Do your dogs play sick when they want extra TLC?
We're surprised kids haven't picked up on this trick... or have they?
Life without our furry family members can be boring, don't you agree?
Well, of course, pet parenting comes with its challenges like normal parenting, but whatever we lack as parents, our kids (furry ones included) make up for with their personalities.
We recently came across a post that said that our dogs sometimes pretend to be sick so that they can get more love from their owners.
According to the website topdogtips.com, "Dr. Richard Pitcairn, who wrote the book 'Natural Health for Dogs and Cats', said via Wild Insights that veterinarians believe in this notion that dogs can pretend to be sick for attention."
What's worse is that, apparently, pet parents might have reinforced this behaviour.
How? Well, Pitcairn believes that sometimes pet owners may show heightened concern if their dog develops a slight cough and consequently soothes or comforts them.
Read more: Which foods are dangerous for your dog
We were sceptical about it all, so we asked our resident dog dad, Rory Petzer, if his pooches, Pongo and Benson, ever do this.
Our dogs, Benson and Pongo, are so spoilt and get so much attention already that they never actually have to pretend to be sick to get some love. In saying that, they do know very well how to be extra cute when they want something!
Check out more from East Coast Radio
The innocent owner "might have been spending more time at work and less time with the dog, right? But once the dog sees that his owner pays more attention when he's sick, then he could pretend he's not in good shape so that his owner will stay awhile longer or consider skipping work." (TopDogTips)
It sounds like something Max tried to do in 'The Secret Life of Pets'... we hope our kids don't learn this trick, or it might mean the end of us.
HOW TO LISTEN TO EAST COAST RADIO
- Listen to East Coast Radio on the FM (frequency modulation) spectrum between 94 and 95 FM on your radio.
- Listen live to ECR by clicking here or download the ECR App (iOS/Android).
- Listen to East Coast Radio on the DStv audio bouquet, channel 836.
- Switch to the audio bouquet on your Openview decoder and browse to channel 606
- Listen to us on Amazon Alexa.
Image Courtesy of Instagram