every aspect of my life to please/don't scare/don't hurt him.
I only open the windows to let fresh air in, if the cat is closed in a different room. I always watch where i step. I hurry home from work, so he won't vomit on the carpet from stress and loneliness because he thinks i left him alone to starve to death. I always check the washing machine, the dishwasher, the oven before turning on. And so on, i'm checking literally everything and i do everything carefuly.
I really can't imagine what will i do if he leaves me forever. I'm so used to his sweet fluffy presence : (
I must leave the door to the toilet open for my dog. He follows my every step. Was a bit awkward in the beginning but got used to it.
I've read here it's to protect me, so that's even better. He's the best boy.
He also guards me when I shower.
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
Sleep with my legs a cat-length apart. She likes to sleep in between them.
My three legged kitty does the same thing but only in my recliner. I have started spending a stupid amount of nights sleeping there instead of in bed as not to disturb the kitty.
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.
THIS IS HOW MONSTERS GET YOU. THEY ARE GOING TO PULL YOU UNDER THE BED ONE NIGHT IF YOU DON'T STOP.
Shuffle my feet instead of walking when it’s dark so I don’t step on my small, black cat.
I tried that, but then I accidentally kicked her. So I step with high leg raises and slowly putting the leg down. Ultimate silly walk just not to step or kick the cat in the dark.
My cat Kevin loves to drink water out of the sink, so every morning when I get up I fill up the bathroom sink with an inch or two of water. He also loves to 'bat' things into the sink, so I grab a couple of Q-Tips and set them next to the edge so he has something to skooch in there.
My kitten has taught me this new trick. If I’m using the toilet or having a shower, I have to call her in.
With my financée, she runs from any part of the house to watch him pee.
She’s quickly received the nickname toilet attendant.
We've got a cat like that. She wants to observe you doing your business and when you flush, she wants to see the miracle of the disappearing water. Other than that she's normal as in covering your mouth and nose when you're taking a nap on the couch and wanting to sniff out anyone's armpits.
When we eat at the table, my cat sits in a dining room chair and paws the table until someone gives him food. He sits with us for the whole meal.
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.
Oh, I do that too! She always blinks slowly when I send her kisses. Humans kinda don't do that.
I have a long haired cat who sleeps on the bed and always chucks up a hairball in the wee hours of the morning. I have gotten to the point that when she starts to heave I instantly awake, put my hands under her mouth and catch the furball and vomit, drop the lot in the toilet, flush, wash my hands and go straight back to sleep. Better than having to change the bed linen.
Ah, another one in the club of "hearing cat vomit makes me wake up instantly"... Thought I was alone^^
Hide under a duvet within seconds of waking because I can already anticipate when my cat will come and insist I get up.
I have a cat that plays fetch, very insistently. She brings me her toy mouse, and if I don't throw it for her, she sits on my laptop keyboard. Of course this all started when I would throw the mouse to keep her from sitting on my laptop.
This wasn't accidental. I have a kitten, about 5 months old.
Every morning, I wake up and feeding him is one of the first things I do. In the first couple months, in his little brain, he learned that me waking up=food.
About a month ago, he started waking me up. Looking to expediate the process. Jumping on me, meowing loudly, running across the bed... Whatever gets me out of bed.
I usually wake up around 6am for work. I guess that was too late for breakfast, as over the course of about a week this kitten would wake me up about 15-20 minutes earlier every day.
This started on a sunday and it wasn't until friday that I was woken up and realized it was 4:30am. It was then that I realized I've been outsmarted by a kitten and I was being conditioned to feed him in the middle of the night.
Now if he wakes me up early, he gets locked out of the room until I'm ready to get out of bed. He doesn't wake me up anymore.
My cat is a spoiled brat because of me. She has a certain cry she makes when she wants me to pick her up and snuggle her (she loves being held) and I just can't say no to that. So, throughout the day, she'll yell for me and I'll have to go find her, then she'll stand up on her back legs and propel herself into my arms.
