Pet Quirks

[StarshipDefiant]

So, a question to the members of TrekBBS, do any of your current or past pet(s) have any odd quirks or personality traits, or behavior patterns? Something that could just seem odd as they are an animal, or you find it amusing or perhaps its odd because there's not much of a pattern or knowledge in other animals doing it?

There's a dog my family and I have, named Teddy and he is part chow, and part...I forget what else. Shepard or something like that, but anyway, he will not, I mean he absolutely refuses to eat any form of bread what so ever, if it does not have something on it (like butter). If you try to hand it to him, he'll simply look away with a disinterested look on his face, but if you put butter on it (he doesn't even have to watch you do it), he'd take that exact same bread. I find it amusing, because he's the only pet I've seen do that.

 

[thestrangequark]

When I was very young I had a tuxedo cat named Edwin Meese (I had heard the Attorney General under Reagan's name on the news, and apparently thought it was the perfect name for a cat). Edwin Meese followed me everywhere I went, and we loved eachother dearly. He was an odd cat, with a white tip on his tail and a white cross on his back. He was able not only to open doors, but to close them behind himself, so that no one would know he had let himself out of the house. He was also fond of coffee and would sneakily drink out of any mug my parents left around. He liked powdered doughnuts as well!

We also had a dog when I was a kid who, hysterically, "sang" "Happy Birthday". Whenever we sang "Happy Birthday" she'd start howling along. No other song would do -- we could sing or play anything and she was quiet as can be, but as soon as someone broke into "Happy Birthday" she'd be howling!

 

[Kestra]

We have a family dog that's so quirky, I call him the dog form of Monk (character on the USA show). He's obsessed with lounging on pillows, he barks if we leave anything out of place, and if he doesn't like something (like another dog or something) he'll just continually turn his head away as if thinking "If I can't see it, it's not there." He's also terrified of corners. I could go on forever, really.

 

[Ruaidhri]

My dog, Lily, has a compulsion to dig. See video evidence below. I don't know why she does it, but I eventually just allowed her to dig on a mat in the living room to stop her from doing it on the bed or the couch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7h66jxlf-MM

 

[Zulu Romeo]

I've mentioned this before, but a few years ago we learned that our dog could pick up the mail that had arrived at the front door then hand it to us. It was something we had discovered completely by accident: perhaps she had learned this from her previous owner?

Nowadays, in her senile years, she always insists on eating other people's food, especially breakfast. She still has her own food, but always barks at us whenever we're even as much as a minute late for her lunch.

 

[captcalhoun]

Shade begs for her food.

she's a cat.

she sleeps on top of the fridge at night when we shut her in the kitchen.

she's recently had a thing for sleeping on the back of one of the armchairs. or the arm.

she kept trying to sleep inside one of Dad's pillows and also got under Mum's duvet twice.

 

[The Sneeze Police]

Our youngest cat jumps up on his hind legs when we walk by so we will reach down to pat him.

 

[Finn]

My dog eats rocks and metals.

 

[Jono]

My new(ish) cat, Ducky, I swear is half sheep. She follows you around the house like a shadow. She really likes to be near you, but not on you...she's rarely will sit on your lap. My previous cats have been more into if they are near you they'll be on you and if not they'll be in some other room on a chair or bed sleeping.

Right now she is stealing my glasses cleaner...that's another thing she likes: stealing. She's stolen ear rings, necklaces, my glasses cleaning cloth, my contact lenses case, lip gloss, pens, a box of staples, my usb and a shoe.

 

[McCoy]

I've had my cat for a few months now. Adopted from the THS. She had really bad breath. My vet said she had a condition that is essentially an allergy to plaque, so this cat, who is less than 3 years old, had most of her teeth rotting out of her mouth. Paid about $1300 to have all the teeth behind her incisors removed.

Recently she's developed this obsession with chewing on my fingers. It's like crystal meth for her. As soon as she sees me she's trying to get her gums around my fingers. She'd go on for hours if I let her. Weird. Sometimes she slips and pinches with her incisors. Ouch.

