What have you accidentally conditioned your
pet to do?
Our cat had impacted anal glands for awhile.
We had to bribe him with treats for him to
let us look to make sure he was doing alright.
Now when he wants a treat he comes up and
sticks his butt in our face.
When I was little I would constantly carry
around one of my cats, Feist.
Since my hands were full with her I would
use one of her outstretched paws to turn on
lights whenever we entered a room.
Now the little bastard switches them on and
off for fun.
My niece loves to FaceTime my mom to talk
to her dog.
When the dog was a puppy, my mom used to pull
her onto her lap when she would get FaceTimed.
Now the dog is 80 lbs and will jump in your
lap if your phone or tablet starts making
the default FaceTime ring.
I would playfully grab (not hard, really light)
my dog's snout whenever we're playing.
He somehow figured out it's my favorite thing
to do when ever he comes over to me.
So now, everytime he senses that I'm upset
or sees that I'm crying, he would come up
to me and gently put his snout in my hand.
I picked my kitten up a few times to kill
some spiders up high for me.
So now whenever I pick her up she looks up
at the ceiling and looks for spiders.
I take baths with my cat by letting her float
in a plastic box.
I keep the box in my closet.
I only started doing this about a month ago,
but now when I turn the bathwater on she runs
to the closet and jumps in her box.
Every morning when I wake up I rub my dog's
belly.
Now whenever I say good morning she will lay
on her back for belly scratches.
Edit: omg, this is my most upvoted comment
on Reddit so far!
So I figured I'd share some other funny stuff
my dog does.
1.
She's CRAZY about carrots and pumpkin and
I usually chop it on a wooden cooking board,
so it makes a characteristic sound when the
knife hits the board.
Whenever she hears the sound of chopping,
she bolts to the kitchen to ask for some.
She only comes when it's carrots or pumpkin.
Any other vegetable and she couldn't care
less.
2.
She waits until everyone had finished their
meals to go eat hers.
As soon as we leave the table, she goes to
her bowl and eats her food.
And when she's done, she turns it upside down
to let us know it's empty.
3.
I live in an apartment building and the doorman
always lets us know when there's visitors
coming up, so when the intercom rings she
goes straight to the door, waiting for whoever
it is and barking like crazy (she only barks
for this specific reason, she usually sneezes
to draw our attention instead of barking).
There's so much more but I won't linger on.
But she's a good girl and I love her.
Note: english is not my first language so
I apologize for any mistakes.
My dog knew he would always get some ice to
chew when I went to the fridge so any time
he heard the ice machine on the fridge start
he would come running in.
Once he became deaf he would feel the vibrations
in the floor from it and knew it was ice time.
Somewhere along the way, my dog learned ‘get
your toy’ means to pick up his nearest toy.
I didn’t purposely train him to do it, but
it’s good for when he’s about to leave
one of them outside and I want him to bring
it in.
If there’s no toy around and I say this
he’ll grab the nearest soft thing, usually
some piece of clothing laying around.
One time he tried to pick up the cat.
I conditioned my cats to use the scratching
post with treats and pets and lots of "good
boy, good boy."
For the last 7 years, whenever I have to tell
my one cat to stop chewing on something or
anything like that, he goes to that post and
scratches furiously looking at me like "but
I'm a good boy.
If he hears me on the phone with my sister
it’s automatically time for a walk.
We usually chat when I take him out and he
is now very aware of that.
Also outside clothes and putting on makeup
means I’m going out probably without him.
If I take my backpack- I won’t be back until
after work (he’s happy that hasn’t happened
in awhile).
my cat drinks out of a glass on my nightstand
rather than a bowl.
a couple of years ago, she was having some
pretty serious dental issues (all fixed now),
and was being reluctant to eat and drink.
she had always wanted to drink out of the
water cup i had for myself, and at that point
i just wanted her to drink anything, so i
let her.
that was my mistake and now she refuses to
drink out of a bowl on the ground, and will
only drink out of cups. she has a permanent
cup on my nightstand, to this day.
oh well, at least it's easier for me to monitor
her water intake.
