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43 People Share How They Accidentally Conditioned Their Pets To Learn Unusual Skills Or Habits
Training an animal is hard work. You have to create a fun, interesting, and stimulating environment for it, constantly monitoring the animal for desirable and undesirable behaviors, reacting to each accordingly. You also have to arm yourself with patience. A lot of the time, the process can seem to be going in circles too. One step forward, two steps back... Or it can happen on a whim without you even noticing it!
"We're all unknowingly training our pets all day long," Samantha Bell, cat expert for Best Friends Animal Society, told Bored Panda. "Every time we interact with them, we're training them. The reason for this unintentional training is 'operant conditioning' - behavior leads to a reward which leads to a repeat of the behavior."
Here's an example of this unintentional training Samantha has experienced first-hand: her cat Yohan jumps on the counter while she prepares his food. Samantha never wants to stress him out, so she talks sweetly to him and gives him a little kiss on the head as she sets him on the ground. Since Yohan loves attention and head kisses, he sees them as a reward for jumping on the counter. So, Samantha accidentally trained Yohan to jump on the counter when she thought she was teaching him to get off it.
"And I'm a cat behavior expert. It happens to the best of us," she said.
Curious to find out more about this phenomenon, Redditor u/shoonpo submitted a question to r/AskReddit: "What have you accidentally conditioned your pet to do?" As of this article, the post has nearly 64,000 upvotes and 13,000 comments, many of which are fun stories like Samantha's!
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#1
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.
u/shoonpo told Bored Panda that they came up with the idea for the post when they were... sitting on the toilet! "One of my cats has learned that he gets lots of pets and scratches when I go to the bathroom. He always gets so excited to go the bathroom because he knows it's guarantee scritches. I wondered if anybody else had also accidentally conditioned their pet like that and posted the question expecting a few cute pet stories," the Redditor said. But as you can see from the list, not only cats are fast learners!
According to Bell, any reward-motivated animal is the easiest to train, including dogs, cats, chickens, and even fish. "Their species doesn't matter as much as you'd think when it comes to training! The more they want treats or pets or attention or a certain toy, the easier they are to train. My two cats that are obsessed with treats are so easy to train that I can teach them a new behavior in a couple of 5-minute sessions. But my cat that is 'meh' about treats takes more time, work, and patience. Helpful training tip: I reserve treats for training time only. When they hear the treat bag crinkle, they know that they’re in training mode and are ready to learn. This gives more value to the reward which also helps with training."
#2
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.
However, the expert said that some pets are just not that motivated and are difficult to train. "If you have a pet that does not seem to get excited about anything: attention, treats, food, pets, toys, you should have them checked out by your vet to make sure they're feeling ok."
Many of the behaviors on the list are harmless and fun, but unintentional training can lead to tricky situations as well. For example, imagine every time you get out a carrier, your cat hides because it means it's going to the vet. Maybe you don't even need to imagine this scenario, maybe you've already experienced it! Annoying, right? Plus, the animal is experiencing added stress. But there's usually a way out. "A common solution for [the previously mentioned problem] would be to leave the carrier out all the time and make it appealing to the cat with a cozy blanket, toys, and catnip inside of it," Bell explained. "Then you've eliminated the 'getting the carrier out' part that causes them to hide. Then you reward the cat every time they go in the carrier on their own."
#3
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.
#4
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.
"If you've done something similar, don't worry because you can train the opposite behavior and they'll eventually forget about the unwanted behavior," Bell reassured. "Now when Yohan jumps on the counter, I casually set him on the ground without sweet talk, attention, or kisses. And then reward him when he stays on the ground. When it comes to cats: Ignore the behavior you don’t want and reward the behavior you want to see more of. Remember that punishment does not work with cats. It only causes stress and distrust and leads to even more unwanted behaviors."
#5
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.
#6
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.
All the attention u/shoonpo received over their post simply blew them away. In fact, they finally understood what 'RIP my inbox' really means! "It just made me super excited to see that so many people resonated with the question," the Redditor explained. "I absolutely loved reading and responding to the answers for the first couple hours after I posted. I went to bed shortly after and woke up to a gazillion notifications. It really was just so wonderful seeing how happy it made so many people though. I wished I could have interacted more, but I am definitely really grateful that I interacted the first couple hours."
But if you want to willingly condition your pet to do something, go to Best Friends and check out their amazing articles on pet training!