I have a Pitbull mix (she's about 50 pounds) that likes to be hugged. I tell her, "Mama hug," and she jumps up so I can pick her up and give her hugs. When I took her to get fixed, she was anxiously trying to climb me until I gave her a mama hug. One guy in line was like, "I did NOT see that coming".
My dad used to drop ice cubes into the cat's water whenever they fell on the floor so that they couldn't go to waste. After a while one of the cats would REFUSE to drink her water without ice and would bug my dad until he put fresh ice in her water.
She went like 16 years without ice water but once she decided that she liked it, that was the rule lmao. She was a queen.
We have four cats and a dog, so the water bowl is large (we also have one of those fountain automatic waterers). At minimum, the water gets changed in the morning and again in the evening, unless it gets dirty in between. Our kitchen tap water is ice cold in the morning but tepid in the evening unless I run it a while. A couple nights ago I gave up waiting for it to turn cold and dropped four large ice cubes in it. The youngest cat is about four months old, and this was her first encounter with ice cubes. I hung around to watch her figure them out. What a joy! We tend to forget that, to a baby, every single thing is new. That includes kittens and puppies.
I seem to have inherited a turtle, a red eared slider.
It was originally the daughters and she bought it at age 13 with the help of her mum ???? It came with a tiny tank (I know).
Once it arrived home I thought "Well how unfortunate that your new owner is incapable of looking after herself never mind a pet", she did try but as expected got bored by this new friend.
So I looked for information and found out he may live for 25-30 years, at this point it seemed to become my responsibility .
11 years later, (Daughter has moved out) several tanks later (don't worry the one now is fine in size), two fluval filters, heaters, bulbs for heating and UVB, custom basking ramps and the general upkeep and well being of our not so small turtle it seems that he now 100% mine. I don't mind to be honest.
Anyway, when we are out of sight he will continually swim near the water surface and splash like crazy, all four legs breaking the surface and creating a lot of noise. For some time I would hear this noise and run into the room, upon seeing me he would stop, I walk out, splash time again.
I look forward to the next 20 years of doing this :)
Sometimes we take him out the tank, he seems fine, not terrified or skittish but quite happy to explore, I never know if this splashing is him asking "Hey come on, get me out of here I need a change of scenery".
We play guitar and sing, and often around the house, we will change the lyrics of whatever song we're hooked on into a song about our dog and how pretty she is
We used to do it for our friends, but they don't like it
I lost my best friend Moby a couple months ago, he was 14. He had a heart condition toward the end and one of the symptoms was coughing fits after drinking water. They were awful and had even caused him to pass out a handful of times.
I’ve recently rescued a young, healthy dog, but whenever I hear him drinking water a surge of sudden panic comes over me and I brace for something bad to happen.
I miss you Mo.
Oh, I'm so sorry. I lost my best friend a few months ago and have similar moments. I usually cry. Sending you head bonks. <3
She’s a tracker. So whenever she need something she’ll just walk me to it. So now whenever she looks at me, and paws at my foot, I just follow her. It’s just a reflex at this point.
My dog Vernon loved the little end piece of bananas. So every morning when I ate my banana I would pinch him a big piece and say, “does Mr. Vernon always get a piece of banana? Yes he does!” Even though he’s been gone a few years now, I always pinch him a big piece of banana.
I have three cats so I am as trained as a seal at SeaWorld. Here are just three:
In the evenings, Icy will sleep on the living room furniture. If I get up to get a drink she will stretch and roll over demanding belly rubs. And she wants me to tell her she is a pretty girl. If I don't pet her and tell her that she will meow at me when I come back.
Luna likes to know where I am at all times. So she will call out to me and expect me to answer. I know the meow that means "Lisasimpsonfan where the hell are you?". She wont stop until I answer her.
Mr. Saucy Pants is a big baby so he needs lots of reassurance and I have to leave the bathroom door cracked so he knows he can get to me if he is scared. If it don't this little paw slides under the door and he cries. The only time I shut the door is if other people are here.
The cats run the house.
Leave the bathroom door cracked just a little so she can open it, see that I'm in there, and be on her way, instead of waiting outside whining and whining. No, I don't do this for pooping nor when there are people over, as I'm not a neanderthal, but she really needs to know it's me peeing in there or she will freak the fuck out about my location.