Editing this to reply to some repeat comments
I'm seeing below: -i was aware that cats like
to drink away from their food, and at the
time she had two different bowls that were
not next to get food -I've tried every material
(stainless steel, glass, ceramic, plastic)
for bowls, she doesn't care -i wasn't aware
that cats like being high up when they drink,
that might help explain it -i see a lot of
comments to get a cat fountain, at this point,
since the glass on the nightstand doesn't
bug me, I'm probably not going to buy one,
mainly because of how many different drinking
options she's rejected in the past haha but
if I ever want her to stop, that'll be my
first try.
1.
My one dog sleeps under a blanket.
I know he pretty much only gets a decent sleep
that way, so every time he's laying down I
cover him with one.
So whenever he wants to have a nap, or it's
time to go to sleep at night, he jumps up
onto the couch, or bed, or really wherever
I am, and just sits there starring at me,
until I grab a blanket and drape it over top
of him - to which he then lays down and falls
asleep.
The funny part is that he'll often sit there
in that position waiting for minutes on end.
Sometimes he's not even facing me when he
does it which is the funniest.
He'll get up on the bed, put his ass in my
face, sit, and just wait.
He knows he doesn't even feign loving me to
get what he wants, he just knows it's going
to happen so why put up a facade?
He's become very entitled about it.
________________________________________
2) 2.
Whenever I bring my dogs in from a walk or
from the back yard, I give them a treat, which
I keep in the kitchen.
So whenever we come in, they run to the kitchen
and get in the sitting position ('sit' is
always the first command in a string of commands
that I use when giving them treats).
If I forget, they'll sit there for however
long it takes for me to circle back around
and give them a treat - sometimes this takes
5-10 minutes if I'm distracted; but they'll
just sit there waiting.
They have trained me well.
"Stop eating your face."
He has floppy jowls that sometimes get stuck
in his teeth.
I used to just casually say "dude stop eating
your face" when it happened.
On the occasions that he just happened to
lick his teeth and spring it loose, I would
give him a pat on the head and call him a
good boy.
Never any intentional training but now that
he's an old man he's 100% responsive when
I tell him.
He'll clear his teeth out and present himself
for his congratulatory head pats.
My cat meows twice (like “bless you”)
when I sneeze and I say “thank you” back.
She stared doing that on her own.
I stopped saying thank you a few times and
now she won’t stop yelling at me until she
knows I’m okay.
After my roomate got a cat, my dog answers
to “Kitty Kitty Kitty” cause he wants
love and/or treats.
I talk to myself constantly so my cat thinks
it's normal to walk around making chatty noises
all the time.
If he's awake, he's talking.
I think it's adorable but it drives my husband
nuts, which has resulted in my husband yelling
at him a lot (don't worry, the cat doesn't
get upset).
Now the cat thinks that's just how my husband
talks, so whenever he sees him he yells at
him really loudly in order to imitate him.
My husband will walk in the room and my cat
will stop whatever he's doing and just meow
SO LOUDLY right in his face.
It's absolutely hilarious, dude got exactly
what he deserved.
When my dog was a puppy my dad used to give
her the last bite of his breakfast sandwich
every morning so she learned to sit next to
whoever was at the head of the table eating
at 8 am every morning.
Sadly my father passed from brain cancer a
few years ago so I feel bad to see her sit
there and wait for the sandwich that isn’t
coming.
One time, my cat spotted a spider on my wall,
since he was staring so obviously I was able
to notice too.
Grateful, I gave him treats and cuddles.
He did it again a week later, same thing.
Then one time he looks around frantically
and I jump up to go check but I don’t see
a spider.
He looks at me expectantly.
After a few times like this I realized he
learned that looking around intensely at stuff
means treats, love and attention.
It’s now been 4 years and he will still
look at me then pointedly look around the
apartment, then back at me, expecting a reward.
Has it resulted in him spotting the occasional
bug?
Yes, especially since over the years I’ve
learned the slight difference between his
real expression and the fake “I want treats”
one.
Still, even if I know it’s all a lie, it
throws me off and sometimes I give in and
look anyway.
Maybe I’m imagining it but he always looks
so satisfied afterwards, the fluffy jerk.
Edit: Cat in question.
This weird fluffball has also learned to topple
the water container and to poke the trash
to get my attention.
If you try to spray him with water when he
misbehaves he will stand there pitifully and
blink at the water so you feel bad and stop.
He will sleep on your head at night and you
might find scratches on your cheek or next
to your eye, or he’ll yell at the bedroom
door if it’s closed and try to turn the
door knob and/or stick his paws under.
