How has your dog trained you?

alschwahn

alschwahn

Location
United States
Aspen has these body language cues that he gives me when he knows its close to dinner time. They are really useful if it is a really busy day for me and I've almost forgotten to feed him until Aspen reminds me. Don't worry, he makes sure to remind me promptly at 6 pm each night so he's never missed a meal ;)

Here are his three main ways of saying "Mom! Feed me!!"

1. If I am sitting on the floor in the living room doing my work, which I normally am, he will come to sit next to me, lean against me, and give me a very intense side-eye. This one is always the funniest :ROFLMAO:
2. He will paw at the sliding glass door, which is his cue to go out. When I walk to the door, he will whip around and go stand by his food bin, sit down and stare at me.
3. He will lick his empty food bowl and make intense eye-contact.

I feel like I didn't realize how well Aspen is able to communicate what he wants until he hit about 15 months. He's really excellent at telling me what he wants without saying it. Other people don't understand, only Justen and I do. He's very particular about what he does/wants and others think he's odd but we just know because Aspen is our little boy!
 
Lab_adore

Lab_adore

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Sydney, Australia
How do they know exactly what time it is? Especially as the daylight changes throughout the changing seasons. He doesn't know the time in the mornings because as we progress towards summer and the daylight is coming earlier, he is getting us up earlier and earlier (sigh). However he knows exactly when it is 6.00pm! The only thing I can think is we normally have the tv on and the news comes on then so maybe he hears the opening music and knows? No idea

He also has a couple of ways of letting us know @alschwahn. He too goes to the door and stands there looking over his shoulder at us and when we open the door he whips around and goes to the food bag on the floor in the laundry, just near the back door. Too funny that they both do that! Otherwise he comes and sits practically on one of our feet in a perfect sit and stares up at you straight in the eye. Quite unnerving LOL! Or, if desperate, he picks up his food bowl and drops it at your feet.
 
Lara_Pigletina

Lara_Pigletina

Good boy Aspen, that sounds like very clear and sensible communication and also good time keeping! The Pig is not so punctual with her dinner requests, as she can begin to ask for it from 4:30 onwards or forget about it until 7, depending on how tired she is and how snug she is in her pig nest. Her communication is also less straightforward than Aspen - she stares at me, then when I look at her she backs away (sometimes play-bowing), sneezes at me, then chomps her teeth together. If I ignore her too long she starts adding a squeaky bark in, but I am not allowing that as don’t want to be barked at in my own home! I have always been intrigued by the sneeze - she uses it when frustrated and wanting something from me, and it is always followed by clacking her teeth together at me. Do any other dogs use sneezing and teeth clacking as communication?
 
Atemas

Atemas

UK Tour Guide
Location
North Cambridgeshire
They just know - it’s amazing. My two know exactly when it’s kong time, meal times, walk times and bed time. Red can be fast asleep but as soon as it’s the time we get ready to go to bed, she’s getting out her bed and coming straight towards me staring. The stare says it all 😂

A few years ago, Sky managed to get her tea time earlier and earlier until we had gone from 5.00 pm to 3.30 pm. She would just stare intensely at me until I gave in. I have managed to get that back to 5 now they both have a kong at 3.30.

In a few moments, I will be going to prepare their food for the day, they will be letting me know it’s time to stop doing this and go to the kitchen 😂
 
Granca

Granca

Jen said:
Stanleys not quite as subtle..
Click to expand...
Neither is Tuppence - that could just be her too! I usually feed them about 5pm, but she starts ‘nagging’ soon after 4pm if I’m just pottering around at home and particularly if I’m working on the computer. She appears from nowhere and nudges me, then eventually starts pawing at my arm. I still have a long, faint scar on my left arm to remind me of an incident about three months ago. :(

Wispa is far more laid back, although she almost encourages Tuppy to take the lead with the reminders!
 
Emily_Babbelhund

Emily_Babbelhund

Mama Red HOT Pepper
Location
Regensburg, Germany
Jen said:
Stanleys not quite as subtle..
Click to expand...
This is great! :ROFLMAO:

Carbon is similar, but the foot usually goes in my face. Though now that we've been traveling, he's seemed to have forgotten his sense of time. If we're out, he doesn't do the foot thing.

A couple weeks ago he trained me to pick his hippo off from the floor. He dropped it from the sofa once and I picked it up for him. Then he dropped it off the sofa again and I picked it up for him again. The third time it dropped I realised I was being trained to retrieve. Which truth be told, I do better than he does. I guess I have a better trainer than he does. ;)

I keep saying it, but it's a real challenge that Carbon is smarter than I am!
 
Boogie

Boogie

Moderator
Location
Manchester UK
Tatze has trained us in many, many ways. We are her slaves.

She usually does a little grumble when she wants something (to go in her crate or for us to take the puppy-prevention stool off her chair or to go outside etc etc). But if her slaves are slow on the uptake she will give a ‘woof’ too.

At meal times and walk times she employs a piercing ‘Labrador stare’ which would slice metal!

:)
 
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