I've come to the conclusion that all my animals are a bit 'touched' aka 'all kinds of special'.
The bird dog (cocker spaniel) can't swim and refuses to fetch, the guard dog (doberman) is terrified of her own shadow, and the cat has let a mouse infest my kitchen. In fact, I'm pretty sure that all three of them have made friends with said mouse.
PS: This is completely tounge in cheek, I love my critters just sometimes they drive me insane!
Original Post by purespark:
Well, he's slightly smarter than Simple Dog. He doesn't forget who we are, or anything. He's not all there, though. Just the other day, he apparently discovered the angry little black dog in the mirror, and he can't be convinced that it's harmless.
Which dog of your sisters does this? The pom? My one pom does this - he WILL NOT back down to that identical canine staring back at him!!
It's hilarious, really.
No, it's Stryker that barks at the dog in the mirror. Elle (the Pomeranian) can't be bothered, I think.
My dog thinks that window panes are jump-through-able. Same window, too.
Original Post by thehappyfish:
Sometimes my cat sits in one of two corners, howls at the ceiling, then tries to climb the wall. At first I thought he was being special, but now I'm pretty sure he just does it to get my attention.
I had a cat that used to sit and stare at a corner for hours. Just staring at the wall as if she was being punished. My family still talks about her... she was so odd.
Original Post by purespark:
No, it's Stryker that barks at the dog in the mirror. Elle (the Pomeranian) can't be bothered, I think.
My dobbie recently found me in the mirror. I felt something staring at me and realized it was her...staring at my reflection in the mirror. I raised my hand, she cocked her head, I went "boo" and she ran off. LOL :)
ETA: it sounds like I'm always scaring the poor thing, I should really stop that :p
Lucy watches my eyes in my rearview mirror when we're driving. She's in the backseat, and I look at her in the mirror, and she makes eye contact with me. It's slightly unnerving how aware she is.
My dog (Manchester Terrier-Min Pin mix) yipes like I beat him if he walks into me or anyone else - even if he's walking in front of you then veers into your path and your foot even grazes him. YIPE! It's kinda embarassing when we're on walks.
He also is fascinated with the dog looking back at him in the glass panes of my entertainment center. He hasn't growled or barked at it, but stares at it like he's thinking "Why that's an attractive dog!"
My roommate's dog - a Shih Tsu-Yorkie mix - is the dumbest dog I've ever met. He just recently learned how to push doors open - he's six years old. I'm not joking. He used to sit at a cracked door and whimper and whine because he couldn't figure out how to get through/around it. My roommate has a picture of him peering out from around the bathroom door because, while he figured out how to get in to the bathroom, couldn't figure out how to get out. You can't make this stuff up.
We have lever style handles on our bedroom doors and Koda figured out how to open it one day when we shut him in one while visitors were at the house. I think it was an accident though - we'll see if he duplicates it next time.
He's unfortunately under the impression that he's the size of a chihuahua though. He frequently "sneaks" onto our laps. He weighs at least 90 lbs. Sneaking doesn't work very well for him.
one of my dogs is 'special'. he will go up a flight of stairs, but not down. he is terrified of the sound the range hood exhaust fan makes (although it isn't overly loud), but enjoys being vacuumed, and that IS loud. he eats laying down, with his bowl between his paws--has done so since he was a puppy. and he won't eat dog treats (even though my other dog thinks they're the best thing ever and will do anything to get one). as soon as he hears the toilet lid go up he runs into the bathroom, so he can put his paw on my knee and get his ears scratched when i'm on the throne. he can leap and catch a frisbee like nobody's business, but throw him a ball and he ducks.
i named him Dozer (Duuh-ozer)....the shoe certainly fits lol
Right now, my little Zoe (the one in my avatar) is curled up inside her bed and de-stuffing it at the same time.
Original Post by purespark:
Lucy watches my eyes in my rearview mirror when we're driving. She's in the backseat, and I look at her in the mirror, and she makes eye contact with me. It's slightly unnerving how aware she is.