He screams like a goat.
On the bright side he learned to sit for food
because food is the only true goal in his
life.
My cat will open the tray to my Xbox when
he thinks I’ve been playing too long.
Even if I just started.
One of my cats has a favorite toy that he
brings me sometimes, and when he does I praise
him for his catch.
Now either I’ve trained him into thinking
he has to bring it to me to receive affection
or he’s trained me into recognizing when
it’s OK to give him affection.
Or a little bit of both and it’s just a
little nice communication tool.
My tortoise stands on my foot when he is hungry.
The budgie had a broken leg in a little splint.
He would climb to the roof of his cage with
just his beak and good leg, then let go of
his beak and hang by one leg then just stare
at me.
He knew I would stick my hand in and he could
just fall off into my hand.
He only did this when I was around because
I was the only one who would stick my hand
in.
My kitten will aggressively headbutt my face
every night before bed, for top of head kisses
before she goes to sleep.
Not sure how it happened, but my dog will
run to nearest window, stand on his hind legs
and look outside frantically if I ask him
“who’s here?!”. this behavior also occurs
when there is a knocking sound whether it’s
on the TV or at the door IRL.
If no one is there he will whine. if it is
someone he knows he will get excited.
If it’s a stranger he will growl.
Best guard dog buddy.
Every time I open the veggies draw in the
fridge my guinea pigs begin to squeal with
excitement, thinking it is food time even
if I just fed them.
Changing the sheets on the bed means play
time.
My cat likes to sit on the bed as I throw
on the sheets likes that rainbow parachute
elementary game.
She tries to attack my hand if I straighten
the edges while she's there too.
I used to work from home which included talking
on the phone a lot.
My dog would always bark when I was starting
to talk to someone so I’d give her a treat
to shut up, this turned into her following
me around and barking anytime I put my headset
on.
I don’t work for that company anymore, but
I kept the headset on a shelf.
Now when she wants treats she’ll go over
to it and bark at it and then look at me.
Get wet food at 4 am every day.
I wake up early during the week and feed him
wet food right away.
Of course he doesn’t care that it’s the
weekend.
His internal alarm clock is down to minute
with precision.
And because he’s a cat, and an asshole,
if we don’t get up and get his food, he
howls loudly through the house, opens shutters,
walks on our faces, nudges our noses with
his nose....he’s so relentless it’s not
even funny.
But we love him.
My pup knows "skooch" means for him to get
on his side of the bed.
After my ex husband left, ex's side of the
bed became dog"s side of the bed.
Dog knows "off" and would jump off the bed
when I said "skooch," too, and then ask to
be let back up on the bed.
Eventually he figured out that "skooch" isn't
the dame as "off"- he doesn't have to get
put of the bed, just out of my side of it.
Opening the fridge and touching a plasic bag
means they get a carrot.
(my mom gives my dogs carrots because they
steal it from our rabbit).
My dogs know the sound of the drawer the cheese
is kept in the fridge.
They could be asleep in a completely different
area, but if you open the cheese drawer they
come running and sit like good boys for their
cheese.
They are herding dogs and will also herd the
cat away if she won't stop meowing at me when
I'm busy or if she tries to scratch anything.
I don't know how it started but my dog will
bark at anyone who tries to wake me up in
the morning.
Not a playful bark either, it's an "I will
eat whoever tries waking up my friend" bark.
Edit: I posted right before bed so I kinda
forgot about this, but I remembered why I
think he had this behavior.
Theres a thing called resource protection
where dogs will guard their resources, so
if a human feeds, shelters, waters and walks
a dog that dog could grow to see you as a
friend and a resource meaning you're something
to guard.
I don't know if that's what really what happened
but it's my best guess to it.
My dog was born deaf, (he’s a double merle
Australian Shepherd, if anyone’s curious)
and he’s taught himself a bunch of different
cues like this.
I don’t think much of it now, and I kinda
forget that not all dogs do these things.
But it really is amazing how adaptable they
are!
He’s so perceptive, he picks up on things
we don’t even notice and has a ton of accidental
conditionings.
When he was younger, he had attachment issues
due to being a former abandoned stray.
He’d always lean on our legs, or try and
sit on our feet.
