Does your Dog Tease or Play Jokes with You?

By: Eileen Koval, CDBC, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA, MSc

Does your dog play jokes on you, laugh, or have a sense of humor?

Mine undoubtedly do.  Two of my dogs have had very witty personalities, playing different jokes on me and my husband over the years.  Dogs undoubtedly have distinct personalities, but they are often discounted for their abilities to experience deep emotions that we know from Jaak Panksepp’s neurobiological research (amongst other studies) that all mammals experience, such as happiness, rage, jealousy, and lust.  We have more in common with pets than we think! 

Sometimes, pets can do some things that are a bit annoying, but there is nothing tangibly beneficial for the animal when we examine the objective of the behavior.  These may be practical jokes or a bit of teasing, like what we might do to a friend, sibling or parent.

Bones initiating a game for us to chase her

 Recent examples that come to mind for me.... This can drive me crazy at times – not too different from when my three brothers teased me heavily growing up -- but I like that my dog and I have this type of comfortable relationship.

Gilgamesh enjoys doing agility with me, and I frequently  throw a squeaky tennis ball as a reward after we finish running the sequence together.  He enjoys running into the nearest 15 foot tunnel to lie down and squeak the ball for a minute.  Like many trained service dogs (he does diabetic alert/response) he knows the cues “pick it up” and “bring it to me”.  However, he occasionally will bring the ball close to the end of the tunnel, but as I approach to pick it up, he will dart over and pick it up to place it further into the tunnel.  If I ask him to retrieve it, he will pick it up and drop it down in the same spot.  He wants to watch me crawl into the tunnel!  When I crawl into the tunnel, he will sometimes pick up the ball and move it even further away!  He spins around in circles in excitement once I am far inside the tunnel. He does not play this joke on my husband or anyone else – only me!  He also does not do this anywhere else except inside the agility tunnel.  If I display any irritation in my voice, he will stop the teasing and bring me the ball.  Like many people, he can tell when he has pushed things a bit too far!  He can tell when I am not in the right mood to enjoy his jokes.  It does not matter if I have treats or not – that does not increase the frequency of him bringing the ball back to me in these situations.  He wants to tease me and play a joke.

Another favorite game for him is "Guess the Magic Word". He does this with both me and my husband but more often with me. This can happen at the back door to the yard, anywhere in the backyard, and sometimes in the agility arena. He will suddenly freeze with his head lowered, similar to how he is in a stay at the agility start line except that no one asked him to "stay". We will see that he has decided to freeze himself in a "stay" and give him his trained release word. He will usually flinch but he will not release. We have to go through the list of different words that he likes - come, free, tunnel, walk it, get it (the ball), run!, etc -- to see what the magic word is that day. When we give him the magic word he takes off running and sometimes that includes engaging with the toy or the agility obstacle he wanted. He often spins around jubilantly.

Gilgamesh relaxing in the tunnel

 Our late girl, Bones, used to play similar jokes.  One joke that she played in her old age was pretending to disobey certain cues/commands, and then go right back to following them once she saw the shocked look on our faces.  She was a little old lady when she started doing this – 12-13 years old.  She always had an automatic stay at all doorways since she was young, so she would wait at doors and gates until verbally released.  This was for safety reasons so she would not run into the street.  When she became older, there were a couple instances where she stayed, and then my husband and I began to exit the doorway.  She waited a few seconds and then darted out around us, spun around in a circle a few times like “look at me!” and then ran back inside to her ”stay” spot.  She did a heavy, breathy sneezing type exhalation sound several times as she did this.  Many people consider this to be a dogs’ laughter sound.  The only ever did that twice in her whole life.  She thought it was hilarious, but we did not think so!  When she was around 8-9 years old, she started doing things like that now and then where she would pretend to push boundaries.  For example, she would pretend that she was going to engage with things that she is supposed to “leave” and not touch, such as food on the coffee table or the trash can.  She would pretend to do so (but would not actually do it) and then turn to look at mine and my husband’s facial reaction.  When she saw the shocked look on my face, she would spin around in a circle and do that breathy “laughter” exhalation.  It seemed all about trying to achieve a particular response from us.  As a young girl, her favorite game (like many puppies) was “keep away” with toys so we would chase her. 

There were also two instances in her history - both as a 2 year-old and as a 6 to 7-year-old - when she peed on the floor and then pulled something over it to cover it up. We saw this on camera. These were not normal objects that she engaged with on the floor. One time, it was plastic sheeting on the floor from painting the walls. The other time, it was a washable pee pad but she accidentally had missed the pad while squatting. The behavior serve no function other than to likely hide the visible mess, although it seems a bit more calculating than I would normally expect with dogs. She did not get in trouble for messes but she knew we didn't like it. Those were not a jokes, per se, but they demonstrated her clever nature. We quickly learned upon moving to Las Vegas that she did not like going outside to potty during the summer. For her comfort, we laid out washable pee pads in the house to give her the option to pee inside during the summers. She was a clever and feisty girl, so it was no surprise that she became sillier and even more light hearted in her older age.  We often refer to her as our “cackling cutie”. 

Gilgamesh with a lotus ball

Our late dog Beowulf did not exhibit as much humor as far as we could tell.  However, he has several chronic painful conditions.  As many people can likely relate, it is hard to be light hearted and joking when we do not feel physically or mentally well. 

People might be annoyed at their dogs’ teasing and jokes, but I look at it from the perspective that my dogs feel safe to truly be themselves around me.  They feel safe to be themselves and to have a rich and complex relationship with us.  I am not a drill sergeant, my dogs are not robots, and people are getting pets for the wrong reason if the focus is on controlling someone.  Owners lead and guide them, but I also consider ourselves equals. A good leader also knows when to let others take the lead and have a chance to shine with their knowledge and talents.  This perspective is not only shaped by my background in animal behavior and welfare, but also as a Kooikerhondje owner.  The Kooikerhondje is a highly intelligent but sensitive breed that will not accept anything less than respect as an equal partner with unique contributions to the relationship.  They will show zero respect and zero desire to work for an owner who does not treat them as a valued equal partner.  Frankly, no dog should accept anything less!

What jokes or humor does your dog do in their interactions with you?  How do you respond to it?

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Eileen Koval, CDBC, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA, MSc (in Operations Management) is a fully certified dog behavior consultant with the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (IAABC). She is currently working toward an M.S. in Applied Animal Behavior and Welfare at Husson University. Eileen believes that the foundation of a good cross-species relationship is understanding the needs and normal behavior patterns of each dog as an individual. She enjoys helping humans and dogs communicate more effectively to create brilliant relationships filled with joy, purpose, and fulfillment for all species involved. Eileen offers private consulting for serious dog behavior issues, obedience/manners, and agility training. She developed a unique online course to help pet parents and trainers develop reliable snake avoidance behavior off-leash through positive reinforcement techniques. These techniques have been applied by trainers worldwide to teach dogs reliable avoidance of dangerous environmental hazards and off-leash property boundaries. Eileen lives on a small ranch in Las Vegas, Nevada, with her husband and their Nederlandse Kooikerhondjes.