Sleep on my back or front. I used to be a side sleeper but have an elderly cat who loves her human bed.
I've always been someone who rolls around all night, back then side then back then front, I don't stay still. But I have a cat who lies on me too. Canadians will get the reference that she does the log-driver's waltz all night... https://www.nfb.ca/film/log_drivers_waltz/
My dog Yuri has conditioned me into being his pillow at night. At first I would immediately push him off when he tried but eventually he learned how to rest his head on my chest little by little so I didn't notice. Now I basically just let him do it lol
Lift the covers in my sleep so he can crawl in. He aggressively head butts until he gets his way so now I just do it to avoid a mean bonk to the face with a hard furry skull in the night!
When I'm having dinner, my cat would jump on the table and look at me with squinting eyes until I feed him. I try to resist but his eyes squint so hard it's as though he's about to fall asleep. Too cute not to give him a little bit of my food.
My cattle dog knows if he coughs on my face in the morning, I will get up and wash it. then now I guess I am just up.
Also, for one cat I leave the toilet seat up so she can pee. Otherwise she will go down the sink and that feels wrong.
Save the last part of everything I eat for him.
My cat Bo runs into another room when I get his treats out (he knows looking is cheating) so that he can come back in & “hunt” for where I placed them around the living room. He won’t eat them if I place it on the ground at his feet. lil weirdo
my dog is pretty bad at getting under my blanket on her own so she’s taught me to lift it for her every time she taps my shoulder, even when i’m dead asleep. if a person snuck into my house and tried to wake me up, i’d probably accidentally invite them to snuggle under the covers
I’d reach in and get the ice for my drink and just throw one over my shoulder without looking because I knew my dog was gonna catch it. I lost her earlier this year and had to drop the habit after throwing ice on my kitchen floor several times.
Yell “floor food!” Whenever I’m cooking and I drop something. Or go “cronch cronch cronch” when I’m chopping veggies, so my dog knows I have extras for her.
I’ve somehow become a cat treat dispenser for them. Yay for thumbs I guess... They both come next to me, keep staring until they get a treat. Or the boy sometimes keeps talking and gives me a massage until he gets his treats. The girl also is all flirty when she wants temptations... until she gets them. Candydigger
She will look toward the kitchen and then back at me with a smile. Then she gives a little wag and looks at the kitchen and back at me with that cute smile. She's telling me she wants a treat.
Leave pillows laying next to the tile. He likes to lay on the tile, because it cools him down, but he doesn't like his head to touch the floor.
Every time I stop petting my dog, she reaches out and taps me with her paw- sometimes quite insistently. Of course, who can resist that? I keep petting her every time
Mine does that, too! Or if he wants your attention, he will just walk up behind you and paw at your leg until you give him loves. (He kind of grabs with his paws as he does it too, so it kind of hurts, but I know he just wants love).
I talk back to my dog when he “talks” to me.
To be clear, I have a German Shepard and for those of you who have never owned one, they really like to talk and mine talks a lot. When he “talks” it’s not really a bark or a whine but a sound in between those two noises and ive learned to replicate that sound to have a conversation with my doggo in doggo language
My dog does this and has learned that I love the “wooOoOOo” so much that I will give him whatever he is asking for if he does it back and forth a couple times with me. Dinner is around 6 every night; the Woos start at 5:30. I could trust this without checking the clock, until a few weeks ago. He tricked me into serving him dinner absentmindedly. I realized after feeding him that it was barely 4pm! Sneaky little rascal.
My 14-year-old cat occasionally tries to get me to feed him earlier than his typical 5:30-5:45 am. Luckily he won't wake me up before 5 and half the time I wake up that early anyway, but I will straight up walk past him and his food bowl to go to the bathroom, then go back to bed. Almost always, I'm joined by him for another half an hour or so without further complaint. He's my baby.
One of my tabby babbies likes to know when I'm rolling over in bed so she can reajust herself, so know in the middle of the night I'll quietly say "rolling over cooci baby" she loves her human bed no matter how i sleep.