#7
My dad has our pets trained pretty well. Since our Labradoodle was a puppy, he would tell him: "It's time for all the puppies in all the world to go to bed." His bed time has always been 9pm. Now we just say "all the puppies" and he goes downstairs and into his kennel. If we forget, he puts himself to bed. :)
My dad works from home and will take a break to let the animals out into the backyard. He says "time for recess!" And they all come running, cats included!
Last but not least, when my dad plays the piano, the dog sits next to him and "sings". It's the world's most obnoxious bark/yowl combo. My dad has a way with animals.
#8
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.
#9
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.
#10
My dog barks at any animal on the TV so I always told him whether he could actually take the animal or not and he's learnt that if I tell him that a polar bear will f**k him up then he shouldn't bark at it, but if there's a rabbit then he's got a shot of winning so he can keep going.
Now he barks then looks at me for approval to find out his odds before continuing.
#11
My cats love blanket caves or anything along those lines. One day I was wearing a pretty long dress and as a joke I covered one of my cats with my skirt. She sat right down and started purring like a motor. Now, anytime I have a long skirt on and crouch down to their level, she will dash under my skirt, make herself comfortable, and start purring. I worry about the day that she comes across another person in a skirt and dashes in like some pervy creep.
#12
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.
#13
Somehow we taught our dog the concept of trading. When we eat something she really wants she will go get one of her bones or toys, and if we carelessly take them from her she will casually try to take what we are eating, as if we shook on an exchange.
#14
My ex had a parakeet with the most personality I have ever met in a bird.
The birb used to mimick the sound that 'beeboop' sound that an android maked when you plug it in the a charger, and knew that meant it was time for bed.
So, whenever the bird was tired, it would make that noise, because that meant it was time to sleep. It mimicked it so perfectly that I found myself checking my phone whenever it was naptime for the birdy.
I miss you Pistachio!
#15
I had a dog when I was younger. When I put my shoes on, I would often pet him (he used to hang out in the coat room). He learned to bring shoes to me in exchange for head pats.
#16
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.
#17
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!!"
#18
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!
E Menendez 3 years ago (edited)
Did not realize that was an icicle he was chewing on at first. It is a little on the "suggestive" side of a different kind of toy. 😳
#19
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.
Doggo Froggo 3 years ago
One of my dogs throws her bowl around if she's hungry or thirsty and it is empty. If the water is not fresh enough, she will pour it out and then throw the bowl. Same goes for food. The bowls are also metal so they make an incredible racket.
#20
My cat will open the tray to my Xbox when he thinks I’ve been playing too long. Even if I just started
#21
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.
#22
My tortoise stands on my foot when he is hungry.
#23
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.
Alexis draskinis 3 years ago
My dog does this with the freezer! He thinks ice cubes are treats so if he hears it slide open, he comes charging from wherever he is to get his cubes!
Lorelai Purvis 3 years ago
my dane loves ice cubes, so when i tell her to come and give her an ice cube she's like "yay i was good :)" she really likes ice cubes. :P
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Premislaus de Colo 3 years ago
If you give cheese to your dogs, please do it only occasionally, make sure it's hard cheese and has nothing added to it
Kathryn Baylis 3 years ago
We have four cats and one dog, so it’s the sound of either the opening of the zipper on the resealable treat bag, or the turning of the lid on the treat jar. Even if dead asleep on the opposite side of the house—-and upstairs—-by the time the bag or jar is open, they’re all lined up behind me, looking up at me with with expectant looks on every one of their little faces. Really BIG puppy dog/kitty cat eyes, too.
Cynthia Marrs 3 years ago
I have a mental picture of all their faces. So cute.
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Abigail Nagel 3 years ago
Awww my cat loves cheese to, every time we grated cheese she sits at our feet and waits patiently
JessG 3 years ago
Yes! Came to say that crinkly bags always get my pet's attention. Lol!
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Tamara Stephens 3 years ago
Our guinea pig would hear the crisper draw open and start squealing knowing he was going to get some lettuce or possibly strawberries
PineappleQueen 3 years ago
My dog comes running the moment he hears someone opening cheese. Idk why, but I think it’s because my mom sometimes gives him a piece
Lexi Mitchell 3 years ago
My dogs can somehow tell the difference between me just moving cheese to get something else and actually getting the cheese out.
somnomania 3 years ago
we've got a cat like that, he knows which drawer sound means someone's having string cheese, and also the sound of the wrapper being opened. he'll come sprinting in even if he wasn't on the same floor of the house, if he hears the drawer!