Off topic, sorry OP, but why, oh why, did you have to say "backseat"??? LOL
Original Post by senji_mom:
Right now, my little Zoe (the one in my avatar) is curled up inside her bed and de-stuffing it at the same time.
ohmygosh she is PRECIOUS!
Original Post by purespark:
Well, he's slightly smarter than Simple Dog. He doesn't forget who we are, or anything.
That's lucky.
Wally has a thing with unfamiliar inanimate objects. I took him for a walk once past this courtyard by the federal building with a big bronze statue of an Indian chief (Peo-peo-mox-mox, for the record). As soon as he spotted it he stopped dead and started barking his fool head off at it. He wouldn't walk past Peo-peo-mox-mox either. It was kind of embarrassing.
We have a doorbell on the front office door and Wally has learned that the ring means somebody has entered the office for him to charge at and jump on. Today, I stole a stone turtle paperweight from my husband and used it to prop open my door so the dog couldn't get out, but could still hear the secretary in the next room and not be completely shut in. As soon as he spotted that damm turtle ... woof woof woof woof. He wouldn't go near it, so I had to coax him over to sniff and mouth it before he figured out it was cool. Then he lied there and hung out with the stone turtle most of the day.
Oh, and he is the worst hunting dog on the planet, except for other dogs' butts. He's pretty persistent about those. He's really quick and when he finds one he likes, he'll follow the poor dog around the dog park for miles with his nose stuck to it. He's also really good at contorting to match the gyrations of the poor dog that's trying to get away so his nose never loses full contact.
Yeah, Wally's a special one, all right.
You guys make me smile.
My cat has the weird ability to be self-conscious. Or maybe he just wants to look cool in front of us?
He'll see something really super interesting, and start barreling towards it, all eagerly excited, but then he notices that I'm watching him, and he'll stop suddenly and pretend to be interested in something else, anything else, sniffing the air, the suddenly interesting bit of floor, lick himself, and at no time during all this will he make eye contact with the object. After a suitable period of time, he then casually noses up to it and checks it out, like he's just noticed that there is something 2 inches in front of him. "Oh! hmm, what's this in front of me, I really haven't seen it until now, been too busy licking my leg, welll, I guess I'll sniff it now, not that I really care."
Cracks me up. :)
sokkies
Original Post by lysistrata:
Oh, and he is the worst hunting dog on the planet, except for other dogs' butts. He's pretty persistent about those. He's really quick and when he finds one he likes, he'll follow the poor dog around the dog park for miles with his nose stuck to it. He's also really good at contorting to match the gyrations of the poor dog that's trying to get away so his nose never loses full contact.Yeah, Wally's a special one, all right.
My dog does this, except only to female's genitals.
I can't wait to neuter him.
...random erections at the dog park is embarrassing.
My cats are pictured in my gallery. One is named Feral, as she lived in the forest for a year before I tamed her. She is 15 now, and doesn't eat enough unless you stand there and watch her eat (and she eats real slow). Three different kinds of food, on a three day rotation. One kind has to be cold, one warm, the other chopped up into tiny pieces, etc.
Dilly is a jumper, and can be found on the fridge or higher. She used to hang from the front door handle (lever type) to open the door when we were gone, and, untill we figured it out, we were constantly blaming each other for leaving the front door wide open. We had to screw a block of wood to the door, so the handle could only be lifted up to open the door. Visitors sometimes can't figure that out, when they try to leave.
Charlie (he's a kitten in the snow picture), now a 17 lb male, burps, farts, yawns a lot, and eats way too much. He'd watch TV if we had one. We got Charlie to keep Dilly company when Feral passes, but Dilly hates him. Dilly growls at Charlie constantly, any time he comes within 6 feet or if he just looks at her. He ignores the growling, keeps his distance, and usually just farts or yawns. But, when she is asleep, he sneaks up and touches her and then runs away.