I will only do this if Eli, my dog, won't move. Usually both he and my cat will both shift if I turn cause I toss and turn so much but sometimes Eli just won't budge and I have to reach out and tap him telling him to move. He huffs and grumbles but he'll finally shift.
My dog would sit outside the kitchen with his back straight just waiting for me to drop some food.
He knew he wasn't allowed in the kitchen unless I told him to (it was a smol kitchen and I didn't want to trip over him to have him get hurt).
As soon as I dropped something, I'd either just point to it or say "go!" And he would run in, pick it up and sit outside the kitchen again like a tennis ball boy.
Check the mail every day...he's so excited to walk to the mailbox with me it reminds me to actually do it.
I had fish on top of this cabinet (not sure if that's the right word) so I would always be really really careful when closing it so it doesn't disturb them. I haven't had fish or any other pet in 5 years but I still do it
My dog likes to sleep under the bed covers, if she wants to get under she will come and nudge me gently and no matter how asleep I am I lift the covers with my legs so she can get in
I have started leaving the shower curtain open so when I go pee, he jumps into the bathtub and gazes lovingly into my eyes while he pisses down the drain. He started yelling at me and scratching at the shower curtain until I opened it. Now it’s our daily bonding ritual. No, his litterbox isn’t dirty or messy, he just... is really weird. I also cannot eat Cheetos or cheese or cheesepuffs in front of him or he will jump on me and try to get at them. He is a goddamn maniac for cheese. He will try and steal the bag.
So when my cat was just a kitten, I thought it'd be a good idea to pet her while she eats, as many animals get skittish when there's people nearby while they're eating. Worked well, except for now she just b*tches at me to pet her whenever she eats. She'll eat without me petting her, but she'll be vocally upset about it.
Two of mine are ferals that were ill, so while they recovered from treatment and the shock of people touching them (both needed medicine administered to them 3x a day for weeks afterwards) I would pet them while giving them food. That way they associated tastystuff with touch and my hands didn't get shredded putting ointments on them. Years later and now I have 3 cats that will vocally chastise me if I don't stand next to them and give pets while they rotate around the food bowl. The third rescue picked it up from the other two and think 'this is how we get fed'.
Every morning, I wake up and immediately take my dog for a walk. I have had this routine for a few years now, but didn't realize how integral this process was for me until I had a weekend where my parents took him for a few days of adventure, and I realized that without going for my morning walk, my body would not let me take a morning dump. I have found through studies with my fitbit that it takes about 1,000 steps before my body accepts that I am good to go in the morning. Now, on mornings where someone else walks my dog or its too rainy to walk, I still have to walk for a bit on the treadmill just to loosen things up or else I'm very uncomfortable for the whole day until I've hit my magic step requirement.
That's more of you conditioning your body, not really your dog conditioning you to do things...
Two things. My dog Rusty always puts his front paws on me and I always hugged him so now when he’s anxious he’ll give me a hug and I’ll hug him back
The other one is when I get ice he always begs for one so now without thinking I always toss him an ice cube
My girlfriend’s older cat makes me pick her up to drink running tap water from her bathroom sink. I also gotta pick her up to get on the dryer to eat, even though she can easily make the jump.
Please get her checked by a vet, cats hide pain very well and it may look like she can easily make the jump but it's probably hurting her!
One of my cats like to climb under the covers but only when he's feeling cold. Most of the time it's nice but sometimes he doesn't ask until after I'm asleep or just drifting off and he asks by poking at me under the blanket so I'm suddenly jolted awake by his pokey claws.
I was riding around with my dog the other day and motley crue's 'girl girls girls' came on the radio but he likes it better if I sing it as 'squirrels squirrels squirrels'.
Change the water in her bowl. It can be all the way to the top and she’ll stand there staring at it until I take the bowl, dump it, and refill it with fresh water.
When I come home from work I yell out for him, so he can come up to me and I pick him up to give him kisses.