Dorothy Cloud 3 years ago
My dog recognizes different sounds that just might end up getting him a treat. Bag crackle, jar lids, etc. Have to really quiet sometimes!
Denise Toler 3 years ago
My guinea pig knows the sound of the vegetable drawer. When he hears it he runs to the end of his cage and begins loudly wheeling, then standing at attention until I bring him the veggies.
Kelly Hartle 3 years ago
Our dog loved Starbucks puppy cups so much we had to start calling it “SB” because whenever she heard “Starbucks” she would start jumping in the air, even though she weighed 90 pounds. We called it the Starbucks dance.
#24
Get wet food at 4:00 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.
#25
After my roomate got a cat, my dog answers to “Kitty Kitty Kitty” cause he wants love and/or treats
#26
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...lll
#27
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.
#28
My cat knows my bathroom schedule. When I have to pee after getting home from work, she’ll dart into the bathroom and wait for me to put her on the counter. Then I turn on the tap and she drinks the water. I have no memory of how this started.
#29
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
#30
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) 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.
Laura Carney 3 years ago
We had a Doberman who wouldn't sleep without a blanket. When it was bedtime (for her anyway) if she didn't have a blanket on her, she would look at me and whine. If whining didn't work, it turned in to barking. As soon as the blanket went over her, she would settle down and sleep. It was great, I miss her.
#31
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.
#32
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
#33
My kitten will aggressively headbutt my face every night before bed, for top of head kisses before she goes to sleep.
#34
"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.
#35
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.
#36
My cat knows to come over for the last bits of my yoghurt every night. She can tell from another room by the sound my spoon makes how much there is left ie when it’s worth it to run on to me.
Our dog never learned any commands except to come back from outside when you mimicked loud eating sounds.
#37
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.
#38
Our dog puts himself to bed when we turn the Xbox off
#39
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)
Kathryn Baylis 3 years ago (edited)
He’s learned all your signals. That’s what our companion animals do—-they tune into us and memorize our habits and signals, to hell them intuit our needs. In other words, we’re their declared major, and our home is their college—-and their goal is to graduate at the top of the class!
#40
Upon hearing the Windows 7 sonata log-off sound, she jumps up and starts running around the room since I always locked my computer before leaving. And when I'm leaving, that usually means she's going to daycare (i.e. my Mom's house).
It's been 3 or so years since I switched to Windows 10, but just playing the sound on YouTube still gets a reaction out of her.
#42
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.
#43
I know somebody whose dog runs when he points his ass at it. Apperently he blasted it once with a heinous fart and it remembers.
What do you think ?
Mark Fuller 3 years ago
For whatever obscure reason, when our attention seeking cat started falling on his back, legs in the air, we decided it looked like he was impersonating a dead dog. So now whenever we say, "dead dog, dead dog!" he comes running and then... splat on his back with legs in the air, looking for a tummy tickle.
Lord Mysticlaw 3 years ago
The really impressive thing is what they condition us to do. If I'm asleep and my dog whines, I lift the edge of the duvet so she can get in. I basically do it in my sleep by now, she doesn't even have to wake me properly.
KombatBunni 3 years ago
My bird will imitate the sound of my iPhone whenever I call my partner. One day I called while birdo was sitting on my shoulder, so it was easier to do it that way and now whenever I pick up the phone he’ll start to make the noise. He also knows he has to get close to the phone in order to “talk” to the other person so if he’s on my shoulder and I’m calling he’ll immediately move up. It’s adorable but sometimes inconvenient. He also won’t eat sometimes until I do, and if I’m late with lunch or dinner I get told off. By a wee cockatiel!
Bird Mom 3 years ago
Birds are amazing. My cockatiel STEALS food. Have lost many a cereal to his beak.
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William Teach 3 years ago
They're just fish, but, everytime I get up off the couch they think it's feeding time. Even if I just fed them. But, they don't do it with anyone else. Just me.
