[Dr. Smith]

Our labbie is trained to "whisper" when he has to go outside. Lately, the weather has been such that my DW has been able to sit out on the front porch/stoop in a lounge chair and read, so she takes the dog with her and he just hangs out...

The other day, he felt the urge, so he sat in front of her and whispered. She tried to tell him he already was outside, so go ahead and do his business... but he just couldn't get it -- it wasn't the usual ritual he's used to. She had to get up and accompany him out on the lawn, he did his thing, and they went back up on the porch. It's been several times and he still can't figure it out.

Animals can get so programmed/stuck in a rut/ritualized it's hysterical.

Doc

[Wren]

My little laptop sets on the table, pushed back 12-14" from the edge. Peaches insists on this distance. She wants to sleep sprawled in front of the computer with her head resting on my left forearm. I can type but not move that arm too much.
It's a habit now .... no matter where she is the computer is pushed far back from the edge of the table.

[Kitty]

My cat Tigger walks the same path every time he walks through the living room.....entering and/or leaving. Once around the floor lamp.....then behind the fake ficus tree. He never deviates from this path.
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[Koala77]

Your stories made me smile. Thank you.

Would you believe that even my little bird will complain if we try and change any part of her routine. She has her likes and dislikes and at times I think she can tell the time. At 8:30am she whistles to go outside and if we don't put her out within 5 or 10 minutes, she screeches. At 3pm exactly, she squeals to come back in and 6pm on the knocker.... she asks to go to bed. Hubby says that she looks at the clock on the wall!
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Who'd have thought a little bird would be able to do such things? Certainly not me before we got our first as a pet.

[candlelight]

"Creatures of habit' Our animal companions can teach us so much. We may wish we could teach them more, but loving , laughing, and playing with them is such a great joy. I have a 20 pound cat that has convinced me to walk him on a leash everyday. Since he is so persistent I have no choice but to oblige him. Your lab sounds cool. Have a great day.
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[mrsD]

Our cats have always been our alarm clock.

When hubby wants to sleep in a little on weekends, the
feline singing begins at 6am at the time the alarm is supposed to go off. Sometimes Oreo can hear the whirring in the clock, before the actual buzzing, and she starts in then.

Today even Weezie did this to us! Typically now it is only Oreo.
In the past our late Sheba was the "alarm clock".

[Dr. Smith]

Coupla dogs ago we had a Border Collie that doubled as an alarm clock -- replete with snoze alarm. Every 15 min. she'd let out one little bare audible (how she knew what volume to use we'll never know) bark until we got up to let her out.

She was the only one we could leave outside on her own without concern. When she was done, she's always come back up on the porch and wait by the door. Sometimes she'd want to come in right away; other times she'd want to stay out for a while, catching some air or sunshine. When she was ready, same thing -- one little bark every few minutes -- until someone let her in.

Current furface's day isn't right until he's had a proper "hello" (cuddle) from mom & dad, with exactly one little piece of kibble from each. It continually amazes DW that that one little piece, after eating a whole bowl of the exact same thing for breakfast, could be so important and meaningful to starting his day right. After that he can settle in for his "big snooze" until whenever...

Rituals.

Doc

[mrsD]

Tippy our late cat, did a very strange and amusing thing upNorth.

She'd walk out the path to the dock to be with us, but every time she'd examine all the pebbles. If one was moved or something new had landed on that path, she'd stop and majorly examine it.

It was like she had a blueprint for every stone!

This is a photo of her watching Oreo trot down this path to us, to give you a feel for it.
I can almost hear her thinking/saying.... "don't mess up all the path/pebbles! " LOL

[Kitty]

Originally Posted by mrsD
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This is a photo of her watching Oreo trot down this path to us, to give you a feel for it.
I can almost hear her thinking/saying.... "don't mess up all the path/pebbles! " LOL

LOL! I love that expression on her face!

[mrsD]

Yes, sadly this was the last summer (2010) we had with Sheba AND Tippy! sniff sniff
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