My dogs get most excited if i ask them if they want a goodie or if they want to go see Tiger and Lucky,my DD,s dogs. Dillen gets excited when Law and Order theme song comes on and we howl together.Both get excited if a car comes by, which is seldom.
vickie

my dog is a riot when the answering machine comes on. he hears my voice on it and starts this really funny bear howl. Sometimes when the vacuum or hairdryer is on that's the only clue i have the phone is ringing.LOL

Squeeky toys, me opening a package of something or rustling through a paper bag, when I mimick a dog whine they come to me. Somebody coming to the door or one of the neighbors loose dogs out roaming the neighborhood barking. Tearing off a paper towel or picking a kleenex. Shaking the can of treats or simply saying the word "mmmmmmYummy".
If I start laughing out loud while they're asleep or chilling out, they go breserk.

My three large dogs go nuts (bad thing) when they hear the beep that the smoke detector makes when the battery is low. It completely traumatizes them. They shake and hide.

They get very excited (good thing) when they hear the kitchen cupboard door open. They know they will probably get a treat.

SG

My bird squawks frantically when I run water in the kitchen. My dog goes bonkers when she hears keys rustling (thinks she is going somewhere) or any sound related to the possibility of food. :-)

BN

My parakeet when I was growing up, used to try and chirp frantically over the vacuum cleaner noise.

My beagle gets excited over the ice-cube dispenser. She loves ice-cubes more than any cookie.

Oddly, my cat has recently started getting excited over it, too. She'll run up, jump up on her little food desk and stick her head right under it to see whats going on.

The sound of the treat cupboard gets them all excited. Pouring ANYTHING into a metal bowl gets them ALL excited.

The words cookie, walk, cruise, park. Get the dogs excited. And eat. We can't even say "Where do you want to go eat?" without the dogs thinking they're getting fed.

Anything that squeaks gets the beagle going. Anything that makes the sound of a ball bouncing, gets big guy going.

My cats have always liked the sound of the can opener, even though they rarely like anything that comes out of the cans.

The one that intrigues me is the reaction my cats have to the sound of babies crying. My previous cat and I once lived upstairs from a young family, and you could hear the baby thru the floor vent. Yofi would get very upset, and run back and forth between me and the vent. He didn't much care for babies up close, but he would get upset when he heard crying -- even if it was just on TV.

My theory was that babies crying sound a little like kittens, and even old bachelor cats know that crying kittens are not a good thing. The interesting thing is that my Siamese doesn't like the sound of babies crying on TV, but has no reaction to the sound of cats or kittens on TV. He does react to the meow on the cell phone ring, tho!

My neighbor's cat Chloe doesn't react to anything but the can opener!

The sound of the pantry door opening wakes our lab up from the soundest sleep. (All dog food and treats and balls stored in there)
Putting my shoes on, even quietly.
The words BIRD, SQUIRREL, or CHECK THE POND! get him tearing outside like a maniac, snorting and snarling like a wild beast. (he never catches anything)

Both dogs go nuts when I say "Daddy." They LOVE their daddy. When he gets home, it means fun and food and belly rubs. The sound of the garage door opening or the door bell ringing always sets them off. They also love to hear cookie, walk, park, ride and Petco.

Oreo and Kreem, my 6 mo old cats get excited when I open the fridge, and at the sound of a pull top.
The dogs get happy when I use the words walk, beach, park lake. Skeeter would get so excited she jumps in circles barking(I call it cheerleading) that we started spelling those words. The result is Skeeter can spell walk, beach, park and lake. lol

I have a theory about vacuum cleaners...
I actually don't think it's the noise that bothers some dogs. I think it's the smell. Maybe its the smell of pet hair or something makes the dogs anxious. The reason I say this is because one of my dogs had a problem with the vacuum but also with the broom, mop, whatever. Stuff that didn't make noise but the common theme was they all collect pet hair.

I had to respond to acorn. I've heard of dogs and cats learning to spell but never seen it. I thought i'd die laughing at your post.lol
vickie

The sound of the bag his kibble is in rustling a bit and the 'ting' his metal bowl makes when I pick it up get Capone so exited he can hardly 'sit' properly to get his food. His butt is usually wagging so hard that he just hovers and 'fake-sits.' If we play 'catch' with treats, though - he's still as stone.

At the sound of a barking neighbor dog, he'll get excited and start to whine. He's so anxious about not being able to see/go sniff/play with the other dogs if he can hear them.

The Saturday noon siren will get Bo singing. He has a deep voice and it sometimes sounds painful.

If I should walk to the kitchen there is the possibility that I might open the fridge where the treats are.

I learned from a couple of dogs back that I clear my throat after I eat. I didn't know that until I cleared my throat during a meal and both dogs whipped their heads around for a possible plate lick.

They learn and notice routines so quickly. When I turn off the bedroom light at night Roxy jumps off the bed and goes to the crate because she prefers to sleep there. When I turn off the tv in the morning Bo jumps off the bed and leaves the room because I shut them out of the bedroom while I'm gone because they take my clothes out the dog door.

My little dog is fairly quiet, but when he startles me with his barks is when he hears knocking: that it be at the front door, or my kids knocking at the kitchen table or any knock he all of a sudden gets protective and barks like a big dog!

Here is a link that might be useful: puppy talk/ animal science

My Shih Tzu gets excited if we start going "here kitty, kitty, kitty, where's the kitty?" he will start looking for a cat frantically. He acts like he dislikes them, and will chase them, but when they stop he will stop and look at us like "what now?" he chases my mom's cats too, but he just runs into them like they are playing football. Squeak toys too, he hates anyone handling his and if he thinks it is too nice to come in when I holler I will start squeaking one of his toys, gets him inside quickly. The sound of the Mustang coming up the road. He knows Dad is coming home, and he starts ripping through the house trying to look out the windows for him (if he is outside I have to pick him up when I hear the car, he will run right in front of it trying to get to DH) the word treat gets him going as well as the word bath, whoever utters that terrible word gets a dirty look and he will jump into the others lap.
the Chihuahua she hates vacuums, she will run right in front of it barking and biting at it (meanwhile Gizmo is trying to find a place to hide) she also dislikes the food processer, she will bark up a storm while it is on.

My two yorkies go insane if they hear someone coming into the building and slamming a door (I live in an apartment in a city) or the noise of an ID tag making a clanking noise of someone taking their dog for a walk.. but only at night.

Excited-- any clinking of dishes. The word "walk" in either english or russian. The word "squirrel", english only (that I know of). Knocking, or sounds similar to knocking. Doorbell-like noises on the tv (we've never had a doorbell. I really don't get this one). The little "click" when I turn off my alarm clock, which is apparently different from the little click when I hit the snooze on same alarm clock...

Bad sounds? The vacuum, although anymore I just open the door and let her out in the yard when I get the vacuum out. Any power tool. Loud vehicles (motorcycles, busses, etc) The word "bath" is acceptable in normal conversation, but not if spoken while holding a towel.