Religiously throw away all plastic grocery bags in a covered trash can, and ensure all other plastic bags are in closed closets. My cat loves to shred plastic bags, and I can't stand the sound of it and hate cleaning up the mess. Anything that comes in a bag has to be in a closet or pantry because he can open cabinet doors.
not yell at the computer. she was sensitive, and even from the other room, she would come to me an nudge me with her nose. after awhile I caught on and stopped yelling.
my dog is no longer with me, and I yell at the computer much less, but occasionally forget a WHERE clause and then swear since.
My dog is a water connoisseur now. He will leave full bowls untouched and look at me for cold water from the water filter with an ice whiskey ball in it.
To press on my bladder to wake me up early so they could eat early.
Leaving lots of food by night didn't solve it.
My cat for whatever reason likes to play hockey with ice cubes. So whenever I get ice for my drink I instinctively put a cube in his water bowl. Somehow the subsequent wet socks always surprise me.
Our husky mix has an emergency bark too. It's similar to his "My food bowl is suddenly empty" bark but 5x louder. He uses it to get our attention when he's having GI issues and doesn't want to make a mess in the house.
My parents watched him for a week last year while my wife and I went on vacation, and I neglected to tell her about the meaning of the emergency bark... Let's just say that now they understand what it means.
Cats and dogs are experts at guilt tripping. My roommate’s girlfriend stayed over and brought her cat and it tricked me into feeding it. Turns out he only gets fed once or twice a day but he’s a fatass and likes to eat, and I bet that f*cker knew I didn’t know.
Leave space next to my pillow for him to cuddle next too. Tho often both cats wanna sleep there and I have what I call my cat hat to sleep in.
I used to live next door to my grandmother so when I would call, it was usually to make sure her back door was open and my dog could run over for a visit.
We now live farther away, but every time he hears her voice on the phone he gets all excited and runs to stand by the front door waiting to go see her.
In the mornings my GSD will not, at all, go outside to do his business until I give him his joint vitamin. He's gone through the doggy door and turned right back inside a few times.
I automatically wake up when my dog starts clopping down the stairs to go outside to pee. Doesn't matter what time in the night. Usually 2 or 3am. I never get a fulfilling sleep because of this.
When my cat wanted to get in the house, she climbed on the roof, got inside through a small crack and made a POOF sound as she fell on the floor from the roof. Then she usually started meowing so that I can open the door and let her in. I once heard a poof sound like that even though I moved into an apartment, and I instantly went to open the front door :(
Every morning after she eats her breakfast, she has to go on a car ride. She will cry and howl by the door until I have fulfilled her wish of her morning car ride. Some mornings she poops after breakfast and then proceeds to take her stance at the car waiting on me like I’m some shit boyfriend who doesn’t open the car door for her.
My cat snuggles too but only on top of the blanket. So here I am, in the middle of a heat wave, sleeping under the blanket because else my cat will be upset she can't sleep on top of it...
My cat does the same! She stares at me to go under the covers, she doesn’t care how hot it is, that’s just how it has to be!!
My husky does this sneezing thing when she's anxious and I imitate her every time she does it. Usually causes follow up sneezes.
I also know right when she's about to groan when she's anxious/annoied and if I make the noise before she does she won't do it
Our dog that we got a few months ago hates to pee inside his little sleep cage, which is in my parent’s room. So every night at 2 am my parents wake up automatically to let him pee, pull him up to their bed, and go back to sleep. I think they still wake up even if he isn’t whining at this point.
There must always be a space for my cat whenever I sit down on the couch so she can cuddle up next to me. Any obstacle will be knocked and or scratched out the way so she can take her place at my side.
If I go to the bathroom for any reason my cat will wait outside and then lead me to the kitchen for kitty treats. I don't even resist these days.
The nice thing is, she doesn't even look back. Just ambles into the kitchen and assumes I'll be right behind her.
Walk out the frontdoor backwards while simultaneously closing it.
We got one cat that tries to escape, while the other 2 are fine with their large 100m2 backyard with a net all over it.
