'What has your dog learned that you didn’t teach them?' Dog Owners Share Their Canines' Heartwarming Self-Taught Quirks

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kalila courban
Mar 18, 2024 1:00 PM EDT

Hello, friends! It's easy to underestimate the intelligence of our canine companions. They possess a remarkable ability to discern our emotions and anticipate our needs. Simply by observing our body language, they instinctively know when it's time for a walk, a treat, or a rest. Dogs provide unwavering support and comfort, earning their title as "man's best friend." Recently, we stumbled upon a delightful and heartwarming thread where dog owners shared anecdotes about their pups teaching themselves quirky behaviors without any human intervention.

Many of these self-taught habits stem from their keen attention to human cues, both in body language and vocal cues, in our everyday lives. It's a testament to the profound bond between humans and dogs, showcasing their adaptability and intelligence in understanding and integrating into our world.

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  • 01
    What has your dog learned that you didn't teach them?
    via u/kodabear22118
  • 02
    • jnhope 4d ago I had set alarms to remind myself when he may need to go to the bathroom while he was potty training. Now whenever an alarm/timer of any sound goes off he heads to the door waiting for a walk.
    via u/jnhope
  • 03
    MattyGWS • 4d ago Our dog taught himself a bunch of peoples and animals names, we have 3 cats he's learned the names of, and a bunch of our friends and ourselves. we can say "go to <insert name>" and he'll go to them. He also learned other words on his own like window. If we tell him to look out the window he'll go look out the window. Theres a bunch of other examples of words he just knows, like the name of every room in the house etc.
    via u/MattyGWS
  • 04
    Enough Blueberry_549 .4d ago I love this question! I work from home and do a lot of zoom calls. My dog can tell when I'm wrapping up a meeting just by how the tone of voice changes. She'll start getting excited.
    via u/Enough_Blueberry_549
  • 05
    drcatsatan • 4d ago I get panic attacks sometimes and my dog Xena will get in my face to lick my tears away (and nudge my hands out of the way if they're covering my face) and then lay across my body with her head under my chin until I calm down. She's 110lbs and it feels like she crushes me back into my body and provides grounding and comfort. From my understanding there are service animals that are trained to perform these tasks, but she learned this by herself intuitively.
    via u/drcatsatan
  • 06
    ozzyzumafifi • 4d ago When my cat scratches the couch I say her name and the word no. My dog has taught himself to go over and stop her from scratching whenever he hears her scratch or I tell her no. It is really funny to watch and very helpful actually. He even knows the difference between her scratching her allowed scratch boards and the forbidden furniture.
    via u/ozzyzumafifi
  • 07
    Mbluish 4d ago • My girl comes to say "Thank you" every time I feed her and has for 11 years. I give her food, she takes a few bites, and then comes to find me to give me a kiss and goes back to her food,
    via u/Mbluish
  • 08
    QuackersParty • 4d ago Chihuahua mix! My dog knows my alarm sound and he won't let me go back to sleep if I turn it off. It's great because he's saved me from being late to stuff before, but it sucks when I forget to turn the alarm off for a holiday or whatever.
    via u/QuackersParty
  • 09
    Rosie3450 4d ago • My dog figured out that if she flaps her head really hard and noisily at 5 a.m., וויד wake up and let her out on the patio so she can go out and watch the sunrise. Now, if she could just figure out how to open the patio door by herself instead of waking me up, we'd be golden.
    via u/Rosie3450
  • 10
    devoutdefeatist • 4d ago I naturally brush my hands together after giving treats to get the crumbs off, and now we can use that same gesture and "all done" to signal the end of anything. Play time, brushing, getting goo out of her eyes. It's adorable.
    via u/devoutdefeatist
  • 11
    cholulatolula • 4d ago Motionless petting. Hand hanging at your side or off the couch? He'll nose under your hand then walk through it so you pet him all the way down his back, then turn around and do it again from the other direction, then repeat, all while your hand remains still. Had a friend fall asleep on my couch once with his arm hanging off and my dog took advantage to get an hour of petting.
    via u/cholulatolula
  • 12
    . leieq • 4d ago My lab loves playing fetch. When my mom broke her ankle, she put a chair outside and tossed a ball, but my dog would drop it out of reach. Mom would say "I can't reach it!," and pretty soon my dog learned to put the ball in her lap. Now we just have to say that phrase and she'll bring her toys right to us.
    via u/leieq
  • 13
    pumpkinator21 • 4d ago Whenever my dog needs to go out he does a little dance. He'll come up to us and we'll ask "out?" and if he needs to go he dances around! But if he doesn't (just looking for attention or something else) he just stands there. We never trained him to do this (actually for a long time we were trying to get him to ring a bell on the door but this never worked), we just sort of mutually figured it out together. We're never worried he's uncomfortable because he knows how to ask u
    via u/pumpkinator21
  • 14
    12781278AaR • 4d ago I'm automatically polite, so whenever I want my dogs to move off my seat or out of my way, I would gently move them while saying "excuse me." So now all of them (7- the magnificent seven to be exact haha) understand that "excuse me" means to move out of the way.
    via u/12781278AaR
  • 15
    willowsword • 4d ago 10 mo poodle puppy learned that the noise our outdoor camera app makes when it is triggered means someone is outside. He goes to the front door and then the back door to see if it is one of us coming home.
    via u/willowsword
  • 16
    • jluvdc26 4d ago My older male boxer taught himself to nose boop my husband's snack bags to let him know he wants a bite. It is cute and annoying at the same time (especially since he shouldn't be eating potato chips etc!)
    via u/jluvdc26
  • 17
    sal shiroyakshaa • 4d ago Everytime I come back inside with my dog, I wipe each one of her paws with a baby wipe to get rid of the dirt. She's learned to preemptively lift up each individual paw (the same order each time) in succession when I am done wiping the other paw. Very helpful for me.
    via u/shiroyakshaa
  • 18
    arkatme_on_reddit • 4d ago When I go out without kissing his forehead I hear him panic barking. When I kiss his forehead, he's silent as a mouse when I leave.
    via u/arkatme_on_reddit
  • 19
    • vivichase 4d ago Edited 4d ago My dog learned the concept of currency. She needed surgery as a puppy because she ate everything off the ground, resulting in me becoming an overly paranoid doggy parent who freaks out whenever she's got something unidentified in her mouth during walks. Her "drop it!" isn't reliable outdoors so I ended up getting her to drop it at home by waving a treat in her face.
    via u/vivichase

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