Karen Gorzkowski 3 years ago
Hoomans are SO EASY to train! They are completely unaware that we're manipulating them. Just do something they think is cute and keep doing it when you want their attention. 🐾 Lily the dog
Ragnhild Nilsen 3 years ago
I'm not sure who trained who, i'm sure Her Majesty Mussi the Glorious believes she's the winner. Mussi, a 14 year old cat, likes to sit on the porch railing next to the kitchen window. She also likes to decide when she will be let in. Over these last fourteen years she has trained dad to let her in when she taps the window with her paw! Or dad has taught her to tap the window to be let in. The jury is still out on who trained whom.
Lolabean 3 years ago
Our late springer spaniel knew the Coronation Street (British soap) music. When she was a pupper being house trained, mum would take her in the garden every 15 minutes. These 15 minute slots would happen to coincide with the break to Coronation Street which was on most nights. Even when she was older, Meg would hear this music and run to the back door as though it triggered the urge to wee! A few years after this they changed the music, only a subtle change for us humans but big enough they Meg didn't respond in the same way any more. She'd also run to the back door when she heard the click of the washing machine door unlocking at the end of the cycle, as she knew it meant a trip to the garden to hang out the washing.
Zophra 3 years ago (edited)
the cat scratches the carpet...we moved him time and time again to the scratching post which he then scratches and gets a treat. Now, he has the habit of scratching the carpet first then quickly moving to the scratching post to scratch...and looking expectantly for a treat for completing the complete routine all by himself. sigh.
Amy Dodds 3 years ago
I have a thing where I like to sit on the bathroom floor against the radiator after a shower. One of our cats realised that I was extra toasty after a hot shower and so started coming in for cuddles. Now, the second after either my fiancé or I turn the shower off, she hears it and starts yowling outside the bathroom door until we open it and then sit down for her to come and sit on our laps.
A.M. Pierre 3 years ago
One of my cats would refuse to come when I called her so I started giving her treats if she did. It worked a little too well, and now any time I call her for any reason the other cat comes running too, and both of them want treats.
BonnyDK 3 years ago (edited)
I have trained the squirrels and birds I feed everyday to head for the hills if I click the back door lock 3 or 4 times. The birds fly up to the nearest tree but some of the squirrels are a little confused and run around frantic trying to decide which exit to take. The clicks means my border collies need out to go potty. I wait until everyone is safe before I let the dogs out. My grandson thinks it's funny that I trained the squirrels. Where we used to live the collared doves trained me. If they were out of food they would fly at the back door and hit it with their feet. It sounded like someone knocking. It was the birds. They would then march back and forth in front of the dish while looking at the back door.
SoozeeQ 3 years ago
Yes! The local King Parrots and Rainbow Lorikeets have trained us well, in Oz. If we don't come out to feed them when they call, they'll land on the window sill and squawk until we do!
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Sky Render 3 years ago
My cat will paw under my door if she hears the ending theme of Star Trek: The Next Generation. My sister and I were doing a marathon run of the entire series, and we always left my room as soon as the show ended, so the cat learned that the TNG ending theme meant that she was going to see us in just a few seconds.
Cecilia 3 years ago
Our golden was a real scaredy cat, afraid of anything new. On one of our frequently used routes, there's a bus stop, and at first, she was scared. We gently urged her to go in, check it out, sit a bit, then we'd continue our walk. After a while, she'd just automatically walk in, sit, come back out and keep walking like it was totally normal. Bonus if there were ppl who'd give her pats
Rick Seiden 3 years ago
I used to have a dog that liked to walk around the far side of trees. I'd give a gentle tug on the leash (she was wearing a harness) and say, "Wrong way stupid." Eventually, when I'd see her heading to the wrong side of the tree, I'd say, "Wrong way stupid" and she'd change course and come around the close side of the tree. It's been over 25 years since I had to give her up, and I still miss her. She was a great dog.
Deceased Nemo 3 years ago (edited)
One day I put my cat up into my loft bed and now on weekends when someone lets him out if the laundry room in the morning he comes up and says good morning and claws me if I don't pet him and then leaves this is him 2021_0208_...2ac510.jpg 
Heather March 3 years ago (edited)
Since my husband has been working from home this past year, our male pit Hero has become less of a mama's boy. Now whenever my husband gets up from his laptop, Hero runs over to sit in front of it with his leg on the armrest just like dad.