Same here. We rescued a kitten who was dumped in our yard three months ago. She’s growing up healthy and energetic—-and lightning fast! She usually stays away from the door, but once in a while she makes a dash for it. Pretty sure she’d hate it if she ever got outside (bad memories of being dumped by herself, 5-6 weeks old, and weighing barely a pound—-she was terrified and hiding in a bush when we found her), but don’t want to risk not knowing if she got out all the same.
I’ve learnt that my cat’s dry heaving sounds a lot like some shuffling that my upstairs neighbour does some times in the early morning. So many times I’ve awaken in panic only to see my cat sound asleep.
Close the bathroom door with a rope just big enough so the cats can fit through. Or he (dog) will eat their poop out the litterbox. No one wants or likes doggy kisses with a bit of cat shit sprinkled in between
My 14-year-old cat occasionally tries to get me to feed him earlier than his typical 5:30-5:45 am. Luckily he won't wake me up before 5 and half the time I wake up that early anyway, but I will straight up walk past him and his food bowl to go to the bathroom, then go back to bed. Almost always, I'm joined by him for another half an hour or so without further complaint. He's my baby.
Pick up the turds which just periodically fall out of his asshole for no apparent reason, and also pay $400 to have the vet stick a finger up there when it gets clogged up once or twice every year.
When it comes to pooping, my cat is all or nothing.
Can relate! My cat has trained me too - If she jumps out at me I have to squeal in terror. If I don't, or she senses my terror is not entirely genuine, she stalks off in a huff and refuses to speak to me. Sometimes I will walk past her 'hiding place' two or three times to give her the chance to jump out, or I know she will pout at missing out. Oh yeah, and another one - caught myself rummaging through my own drawers in my own bedroom in the dark, using my phone as a torch, because I didn't to switch the light on and disturb the kitty. Who owns who, right? Well, considering that she just walked up to me one day and made me her human, I guess we know the answer XD
My cat (f 9yrs) is good at using the litter tray but for some reason developed a habit of peeing on clothes if they are left on the floor...needless to say, I pick up after myself religiously now. She's like an evil Marie Kondo - "DOES THIS DRESS GIVE YOU JOY? THEN WHY IS IT ON THE FLOOR? YOU'RE GONNA WASH IT, ROLL IT AND PUT IT IN A DRAW OR IT WILL BE PEED ON!"
We have four Poms that love frozen green beans and carrots. Olivia doesn’t have any teeth. So she has trained my husband and I to “pre-chew” her carrot so she can eat it. God forbid she doesn’t get a carrot like her brothers and sister.
Glad to know I'm not the only one doing things for a beloved pet! Mine has mastered this cute "wooooowooowooo" sound to get food, belly rubs or go outside...
I've had my tiny pig for less than a week. She has a small pen in the garden shed, but she also spends a fair amount of time in the house. This includes spending the night snuggled up in a pack and play in my bedroom. Pigs have a reputation for eating like well, pigs. And believe me, they have definitely earned it! This tiny pig wakes me up at 6:30 every morning. First by quietly complaining. Then by out and out screaming if I roll over and try to ignore her for an extra 15 mins in bed. Nope. Her Royal Highness will NOT be denied. There's really no doubt who owns who in this scenario.
To the person who hisses at his cat because it doesn,t understand the word ''NO'': right after you've finished hissing, just say the word. Kitty will eventually associate the two. Comes in handy if you ever need to leave her with friends when you go on holiday.
My pet fish needs special foods that need to be prepared in a dish. So now he gets super happy when i do the dishes at around 8 pm ( his feeding time ) knowing that food is coming. Since he is in the kitchen he loves to juge what is cooking. He is a baby smallmouth bass.
My cat uses the litter box and will paw at everything around him BUT the litter until I yell "good job! good boy!" then he gets out of the litter box, If I don't tell him he did a good job he'd stay in there for hours!!
My dog that I got a year ago was pretty traumatized from her previous home so I learned to be very quiet and calm at all times at home. I had issues with a doctor and wound up withdrawing from antidepressants and going a little nuts for a week or so and feeling awful when she would crash to the ground in fear. She's learned to trust me, but I'm still super careful with my voice & tone.