We figured out he was doing this so that he’d
know when we got up to leave!
He knows all sorts of cues, mostly relating
to locating where people are in the house.
He uses minute body language, vibrations,
shadows, and even mirrors to keep track of
who’s where.
He always wants to know who’s coming and
who’s going, and he usually knows someone
is about to enter the room before we do.
Most dogs have a good sense of time and schedules,
and he’s no exception: he knows when breakfast
and dinner should be, and that if I come down
wearing shoes, leggings, and a jacket, it’s
probably time for a walk.
But he’s also able to tell when someone
is leaving for a short time vs. an extended
period of time, and somehow seems to know
about when they’ll be back, too.
I accidentally trained him to jump up on the
bed with me whenever we’re alone in the
room, because I always allow him up with a
command in that situation, so now he just
assumes he can do it, lol.
He used to have this (sort of annoying) habit
of sticking his nose under closed doors and
loudly inhaling/exhaling repeatedly, but this
is his way of figuring out who’s behind
the door using his sense of smell.
When someone gets up to go to the bathroom
and closes the door behind them, he’ll face
the door and just wait for them to come back.
But right before they come out, he perks up
again.
How does he know?
He can’t hear the water running or footsteps
or anything.
My guess is it has to do with him feeling
the vibrations of the water pipes, and/or
seeing the shadow from under the door move
in a certain way.
He can also recieve commands through a mirror;
if he sees me wave or do the “good boy!”
hand motion in the mirror, he knows he can
turn around, and I’ll be there doing the
same hand motion and he can get pets/happiness.
It’s all pretty amazing and interesting
to me, especially considering most dogs don’t
understand or care about mirrors at all.
He was also never that into the game of fetch.
I think the idea of running AWAY from his
humans is just really unappealing to him.
Instead, his favorite game is tug of war,
(lots of eye contact and fierce competition!)
followed closely by “chase/herd the humans!”
and “food puzzle.”
Now that he’s older, his attachment issues
have improved a lot, he’s much more secure
and mellowed out.
When we go on walks, I’ve trained him to
automatically sit and wait at crossing areas.
He’s gotten really good at this, but when
I pat him to say, “good boy, time to walk
again!” for some reason, he always takes
off at speed.
My best guess is that I’ve jogged across
with him too many times to try and make the
opening, so now that’s what he always wants
to do.
(That or just, pure joy at continuing the
walk?)
He also complains if I make him wait too long
at the crossing due to passing cars...lol.
my last dog, who was a damn genius.
1. if the Emmerdale theme tune played, it
was time for his medication.
2. if we went into the kitchen, and he was
hungry, he could very clearly show me what
he wanted, stand next to the fridge if he
wanted cheese/ham, the cupboard if he wanted
a treat.
Same with water.
He'd stand near either the sink or his bowl
until I looked at him and changed it.
(He was on medication that made him more thirsty
than a normal dog hence why he'd learnt how
to tell me when he was running low.)
My current dog, who is incredibly mischievous
at the best of times.
-"...what's in your mouth?"
Runs into the garden immediately.
EDIT: I have a second one for my current dog.
When I tell him it's bed time, he will flop
straight onto his back.
This so that I have to carry him to his bed
like I did when he was a puppy.
My wife and I have pretty set sleep schedules
during the week.
If we stay up later on the weekend or w/e,
our dog gets VERY huffy/offended and will
sigh passive-aggressively at us until we go
upstairs to bed.
Oh, and if one of his bowls is empty he licks
it (also passive-aggressively) and then makes
direct eye contact.
I used treats to train my dog to do a few
basic commands, as any good owner would do.
Now when I ask him to sit, he immediately
assumes that I'm going to ask the same 3 commands
I always do.
Little jerk thinks he knows what I'm gonna
ask.
I accidentally taught my dog in his version
of sign language.
I talk with my hands a lot, and I realized
during puppy training, he would happily respond
to my hand motions as well as, if not better
than, verbal commands.
Bring me dirty laundry.
One day my cat brought me a sock and it was
so cute so I petted him and praised him.
That started a cycle of it and now he’s
constantly bringing dirty laundry to me.
My CAT watched me through my dog a ball and
my dog would fetch it.
Then he decided he a wanted to play with me.
When my cat see us with a garbage bag, he
runs to the door waiting for us to open it.
