This Dog Faked Being Sick Just So His Owner Would Stay Home For The Day
Sullivan had one very specific goal, and it apparently involved keeping his owners home for the day. What started as a normal lunch break in Utah quickly turned into a full-blown dog drama when the family noticed a strange cough that seemed to come and go at the perfect moments.
Alex and Kennady thought something was wrong with their pup, so they rearranged their day around him and even took him to the vet. But the more they checked, the more suspicious the timing became, and Sullivan’s little act started looking a lot less like an illness and a lot more like a strategy.
By the time they realized what was happening, the dog had already made his point. Read on.
Alex and Kennady live in Utah with their pup, Sullivan. Last week, Kennady decided to go home for her lunch break to relax a little, and she enjoyed it until she needed to return to work. Suddenly, her dog Sullivan started making a strange coughing noise.
"It really, really freaked me out," Kennady said. "He was wagging his tail and running around, just wanting to play, but he also kept making this horrific noise."
Kennady couldn't stay with him, and she was too worried to leave, so she decided to call her husband, Alex. He managed to leave work early to stay home with Sullivan and ensure he didn't get worse.
A while after Alex arrived home, he realized that the cough had mysteriously disappeared.
That evening, they thought he was fine because the cough was gone. "We figured he must have just gotten something stuck in his throat and finally got it out."
As Kennady and Alex prepared to leave for work the next morning, Sullivan started coughing again. They were worried because it had returned, so Alex decided it was best to stay home with him again for the entire day!
Little did they know that this was exactly what Sullivan wanted. Alex managed to take him to the vet for a check-up, and you know what? It turns out the cough was a fake attempt, and Sullivan is as healthy as can be.
It also echoes the canine who hung around a friendly woman’s house to escape “familial duties”.
Just because one vet said it was fake doesn't mean it is, so Kennady and Alex consulted more vets just to be sure it's nothing serious.
"Almost all of them said he could be acting sick in the mornings or when we leave him because he knows that if he acts differently or sick, we pay more attention to him and stay with him," Kennady said.
It's said that this is quite normal behavior for pets, especially if it means they will receive a bit of TLC as a result.
The head of the behavior medicine service at Blue Pearl Veterinary Partners said that this behavior is called operant conditioning.
"Dogs certainly can learn that certain behaviors result in positive outcomes - such as a cough or a sneeze resulting in owner attention," Jill told The Dodo. "I wouldn't say that this is faking it... but rather they are so clever that they realize the behavior results in a reward."
Sullivan eventually stopped his coughing because he realized it would send him to the vet, and he doesn't like that at all.
"I’m actually not surprised at all that he could pull this off," Kennady said. "He has been an incredibly smart dog since we got him as a puppy. He learns and picks up on things really quickly. He’s a really great dog."
Before you panic over Sullivan’s coughing, check out these pets’ hilarious vet-visit “I’m sick” antics.
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