On a whim I played Hide and Seek with my cat one time while I was using the bathroom. He had positioned himself sitting under the shower curtain edge with just his big bottom showing. Then, of course, we had to play it every time I went to the bathroom. “Where’s Baby? Where’s Baby?” “Meow!” “There’s Baby!”
My oldest (an orange boy) likes to stand on the edge of the shower and get me to drip my shower water on his so he can lick it off his paws as it runs down his head. We have 5 cats in the house and they all have their quirks, but my Bub is definitely the funniest. Don't even get me started on the dog - we are all well trained even to the point she needs hugs and kisses just to eat her food.
If only I had a tail so I could communicate better in Feline & Canine!
Can relate! My cat has trained me too - If she jumps out at me I have to squeal in terror. If I don't, or she senses my terror is not entirely genuine, she stalks off in a huff and refuses to speak to me. Sometimes I will walk past her 'hiding place' two or three times to give her the chance to jump out, or I know she will pout at missing out. Oh yeah, and another one - caught myself rummaging through my own drawers in my own bedroom in the dark, using my phone as a torch, because I didn't to switch the light on and disturb the kitty. Who owns who, right? Well, considering that she just walked up to me one day and made me her human, I guess we know the answer XD
My cat (f 9yrs) is good at using the litter tray but for some reason developed a habit of peeing on clothes if they are left on the floor...needless to say, I pick up after myself religiously now. She's like an evil Marie Kondo - "DOES THIS DRESS GIVE YOU JOY? THEN WHY IS IT ON THE FLOOR? YOU'RE GONNA WASH IT, ROLL IT AND PUT IT IN A DRAW OR IT WILL BE PEED ON!"
We have four Poms that love frozen green beans and carrots. Olivia doesn’t have any teeth. So she has trained my husband and I to “pre-chew” her carrot so she can eat it. God forbid she doesn’t get a carrot like her brothers and sister.
Glad to know I'm not the only one doing things for a beloved pet! Mine has mastered this cute "wooooowooowooo" sound to get food, belly rubs or go outside...
I've had my tiny pig for less than a week. She has a small pen in the garden shed, but she also spends a fair amount of time in the house. This includes spending the night snuggled up in a pack and play in my bedroom. Pigs have a reputation for eating like well, pigs. And believe me, they have definitely earned it! This tiny pig wakes me up at 6:30 every morning. First by quietly complaining. Then by out and out screaming if I roll over and try to ignore her for an extra 15 mins in bed. Nope. Her Royal Highness will NOT be denied. There's really no doubt who owns who in this scenario.
To the person who hisses at his cat because it doesn,t understand the word ''NO'': right after you've finished hissing, just say the word. Kitty will eventually associate the two. Comes in handy if you ever need to leave her with friends when you go on holiday.
My pet fish needs special foods that need to be prepared in a dish. So now he gets super happy when i do the dishes at around 8 pm ( his feeding time ) knowing that food is coming. Since he is in the kitchen he loves to juge what is cooking. He is a baby smallmouth bass.
My cat uses the litter box and will paw at everything around him BUT the litter until I yell "good job! good boy!" then he gets out of the litter box, If I don't tell him he did a good job he'd stay in there for hours!!
My dog that I got a year ago was pretty traumatized from her previous home so I learned to be very quiet and calm at all times at home. I had issues with a doctor and wound up withdrawing from antidepressants and going a little nuts for a week or so and feeling awful when she would crash to the ground in fear. She's learned to trust me, but I'm still super careful with my voice & tone.
On a whim I played Hide and Seek with my cat one time while I was using the bathroom. He had positioned himself sitting under the shower curtain edge with just his big bottom showing. Then, of course, we had to play it every time I went to the bathroom. “Where’s Baby? Where’s Baby?” “Meow!” “There’s Baby!”
My oldest (an orange boy) likes to stand on the edge of the shower and get me to drip my shower water on his so he can lick it off his paws as it runs down his head. We have 5 cats in the house and they all have their quirks, but my Bub is definitely the funniest. Don't even get me started on the dog - we are all well trained even to the point she needs hugs and kisses just to eat her food.
If only I had a tail so I could communicate better in Feline & Canine!
