Man spends $400 on vet visit only to be told dog’s ‘limp’ is because dog copying him out of sympathy
Dogs love their fur parents and they will imitate or mimic their behaviors.
Studies show that a “dog will continue to imitate its owner, regardless of whether there is anything against it or not, since it is part of its innate behavior to imitate.”
It’s in the nature of dogs, who observe and imitate the members of their pack in order to fit into their group. Now, their packs have evolved to include humans and dogs continue to imitate their behavior.
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Even when humans are not teaching them tricks, dogs will still imitate their behavior, just like Bill, a lurcher from London.
Russell Jones injured his ankle when he fall and had to be placed in a cast. Because of this, he had to keep off his foot and if he had to walk, he need crutches. And when walking on his crutches, he’ll be limping to keep off his injured foot.
He was trying out his new crutches with his dog, Bill.
And do you know what happened? Bill was limping, too.
Unsure how it happened, Russell took Bill to the vet to get Bill checked for injuries. The vet ordered leg and paw X-rays, and painkillers to find out what happened to Bill. They couldn’t find anything wrong with Bill and sent him home because there was nothing they could do.
When Russell, his wife, and Bill got home, they finally found out what happened.
“Cost me £300 in vet fees and X-rays, nothing wrong just sympathy. Love him,” Russell wrote on Facebook.
It turned out Bill was perfectly fine. They let him out in their yard and he began running around with no evidence of any limp. That’s when they knew. He was limping because he saw Russell limping.
He just wanted his dad, Russell, to feel he wasn’t alone in his pain.
“Billy seemed to be able to turn his limp on and off. When I took him for a walk he limped but when Michelle did he was fine. It was such a mystery. He behaved like this for two days before we took him to the vet,” Russell recalled. “We realized he was limping out of sympathy. He was copying me because I was hobbling along. My wife Michelle said, ‘look, I think he’s taking the mickey out of you. He’s following how you walk!’”
It’s funny but it’s so sweet at the same time. Russell and Bill have such a great relationship that Bill felt he needed to do the same to be one with Russell.
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Wow, now this is a love that can’t be matched.
“Two things are interesting about the way dogs imitate. The first is that they are one of the only creatures to do so across species. The second is that, like human infants, dogs aren’t just copycats — they only imitate behaviors that seem useful,” Cesar Millan, a dog whisperer, explained on his website.
Copying or imitating the limp seemed useful because it showed Russell how much Bill loves him and the amount of patience and understanding he has for Russell.
Have you ever experienced anything similar with your dog?
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Watch the video below to see how Bill limped with Russell.
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Source: YouTube – RM Videos, Bored Panda, artibex, Cesar’s Way, Facebook – Lurcher Link Rescue chat, Facebook – People’s Pet Awards