There are two kinds of guilty dogs: ones who immediately go into submissive mode with a look that says, “go on, eat my belly, I deserve it,” and the ones who avoid the issue at all costs!
Posted by Melanie 21 Comments
There are two kinds of guilty dogs: ones who immediately go into submissive mode with a look that says, “go on, eat my belly, I deserve it,” and the ones who avoid the issue at all costs!
studied English and has a bachelor's degree in psychology, with a focus on animal behavior, neuropsychology, and psychotherapy. She shares two pit bulls (adopted from the SPCA Serving Erie County) with her family, as well as three adopted cats with her husband, Fred. She takes pride in being a grammar enthusiast and advocating for animals, the environment, equal rights, and humanitarianism. She loves camping, cooking, taking photos, listening to psychedelic rock and indie music, and making all sorts of crafty things - from charm bracelets and paper rose bouquets to kitty condos and feral cat houses!
Melanie was sharing this profile with Fred, who is new to the Life With Dogs family, so many stories that were written by Fred from April 2014 - June 2014 will appear under Melanie's name.
There is nothing wrong with letting your dogs sleep on your bed, the problem is when they claim it as their own.
Read more
Ahhh! They are all so cute!!!!
It isn’t guilt as people think it is it is actually fear of what the consequences might be …never curse or scold your dog after the event because they live in the moment and don’t understand what he/she is being scolded for … I think and find these so called “guilty” dog videos very sad as all I see is a fearful dog !!!!!!!!!!!!
Dogs are not as stupid as you claim them to be. They have memories. They don’t forget from moment to moment.
Yea… otherwise how would they know where to go when they need to use the restroom or when it’s feeding time?… Dogs are not idiots.
You don’t get dogs. Just like paper training a dog, you reward good behavior, discourage bad behavior. I took several classes on learning behavior in college, and we can train behavior in animals with simple brains…ie, rats. Most dogs are substantially smarter than rats. Get educated before you try to reprimand others on a subject in which you have 0 expertise.
my dog don’t guilf he didn’t do anything… even if i’m really sure he did.
this is not guilt! There have been many studies to prove that if you scold a dog for something, like getting into the garbage, that he will remember your reaction to the situation. He is trying to appease his owner. If you scold him several times for getting into garbage and then try an experiment-have someone spread the garbage out on the floor, come home and find the garbage, look at the dog. He will probably be trying to appease you with his body language, putting himself in a “safe place”, and looking pathetic.
Not mine . . . If they did not do it they are not owning it. period. Any dog that does that is constantly getting their butts chewed by a person that should not have a pet. period.
There will never be an “Ultimate Guilty Cat Compilation”.
this is pure sadism. yes, they chewed on something, probably cause they were bored. and why are they on their back? because, prior to this, they were punished with more then just words and yelling.
f* people with their fucking cameras. go out and enjoy your time with your pets. and TRY to leave those f* cameras/phones at home!
My lab either goes to her bed or flips over on her back just like most of these dogs did. She has never been physically punished or actually “yelled at”. She just knows. All you have to do is say her name while holding something she chewed and her head goes down and she slinks away to her bed or lays on her back. She remembers.
so cute to see all the idiots commenting. People its not the 70’s anymore dogs dont forget. No there memories are not like elephants but the do have quiet a memory stop saying there stupid. Your pathetic!
*their *quite *they’re *you’re
I agree with you but seriously, use proper grammar if you are going to be upset at people, otherwise you just look like a fool.
My dog doesn’t do all that! She knows she can get away with everything and im happy she isn’t scared of her mummy
I have worked as a pet professional for 41 years and have been around dogs all my life. Yes they know exactly what they are being scolded about and yes, sometimes people want to think that dogs are being scolded about something they don’t understand. I work with dogs daily and those little brown eyes hide a very smart brain. Don’t under estimate them. They are very much in tune with humans and understand us very well. Dogs understand humans at a much deeper level then most people care to see or understand. I have a deep understanding of the bond between owner and their pets.
Dogs don’t feel guilt and what you’re actually seeing is fear and appeasement gestures! All they know is that you’re speaking to them harshly, in a way that means they’re about to get a royal telling off! And so although they don’t know why it’s happening, they try to appease you by showing the behaviors we see here. It’s kinda sad really, all that behavior says: “I’m sorry, I don’t know what for, but please love me!” and the owners milk it and put it on film 🙁
No one is saying dogs are stupid, just that they do not think like humans. To feel guilt you have to know why what you did was wrong. Please tell me how you explain to a dog why knocking over the garbage can or eating cat treats is wrong. If you catch the dog in the act and scold him, he may learn that garbage cans falling over or eating in your presence upsets you, but he still doesn’t know WHY it upsets you.
Imagine you visited a foreign nation and were a guest in someone’s home. You enter the door, take off your coat, and hang it on a coat rack. Upon doing this, the home owner becomes livid, yells at you in a foreign language, and kicks you out of the home. Being unable to speak their language and there being no interpreter present, you never learn why what you did made them so angry. You may try to apologize for what you did using the spoken language and body language that is common in your culture, but are you going to feel guilty about it? No. Why? Because you have no idea why what you did was so upsetting.
Dogs, and other animals, don’t have property laws. You only “own” what you can defend from other animals. If you can obtain it, it’s yours. A dog also does not understand the concept of working for a wage, then using that money to exchange for products at a grocery store. For all a dog knows, the treats you buy from the store just magically appear in the house or from brown paper bags. So why is it wrong to eat this magical replenishing food source?
Let’s say a year later a friend tells you why what you did was so upsetting. Let’s say in that foreign culture, hanging up your coat on the top right most peg of a coat rack is a known way of showing you think the house is filthy, thus you hang your coat as far from the floor as possible. So you learn why what you did was so upsetting. Yet even then you may not feel guilt because their culture is so different from yours such a thing seems silly and not worth getting upset over, plus it was just a misunderstanding.
Thus, there is no reason why a dog should feel guilt over taking and eating a bag of cat treats or knocking over a garbage can. And even if we could somehow communicate why it upsets us, they still might not feel guilt over certain things. To a dog, a creature which loves smelly things that are often unpleasant to us, bagging up garbage instead of rolling around in it and eating it might seem as absurd to him as the above coat rack scenario would to us.
Remember, these are animals that will often eviscerate smaller animals (snakes, squirrels, etc.) for fun with no remorse, eat their own feces, eat the feces of other animals, roll around on dead bodies, eat rocks and other inedible objects, drink out of the toilet, bite people for touching them while eating, etc. Is it that hard to believe that maybe they do not think like human beings do?
It’s okay if dogs don’t feel guilt. It doesn’t make them “bad.” Babies don’t feel guilt or shame either.
I feel sorry for dogs. Owners should not force them to feel shame and guilt. Bbetter to train them so that they dont act wrong in that situation any more. 🙂
They are so cute and no matter they are guilty, we can’t stop loving them! 🙂
I agree with your view on crate Vs pads! Allowing a puppy to wee inside just confuses them and dramatically slows down the process in my experience. That’s all…
I agree with the consensus above. While dogs are smart in some ways, they obviously can not understand the complexities of our society. By reading body language and tone, they understand we are threatening them, but they can’t always tell why without a direct correlation.