What Has Your Pet Trained You to Do?

When it comes to pets, sometimes you have to wonder who owns who? In attempting to get our pets to adapt to our life… we find ourselves adapting to theirs. Here are a few hilarious examples of how our pets train us to perform. 

1. Cat as Queen of the Bed

No cat wants to be a kitty pancake! Check out this cat owner whose tabby taught her to give a warning before she rolls over in bed. Because, it’s the cat’s bed—not her owner’s!

“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.”

spodpaw (reddit)

2. Dog Feeder

How about this dog owner, who still drops food for her dog… even when the dog is not around. Hope this owner doesn’t do this in restaurants! How awkward would this be on a date? 

“I drop food, point at the floor and call my dog.
Even though my dog lives across town with my parents.”

starflite (reddit)

Is your pet the center of your life? Does your pet help you ease symptoms of a mental of emotional disability? You may qualify for an emotional support animal.

3. Cats Changing Life Habits

Some of the tricks our pets teach us stay with us forever, even when our pets have left our lives. Take this human as an example, whose cat has trained her to drink water in a particular way… for the rest of her life. 

“I only drink water while standing at the sink. My cat 15 years ago would topple over every glass of water, other drinks were usually safe. So even though she is gone I still don’t bring water anywhere in the house.”

Charlizeequalscats (reddit)

4. A Dog’s Butler

If you find your doggo wearing a lab coat and chewing on a pencil, it’s because you’ve become an experiment in behavioral psychology. Pavlov never did a science experiment with human dog owners; this dog did her own. 

“My dog jingles the bells hanging on the door handle when she wants out.
It’s Pavlovian now that I stop what I’m doing & attend”

joej (reddit)

5. Dog Trained Traditions

Pets don’t forget the people they love, no matter how much time passes by. How do we know? Because the adorable habits they teach us remain long after we go away. This cute conditioning, for example, warms any heart…

“Whenever we come back home, our family dog always runs up to us, sits up with his front paws up and makes us give him a forehead-to-forehead hug. One of the things I look forward to whenever I go visit my parents”

OverthinkingMachine (reddit)

6. Dog Conversations

Do dogs in France bark in French? Do dogs in Japan bark in Japanese? Are there multilingual dogs? Or is dog language universal for all dogs? Let’s ask this dog owner who has a dog patient enough to teach her a foreign language. 

“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.

edit because lots of people are asking: she’s a Portuguese Water Dog.

kay_citrine (reddit)

7. Cats Are the Boss

Sometimes, we find ourselves wondering how our lives got to this point. Following dog commands and handing out doggy treats becomes a full-time labor of love. But all the slobbery hugs and kisses are well worth it! Once in a while, though, you’re thinking of getting a new job because your boss just wants you to keep him amused. 

“He has turned me into his waitress. I tried to teach him food related words like: dinner, chicken, crunchies, milk. Now when he wants milk or chicken he sits in front of the fridge and meows till I serve him. When I call him to dinner, he goes and sits next to the food sachet bin. When he wants crunchies tho, he helps himself… When not serving him, I am trying to find new hiding places for his crunchy treats, so far he can open cupboard doors, and 3 different drawers. I would like a more fulfilling job than this. But he has somehow become the boss of me.”

kerenskable (reddit)

8. Cats Know How to be Spoiled

This cat has trained his humans to let him drink water like a king. Give this cat a crown and a throne, because he’s already gathered his minions. They even carry the king back to bed! 

“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.”

lestgobuffaslug (reddit)

9. Cats Want to be Entertained

Some pets want the interaction more than the treats. Take this cat, for example, who demands a game of hide-and-seek with every kitty treat. Does he count to 10 while he’s in the other room? 

“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”

plantsociety (reddit)

10. Emotional Support Goes Both Ways

Dogs make excellent emotional support animals. They provide warmth, affection, and security. But what about humans? Can humans do the same for dogs? Yes! Like this adorable doggy, who found her very special emotional support human. 

“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.”

IFS84 (reddit)

Did your pet train you to do something? Let us know in the comments below and find out if other pet owners experience similar fates.

If the LMHP you are working with is not familiar with ESA regulations, you may qualify for an ESA letter online from an LMHP licensed in your State. Click here to apply.