Anita Zakse 3 years ago
Knowing that my cat loves catching flies, whenever I see one, I loudly say "fly" and call my cat. Seems like he has learned the meaning of this word and instantly starts looking around for a fly. After successful hunt, I feel like we are hunting buddies 😂
Shine Caramia 3 years ago
I thought I was teaching my dog the "drop" command, but what she actually learned was that bringing my kid's toys to me is a very good way to get praise and sometimes even a treat.
Tiffiny 3 years ago
My dog is almost 5 now. She knows all of my habits from me talking to myself or her. Loud sighs because I’m hurting and have to get up anyways-she jumps down. Saying move and a head nod for direction and she moves in that direction. And she knows when I’m really hurting and puts her head or body on my legs. (A vascular necrosis/bone disease in my femurs and tibias) she’s a good little heater too, and also likes to be on top of the blanket covered heat pad which weighs it down on my knees. Win/Win.
François Carré 3 years ago
My cat loves warm water and shows interest in everything that happens in the bathroom in general. Whenever I get out of the shower, even if she wasn't there the second before, she runs to me at the very moment I put a toe on the floor, and rubs happily against my legs like she wants to dry them off. Then she jumps into the wet bathtub and wants to play fight.
Dorothy Cloud 3 years ago
So many of those stories I can relate to my Fritz. He recognizes sounds, words, sentences and even hand gestures. Mostly learned by repetition.
Eglė Bukauskaitė 3 years ago
1. My cat watched me couple of thimes as i knock to a window - it opens up. The cat used that trick to be let in from the outside. 2. He learned how to open closed doors same way; 3. The other cat deducted that she gets food when she returns from outside, so the dummy cries to be let out just to be let in and thus get to eat. 4. Dog figured that whn i say "where's the ball??" - it's a play time. So she fetches me her favourite ball at the time, it works when we finish playing and she brings her toys home. 5. Dog also learned to play tapping a hand. When you have to take away your hand to not get touched
Faye C. Booker 3 years ago
I was bottle-feeding a baby packrat and was heartbroken when the little critter died in an accident. Since I had shown the tiny rat to both my cats and told them that it was mine, they tried to cheer me up in the days afterwards by bringing an assortment of live rodents into the house and jumping on my lap to let them go. IMG_3141-6...482d22.jpg 
Christina Uhlir 3 years ago
Training an animal is easy; training a human child is hard..... and sadly, too many people just don't do it.
Marvin HeartofGold 3 years ago
When I first got my cats I would use a squirt bottle to deter them from undesired behavior such as scratching anything but approved scratch areas. It didn't take long for me to be able to move from the spray bottle to me making a similar sound. Well last year we got a dog. The cats hate her even though she kept her distance from them. Occasionally they would take swipes at her and I would make the noise "Tshh-tshh" to warn them off and doggo would trot over to me. Of course she's adorbs and she just got swiped at so I pet her. ..and then she started antagonizing the cats to get them to swipe at her so I would go "Tshh-tshh" and she could get pets. Jokes on her, she got squirted for antagonizing the cats.
Tiny Dancer 3 years ago
When hubby and I first got together, he made it clear he was not a cat person. He tolerated Doc, my rescue tabby, as the cat slowly worked his magic on him. Soon enough, I was an afterthought and Doc bounded onto hubby's lap every night. He was an outdoor cat long before we met, so we made sure he had a safe entrance/exit window. One cold night, we were ready for bed by 11PM and Doc wasn't home. We both waited up for him and hubby was so relieved when he finally appeared at the window, but he warned him, "You had us worried sick, this will not stand, Doc! Be home by 11 or you'll be out all night!" I swear, if I hadn't heard it and seen it with my own eyes I would have never believed it, but that cat was home on the DOT of 11PM every single night from then on.
Bored Birgit 3 years ago
Only 43 posts? I would have liked much more of these! Pets are the best.
Notorious DBT 3 years ago
Our guinea pigs lost their everloving minds when they heard the crinkle of plastic bags. They knew it often meant they would get alfalfa. But not always!
Mry Cstl 3 years ago
I had a cat that knew. When it was time to go to sleep. At night i started telling her " its time to go to sleep, good night. After a while she could already tell we were going to get ready to go to bed, and she'd automatically go get on her position where she slept, waiting for the light to go out.