-Yoshi Mitsu (part Siamese male cat) not only will come running if you are using a hair brush (one stroke for your hair, two for him, repeat) he loves to have his claws done with an emery board nail file.
-Fritz (male cat) used to run along side me until I would put him in my hood of a sweat jacket. He would put his paws on my shoulders and I took him for rides. He also would eat sunflower seeds (he watched me too often). He would eat the seeds & spit out the shells. His funniest activity was taking a run.....slide across a window height desk....out the second story window, spin in midair, catch on to the window frame, pull himself in and repeat for hours on end.
Original Post by olsonc91:
My dog (Manchester Terrier-Min Pin mix) yipes like I beat him if he walks into me or anyone else - even if he's walking in front of you then veers into your path and your foot even grazes him. YIPE! It's kinda embarassing when we're on walks.
He also is fascinated with the dog looking back at him in the glass panes of my entertainment center. He hasn't growled or barked at it, but stares at it like he's thinking "Why that's an attractive dog!"
My roommate's dog - a Shih Tsu-Yorkie mix - is the dumbest dog I've ever met. He just recently learned how to push doors open - he's six years old. I'm not joking. He used to sit at a cracked door and whimper and whine because he couldn't figure out how to get through/around it. My roommate has a picture of him peering out from around the bathroom door because, while he figured out how to get in to the bathroom, couldn't figure out how to get out. You can't make this stuff up.
That's adorable!
My Ollie, a Lhasa mix..mostly Lhasa, he seems..is the sweetest, cuddliest little guy, but he definitely is not the brightest.
I did doggy IQ tests similar to the ones mentioned in that hilarious blog, and he failed.
One involved putting a treat on a glass coffeetable, to see if he realized it was on top of the table or tried to grab it from beneath.
He wonked his head trying to attack it from below.
He's not completely dizzy..he's smart in some ways. For instance, during Easter dinner, he waited until Grandpa had launched into some very long prayer and snuck off to the kitchen where he hopped onto the table and attempted to steal a fish.
A huge, salted, disgusting fish..that's what Armenians eat for Easter. I ran in just in time to see him attempting to drag it off by the tail.
He's a pudgy foodmonster, so he'll find a way to sneakily snatch it if he can.
My big..whatever mix. Rottweiler? Lab? A bunch? Snarls at himself in the mirror, is my popsicle-burier, chases laser pointers (into walls..) and is all around just a big, silly happy, lovey boy.
My German/Aussie/Chow mix is the smartest, most alert/anxious/neurotic dog I have ever seen. He has opened a drawer, grabbed a book of matches, looked at me, closed the drawer and calmly trotted off to carry out Lord knows what nefarious scheme.
My Shiloh puppy is very bright (Lhasa) and sly, and loves to torture poor Ollie. She closes doors on him, steals his toys..yanks him off the couch by his tail..she's just rotten. She has that innocent puppy face mastered though, and will sit there looking completely angellic even when you catch her in the act. Mom has a rabbit statue with little baby rabbit statues she set on the hearth for Easter, and Shiloh rolled her tennis ball into it not once, but twice.
She was bowling for bunnies.
They're all so individual and amazing, aren't they.
I have a "special" black cat named, Monkey who I adopted from a shelter 8 yrs ago. If I open a closet door, he'll walk right in (while I'm not looking) and about 10 minutes after I've shut the door, he'll figure out that he can't get out and start howling. He's afraid of water, like most cats. However, he wants to be with his humans. So if someone is about to take a shower, he'll step into the bathroom. As soon as the shower starts, he begins to meow-howl, loudly (even though we've never bathed him). If you let him out, he continues crying outside the door because he wants to be with you. Monkey also has a habit of not looking before he jumps up on the couch, and he winds up landing on my Napoleon complex 6lb yorkie. Even though Monkey is about 12-14lbs, the dog still chases him, when he lands on her. Monkey's such a dingbat...but I love my black fur ball with green eyes.
Edit: Monkey's in my current avatar with his adopted son, Angel.
