The Funniest Things Pets are Afraid of According to their Owners

Pets make great companions, and they also provide some excitement and entertainment in the house. There are some things that household pets like dogs, cats, and birds need to get used to. From fans to small appliances to toothbrushes, sometimes it’s hard to tell what can frighten a pet. Here are some hilarious stories of pets afraid of everyday household items.

Garbage Bags 

garbage bags on the side of the road

“I had to go pet the bag so we could walk past it to go home.”

“Yup, just happened to us last night. A half full garbage bag was on its side getting inflated by the breeze and my dog was on alert like he just saw a cobra.”

“For years mine was afraid of when you fluff a plastic bag to put out in your garbage can. I would pick up a bag and he would fast walk away from me to avoid it.”

“Have a cat who is afraid of white garbage bags. Used to hide when changing out the garbage”

Farts

dog chasing their tail

 

“My sister’s dog was afraid of farts – even their own. Was hilarious!”

“I knew someone whose dog would turn around all scared if he farted.”

Ceiling Fans

ceiling fan in a bedroom
Image credit: Curtis Adams from Pexels via canva.com

 

“My dog is terrified of ceiling fans. On, off, doesn’t matter. If she notices one, she has to check every few minutes to see if it’s still there and scares herself all over again.”

My Maine Coon boy cat was terrified of the ceiling fan only when it was on. If it was off he didn’t care. Otherwise he was afraid of nothing.

“I had a long-haired siamese that pushed out the screen and leaped out of the window to chase away a full grown black bear, but wouldn’t come out from under the bed if the ceiling fan was on.”

“We have lived in our house for over 3 years now and have a ceiling fan in the bedroom. Every time my cat comes into the room he stares at the ceiling fan like it’s going to jump out and attack him.”

Vacuum Cleaners

woman using a cordless vacuum

“My cat Charlie used to be terrified of the vacuum. He would find a bed to hide under and stay for hours. ”

“Vacuums and brooms being ironic since he’s (bird) the main contributor to the mess on the ground that needs sweeping all the time.

“Ah yes but my boy cries at just the sight of a vacuume I’m afraid. Before it even turns on haha and it’s a cordless one so it’s pretty quiet in general however he is the most jumpy out of everybody else maybe he’s just part chicken”

Brooms

person with broom and dustpan
Image credit: © cottonbro from Pexels via canva.com

 

“My dog is scared of brooms even though I know she was never abused or anything because we got her as a tiny puppy. My dad’s birds also hate brooms though. It’s very strange.”

“Same with my dog. And it extends to all things cleaning supplies. He’s terrified of the broom, the dustpan, trash bags, the vacuum cleaner (only one that makes sense), the bloody vacuum cleaner attachments….It’s so bizarre. Whenever I’m cleaning he hides on the balcony.”

“My dog hates my broom. He will stand there and bark at it. Even if it hasn’t moved in days.”

The Netflix Intro

Netflix logo on a tv
Image credit: © John-Mark Smith from Pexels via canva.com

 

“My dog too, Netflix intro! She ran out of the room once when it played and she wouldn’t come back until the tv was off.”

“My dog loses his mind barking and growling at the big red N that pops on the screen when opening the Netflix app. We thought it was the “dun-dun” sound setting him off at first, but muting the TV gets the same result.”

Balloons

different colored balloons

“My birds are afraid of balloons, especially when the balloons fly. One is afraid of vacuums and brooms.”

“My grandma came down in the morning and was wondering why the dog (a large American bulldog) was sleeping in the living room and not on his bed in the spare room like he always did. It turned out her birthday balloon had drifted over there during the night and he was too scared to be near it.”

A Heater

a heater beside a plant

“I have a heater that has an oscillating function. When I turned it on one day, my one year old Chihuahua decided that this was an attack on him and started growling and barking at the heater.”

Roomba

man lying on sofa while robot vacuum runs

“We got a Roomba a couple years ago. When we first turned it on, my chihuahua mix immediately jumped off the bed and peed in the spot it had just cleaned.”

“Nala the pit bull puppy is terrified of the robot vacuum”

Water Bottles

woman holding a water bottle and exercising

“The crinkle of a water bottle can send her flying.”

“Mine will wake up from a sleep under the blanket and haul to another room as if the water bottle is out to get her it’s so weird. ”

Flying Litter

garbage can filled with crumpled papers and lightbulb and crumpled paper beside it

“My horse and I went for a ride alongside the highway. A big semi truck was coming, and I was convinced that would freak her right out. Nope – didn’t even blink. But then a tiny plastic wrapper blew past her. And I learned just how fast she could go. Which was really fast.”

Phone Notifications

holding a cellphone with notifications on the screen

“You know the default notification noise for the facebook Messenger app? Every show seems to use it as the sound effect for when someone gets a text message. Well my dog HATES it, runs away to hide in her bed or under my office desk any time she hears it.”

“the iPhone message “ding”. He runs away and it stresses him out every time he hears it so we put our phones on silent at home.

The Laundry Basket

laundry basket full of clothes

“No rhyme or reason. Have to keep it hidden in a closet and the moment I bring it out to take it down to the laundry room he hightails it like life depended on it.”

Cardboard Boxes

man picking up a cardboard box
Image credit: Shutterstock

 

“Boxes. Doesn’t matter how big or small, he cowers away from boxes of all sizes shown to him.”