Kathy B 3 years ago
My one cat has a few things that I’ve “trained” him to do. The other not really. When Tesla was a kitten I would always cover him up when he was asleep. He has now associated being covered up with sleeping and will fall asleep when a blanket has been put on him. He will also dig at the edge of the blankets when I’m in bed because he wants to sleep in the same spot that I’m in. He’s also trained to sit and wait for his food. When I bring their wet food out I will tell him to sit in his spot and he will go there, sit down, and stare at me until I put the bowl down. My other cat isn’t as trained but she does know exactly when it’s food time and if I’m not awake to put food in her bowl she will complain to her ancestors about it. Loudly. She also know that after I tell Tesla to sit that it’s her turn for food. I will say “where’s Gremlin's spot” and she will meow twice in the same pacing as you would say ‘right here’ and go over to her spot. She also meows bless you (2 short meows)
Lexi Mitchell 3 years ago
My dogs figured out to slap or headbutt me really hard in the thigh if I’m at my computer and they want me for something. The younger one has different grumbly sounds depending on if she wants to be on the bed, wants to be picked up, or needs help with something stuck under the furniture. Also for some reason the ONLY thing that gets them to stop barking at the front door is “DO YOU WANNA GO TO BED?!” They both basically teleport away from the door.
Solrac 3 years ago
Cats are habits creatures and they also learn pavlovianly, so they react to noises and get used to people's routines. When my cat was 1 year old there was a moth invasion so whenever 1 would appear in apartment I would say "look" in my language in a hushed voice. Now whenever I do that he looks up the ceiling to see where's the moth. And so there are lots of things they learn and exploit in their favour.
Mark Fuller 3 years ago
For whatever obscure reason, when our attention seeking cat started falling on his back, legs in the air, we decided it looked like he was impersonating a dead dog. So now whenever we say, "dead dog, dead dog!" he comes running and then... splat on his back with legs in the air, looking for a tummy tickle.
Lord Mysticlaw 3 years ago
The really impressive thing is what they condition us to do. If I'm asleep and my dog whines, I lift the edge of the duvet so she can get in. I basically do it in my sleep by now, she doesn't even have to wake me properly.
KombatBunni 3 years ago
My bird will imitate the sound of my iPhone whenever I call my partner. One day I called while birdo was sitting on my shoulder, so it was easier to do it that way and now whenever I pick up the phone he’ll start to make the noise. He also knows he has to get close to the phone in order to “talk” to the other person so if he’s on my shoulder and I’m calling he’ll immediately move up. It’s adorable but sometimes inconvenient. He also won’t eat sometimes until I do, and if I’m late with lunch or dinner I get told off. By a wee cockatiel!
Bird Mom 3 years ago
Birds are amazing. My cockatiel STEALS food. Have lost many a cereal to his beak.
Load More Replies... William Teach 3 years ago
They're just fish, but, everytime I get up off the couch they think it's feeding time. Even if I just fed them. But, they don't do it with anyone else. Just me.
Karen Gorzkowski 3 years ago
Hoomans are SO EASY to train! They are completely unaware that we're manipulating them. Just do something they think is cute and keep doing it when you want their attention. 🐾 Lily the dog
Ragnhild Nilsen 3 years ago
I'm not sure who trained who, i'm sure Her Majesty Mussi the Glorious believes she's the winner. Mussi, a 14 year old cat, likes to sit on the porch railing next to the kitchen window. She also likes to decide when she will be let in. Over these last fourteen years she has trained dad to let her in when she taps the window with her paw! Or dad has taught her to tap the window to be let in. The jury is still out on who trained whom.
Lolabean 3 years ago
Our late springer spaniel knew the Coronation Street (British soap) music. When she was a pupper being house trained, mum would take her in the garden every 15 minutes. These 15 minute slots would happen to coincide with the break to Coronation Street which was on most nights. Even when she was older, Meg would hear this music and run to the back door as though it triggered the urge to wee! A few years after this they changed the music, only a subtle change for us humans but big enough they Meg didn't respond in the same way any more. She'd also run to the back door when she heard the click of the washing machine door unlocking at the end of the cycle, as she knew it meant a trip to the garden to hang out the washing.
Zophra 3 years ago (edited)
the cat scratches the carpet...we moved him time and time again to the scratching post which he then scratches and gets a treat. Now, he has the habit of scratching the carpet first then quickly moving to the scratching post to scratch...and looking expectantly for a treat for completing the complete routine all by himself. sigh.