 

[kimc]

My male pomeranian is in love with the female golden retriever next door. Just this morning he heard her barking and was so insistent I had to put down my coffee and paper, get out of my comfy chair and take him to his love. When she sees him coming she lies on the ground and lets him jump on her back. Then they settle in for some muzzle licking. After about ten seconds though Marco decides he's rather go sniff around the garden just out of the reach of Annie's rope - fuzzy little heartbreaker that he is.

 

[Kitty Worrier]

My cat, Lily, likes to be held, by me only. After I come home from work (and other times, if she's feeling needy), she'll start climbing up my upperbody to my sholder. Soon she's clinging onto my sholder and holding on for dear life, as if I'm about to put her down.

 

[nevermore]

Hmm. None of the behaviors described here strike me as odd for a cat. In fact, aside from sleeping on top of the fridge and actually closing a door behind them, my cats do all of these...

The most unusual thing that any of my cats does is that one of them will only be carried around if held on one's hip like a baby, and she only likes to be put down by being flipped over backwards. However, I don't think anything really qualifies as "odd" for a cat, frankly.

 

[sojourner]

My dog's been taking a dirt nap - for the last 20 years. Really strange.

 

[Kitty Worrier]

Hmm. None of the behaviors described here strike me as odd for a cat. In fact, aside from sleeping on top of the fridge and actually closing a door behind them, my cats do all of these...

The most unusual thing that any of my cats does is that one of them will only be carried around if held on one's hip like a baby, and she only likes to be put down by being flipped over backwards. However, I don't think anything really qualifies as "odd" for a cat, frankly.

Most cats I've had don't like to be held, actually. That's why I find it wierd.

 

[Yeoman Randi]

My dogs sing to Beethoven.

http://www.youtube.com/user/andrewmsmom#p/u/8/4ptUMrYUuA0

 

[Peacemaker]

My boyfriend's Boston Terrier, Walley, has an old stuffed teddy bear that he nurses before he goes to bed or takes a nap. Sometimes Walley raises his hind quarters in the air when he does it. We think he does it because he was taken from his Mommy too early.

 

[John Picard]

I have a female Calico cat just under two years old who is worse than having a toddler around the house. Sometimes she'll use her front legs to wrap around someone's leg as that person is walking by, as if to tackle that person. If she hears an odd, out of place noise, she'll pop up and stand *exactly* like a Meerkat -- front legs bent, ears down, and that body straight and long with her neck craning.

At night, she jumps on the bed and curls up partially on my left shoulder, head pointed to my body. She's pretty much a one-person cat since my son is only over Thursdays and every other weekend.

My other cat is a bit of a grump. She sometimes stakes out a spot on a display case and will reach out to swat someone if she feels her "personal space" has been invaded.

 

[SmoothieX]

My chocolate Lab, who is full grown, is one of the biggest Labs you'll find. He's recommended weight per the vet is 93-95 lbs. To put this into perspective, a male Lab that weighs 80 is considered large for the breed. He's built like a truck, ribs are like 2x4's.

So that in and of itself is quirky. The real kicker though, is that he is the biggest wuss in town. We'll go do the dog park, and he'll lie on his back in the submission position while 3 dogs that don't weigh as much as him combined get the upper hand on him.

I've seen him get defensive once in his entire life, and trust me it was plenty intimidating. So I know he's got it in him if he wants.

We're really still getting to know our black Lab puppy. We've only had her less than 3 weeks. So her personality and our relationship are still forming. But she goes into whay my wife calls 'gremlin mode' sometimes when she plays. She has this sort of grunt/play growl that sounds like she's possessed by a demon.

 

[UssGlenn]

So that in and of itself is quirky. The real kicker though, is that he is the biggest wuss in town. We'll go do the dog park, and he'll lie on his back in the submission position while 3 dogs that don't weigh as much as him combined get the upper hand on him.

On a similar note, my girlfriend's sister has 2 dogs. One is an over sized Doberman, who in addition to being dumb as a brick, is a huge wimp. The alpha dog of the house is the undersized miniature dachshund. Funniest thing I've ever seen.