“My jack Russel is scared of yellow unopened boxes”

“Cardboard box. I was taking one of my dogs on a walk and we were walking by a house where their garbage bins were out. They had a box resting against the bin. A wind came and slightly moved that box just as we were passing by. I’ve never seen her jump so high and she started growling and barking at the box. It never touched her or came close, but that event apparently traumatized her so much that even today she is still scared of boxes, and won’t go near them.”

The Air Fryer

air fryer with french fries in the compartment
Image credit: Yulia Furman via canva.com

 

He used to go to the bedroom when the air fryer would beep.

Plastic Bags

plastic bags

“The clear ones, even if they’re super small and staying still.”

“i have 2 kitties with severe anxiety issues. ones a long haired blackish brown female who’s afraid of plastic bags and garbage bags.”

Buckets

green and brass colored bucket

“My sweet boy, bruce, is afraid of buckets. Specifically plastic buckets. We have no clue why – we raised him since he was a baby, he wasn’t traumatized by a bucket ever.”

“My dog is terrified of buckets. No idea why, but she will bark at buckets non-stop until she’s removed from their vicinity. So buckets became an anti-dog measure. She won’t go past them.”

Flies

house flies

“a fly. literally a fly.”

“House-flies” , how hilarious. It’s fun to watch when he runs away from it all over the house.”

“My long haired dachshund is afraid of flies. Every time there is a fly in the house he hides under a bed on the second floor for hours or tries to run away from home. All because a fly once bumped his forehead.”

Snow

woman holding puppy in the snow

“Small bits of snow falling off the roof. He doesn’t care when huge bits that make the house shake fall off, but gods forbid a snowball falls.”

“When my husky was just a puppy we let her out in the backyard the first time it snowed. As soon as she touched it she started yelping like she was in pain and ran back inside.”

Ketchup Bottles

bottle with ketchup

“We’d pull it out of the fridge, turn around and she’d like either run away whimpering or stare, whimper and then pee herself. We never teased her, or laughed about it, since it was always confusing to us but he had had her since she was a puppy so no one knew what triggered it.”

Read More: Unexpected Wildlife Visits Via the Pet Door that Surprised Homeowners

puppy dog coming through dog door

Some people have had unexpected visitors enter their homes via their pet door that allows their cats and dogs to roam freely in and out of the house. Many creatures enter the home completely confused about their environment but are happy to explore. Some are dragged in by the family cat. Either way, the home owners are generally not pleased to meet their acquaintance.

Unexpected Wildlife Visits Via the Pet Door that Surprised Homeowners

He Prepared Authentic Italian Food for the Sunday Family Dinner. His Sister’s Boyfriend Wanted to Pour Hot Sauce on it. He Refused So the Boyfriend Left the Party to Buy His Own. Was He Wrong?

man staring at his meal in a bowl with hand holding chin looking upset
Shutterstock

 

The original poster (OP) is reaching out to ask the reddit community if he was wrong in this situation. OP’s family gets together for dinner every Sunday. The family rotates each week, so everyone has a turn preparing dinner. The family includes OP (35 years old) and his wife (34), his sister (23) and boyfriend (22), his mom and dad, and his grandmother.

He Prepared Authentic Italian Food for the Sunday Family Dinner. His Sister’s Boyfriend Wanted to Pour Hot Sauce on it. He Refused So the Boyfriend Left the Party to Buy His Own. Was He Wrong?

Say Goodbye to the Grind: Earn a Six-Figure Salary While Working Fewer Hours

woman holding laptop and adjusting her glasses frames
Shutterstock

 

The dream life for anyone is to work a job with low hours of output and a lot of money. Some people are living this dream already. Some jobs require a specific skill set or level of education while other don’t. But it’s clear that a person earning large sums of money for part-time work has a skill that is highly attractive to employers. One reader commented “Employers pay a lot of money for a short-term engagement or lesser hours because of the high value that person is bringing.” Below is a listicle of the jobs they do that earns them six figures for an average of 10-30 hours per week.

Say Goodbye to the Grind: Earn a Six-Figure Salary While Working Fewer Hours

Her Brother and His Wife Assumed They Were Having a Baby Girl. She Baked Their Gender Reveal Cake and Knew it Was a Boy. She Didn’t Tell Them and the Party Theme Was Pink. Was She Wrong?

pregnant woman dressed in pink sitting on chair and crying

Having a baby is an exciting time for parents. A gender reveal party is typically a fun time to celebrate the baby with family and friends. Except on this particular occasion.

Her Brother and His Wife Assumed They Were Having a Baby Girl. She Baked Their Gender Reveal Cake and Knew it Was a Boy. She Didn’t Tell Them and the Party Theme Was Pink. Was She Wrong?

She Wants Her Adult Stepdaughter to Move Out to Make Room for the Baby Even Though She Says She Can’t Afford It. Should She Keep Pushing Her To Be Independent?

pregnant woman frustrated and talking to a therapist
Shutterstock

The original poster (OP) is 33, and married. She lives in a two-bedroom home with her husband and his 23-year-old daughter. OP and her stepdaughter get along fine but don’t have a close relationship.

She Wants Her Adult Stepdaughter to Move Out to Make Room for the Baby Even Though She Says She Can’t Afford It. Should She Keep Pushing Her To Be Independent?

Source: reddit.