Amy Dodds 3 years ago
I have a thing where I like to sit on the bathroom floor against the radiator after a shower. One of our cats realised that I was extra toasty after a hot shower and so started coming in for cuddles. Now, the second after either my fiancé or I turn the shower off, she hears it and starts yowling outside the bathroom door until we open it and then sit down for her to come and sit on our laps.
A.M. Pierre 3 years ago
One of my cats would refuse to come when I called her so I started giving her treats if she did. It worked a little too well, and now any time I call her for any reason the other cat comes running too, and both of them want treats.
BonnyDK 3 years ago (edited)
I have trained the squirrels and birds I feed everyday to head for the hills if I click the back door lock 3 or 4 times. The birds fly up to the nearest tree but some of the squirrels are a little confused and run around frantic trying to decide which exit to take. The clicks means my border collies need out to go potty. I wait until everyone is safe before I let the dogs out. My grandson thinks it's funny that I trained the squirrels. Where we used to live the collared doves trained me. If they were out of food they would fly at the back door and hit it with their feet. It sounded like someone knocking. It was the birds. They would then march back and forth in front of the dish while looking at the back door.
SoozeeQ 3 years ago
Yes! The local King Parrots and Rainbow Lorikeets have trained us well, in Oz. If we don't come out to feed them when they call, they'll land on the window sill and squawk until we do!
Load More Replies... Sky Render 3 years ago
My cat will paw under my door if she hears the ending theme of Star Trek: The Next Generation. My sister and I were doing a marathon run of the entire series, and we always left my room as soon as the show ended, so the cat learned that the TNG ending theme meant that she was going to see us in just a few seconds.
Cecilia 3 years ago
Our golden was a real scaredy cat, afraid of anything new. On one of our frequently used routes, there's a bus stop, and at first, she was scared. We gently urged her to go in, check it out, sit a bit, then we'd continue our walk. After a while, she'd just automatically walk in, sit, come back out and keep walking like it was totally normal. Bonus if there were ppl who'd give her pats
Rick Seiden 3 years ago
I used to have a dog that liked to walk around the far side of trees. I'd give a gentle tug on the leash (she was wearing a harness) and say, "Wrong way stupid." Eventually, when I'd see her heading to the wrong side of the tree, I'd say, "Wrong way stupid" and she'd change course and come around the close side of the tree. It's been over 25 years since I had to give her up, and I still miss her. She was a great dog.
Deceased Nemo 3 years ago (edited)
One day I put my cat up into my loft bed and now on weekends when someone lets him out if the laundry room in the morning he comes up and says good morning and claws me if I don't pet him and then leaves this is him 2021_0208_...2ac510.jpg
Heather March 3 years ago (edited)
Since my husband has been working from home this past year, our male pit Hero has become less of a mama's boy. Now whenever my husband gets up from his laptop, Hero runs over to sit in front of it with his leg on the armrest just like dad.
Anita Zakse 3 years ago
Knowing that my cat loves catching flies, whenever I see one, I loudly say "fly" and call my cat. Seems like he has learned the meaning of this word and instantly starts looking around for a fly. After successful hunt, I feel like we are hunting buddies 😂
Shine Caramia 3 years ago
I thought I was teaching my dog the "drop" command, but what she actually learned was that bringing my kid's toys to me is a very good way to get praise and sometimes even a treat.
Tiffiny 3 years ago
My dog is almost 5 now. She knows all of my habits from me talking to myself or her. Loud sighs because I’m hurting and have to get up anyways-she jumps down. Saying move and a head nod for direction and she moves in that direction. And she knows when I’m really hurting and puts her head or body on my legs. (A vascular necrosis/bone disease in my femurs and tibias) she’s a good little heater too, and also likes to be on top of the blanket covered heat pad which weighs it down on my knees. Win/Win.
François Carré 3 years ago
My cat loves warm water and shows interest in everything that happens in the bathroom in general. Whenever I get out of the shower, even if she wasn't there the second before, she runs to me at the very moment I put a toe on the floor, and rubs happily against my legs like she wants to dry them off. Then she jumps into the wet bathtub and wants to play fight.
Dorothy Cloud 3 years ago
So many of those stories I can relate to my Fritz. He recognizes sounds, words, sentences and even hand gestures. Mostly learned by repetition.
Eglė Bukauskaitė 3 years ago
1. My cat watched me couple of thimes as i knock to a window - it opens up. The cat used that trick to be let in from the outside. 2. He learned how to open closed doors same way; 3. The other cat deducted that she gets food when she returns from outside, so the dummy cries to be let out just to be let in and thus get to eat. 4. Dog figured that whn i say "where's the ball??" - it's a play time. So she fetches me her favourite ball at the time, it works when we finish playing and she brings her toys home. 5. Dog also learned to play tapping a hand. When you have to take away your hand to not get touched
Faye C. Booker 3 years ago
I was bottle-feeding a baby packrat and was heartbroken when the little critter died in an accident. Since I had shown the tiny rat to both my cats and told them that it was mine, they tried to cheer me up in the days afterwards by bringing an assortment of live rodents into the house and jumping on my lap to let them go. IMG_3141-6...482d22.jpg
Christina Uhlir 3 years ago
Training an animal is easy; training a human child is hard..... and sadly, too many people just don't do it.
Marvin HeartofGold 3 years ago
When I first got my cats I would use a squirt bottle to deter them from undesired behavior such as scratching anything but approved scratch areas. It didn't take long for me to be able to move from the spray bottle to me making a similar sound. Well last year we got a dog. The cats hate her even though she kept her distance from them. Occasionally they would take swipes at her and I would make the noise "Tshh-tshh" to warn them off and doggo would trot over to me. Of course she's adorbs and she just got swiped at so I pet her. ..and then she started antagonizing the cats to get them to swipe at her so I would go "Tshh-tshh" and she could get pets. Jokes on her, she got squirted for antagonizing the cats.
Tiny Dancer 3 years ago
When hubby and I first got together, he made it clear he was not a cat person. He tolerated Doc, my rescue tabby, as the cat slowly worked his magic on him. Soon enough, I was an afterthought and Doc bounded onto hubby's lap every night. He was an outdoor cat long before we met, so we made sure he had a safe entrance/exit window. One cold night, we were ready for bed by 11PM and Doc wasn't home. We both waited up for him and hubby was so relieved when he finally appeared at the window, but he warned him, "You had us worried sick, this will not stand, Doc! Be home by 11 or you'll be out all night!" I swear, if I hadn't heard it and seen it with my own eyes I would have never believed it, but that cat was home on the DOT of 11PM every single night from then on.
Bored Birgit 3 years ago
Only 43 posts? I would have liked much more of these! Pets are the best.
Notorious DBT 3 years ago
Our guinea pigs lost their everloving minds when they heard the crinkle of plastic bags. They knew it often meant they would get alfalfa. But not always!
Mry Cstl 3 years ago
I had a cat that knew. When it was time to go to sleep. At night i started telling her " its time to go to sleep, good night. After a while she could already tell we were going to get ready to go to bed, and she'd automatically go get on her position where she slept, waiting for the light to go out.
Kathy B 3 years ago
My one cat has a few things that I’ve “trained” him to do. The other not really. When Tesla was a kitten I would always cover him up when he was asleep. He has now associated being covered up with sleeping and will fall asleep when a blanket has been put on him. He will also dig at the edge of the blankets when I’m in bed because he wants to sleep in the same spot that I’m in. He’s also trained to sit and wait for his food. When I bring their wet food out I will tell him to sit in his spot and he will go there, sit down, and stare at me until I put the bowl down. My other cat isn’t as trained but she does know exactly when it’s food time and if I’m not awake to put food in her bowl she will complain to her ancestors about it. Loudly. She also know that after I tell Tesla to sit that it’s her turn for food. I will say “where’s Gremlin's spot” and she will meow twice in the same pacing as you would say ‘right here’ and go over to her spot. She also meows bless you (2 short meows)
Lexi Mitchell 3 years ago
My dogs figured out to slap or headbutt me really hard in the thigh if I’m at my computer and they want me for something. The younger one has different grumbly sounds depending on if she wants to be on the bed, wants to be picked up, or needs help with something stuck under the furniture. Also for some reason the ONLY thing that gets them to stop barking at the front door is “DO YOU WANNA GO TO BED?!” They both basically teleport away from the door.
Solrac 3 years ago
Cats are habits creatures and they also learn pavlovianly, so they react to noises and get used to people's routines. When my cat was 1 year old there was a moth invasion so whenever 1 would appear in apartment I would say "look" in my language in a hushed voice. Now whenever I do that he looks up the ceiling to see where's the moth. And so there are lots of things they learn and exploit in their favour.
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