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Are You Misinterpreting Your Dogs Guilty Look?
By Friends of the Dog
By Friends of the Dog
Are you misunderstanding your dog when he looks guilty about something?
We see these videos all over the internet, and they certainly come across as funny and adorable. but that look in the dog’s eye is not “guilt” over doing something wrong… it’s fear.
When a dog misbehaves while you aren’t looking - tearing up a whole packet of toilet paper, or emptying the rubbish bin, it’s usually stimulated by boredom, frustration, separation anxiety or strong food drive (in the case of the rubbish bin!).
If they then behave strangely when you get home - cowering, eyes wide and avoiding eye contact - although this looks like “guilt”, that’s a misrepresentation. You may be looking and pointing at the mess, but your dog doesn’t feel remorse for the action (they won’t actually associate the action with your reaction). Instead, they feel scared or anxious about your reaction.
Dogs live in the present moment and if a consequence is not immediate at the time of their action, it’s meaningless - the key to any punishment is that it must take place while the dog is engaged in the unacceptable behaviour. So if this ever happens to you, don’t punish or scold your dog. It won’t help, and may generally make behaviour worse by increasing your dog’s anxiety.
Calmly clean up and instead, try to focus on what you can do to PREVENT the
issue in future - by giving your dog more stimulation, teaching them an alternative behaviour, treating behavioural issues like separation distress or indiscriminate chewing, or setting their environment up in a way that they can’t go too wrong.
We see these videos all over the internet, and they certainly come across as funny and adorable. but that look in the dog’s eye is not “guilt” over doing something wrong… it’s fear.
When a dog misbehaves while you aren’t looking - tearing up a whole packet of toilet paper, or emptying the rubbish bin, it’s usually stimulated by boredom, frustration, separation anxiety or strong food drive (in the case of the rubbish bin!).
If they then behave strangely when you get home - cowering, eyes wide and avoiding eye contact - although this looks like “guilt”, that’s a misrepresentation. You may be looking and pointing at the mess, but your dog doesn’t feel remorse for the action (they won’t actually associate the action with your reaction). Instead, they feel scared or anxious about your reaction.
Dogs live in the present moment and if a consequence is not immediate at the time of their action, it’s meaningless - the key to any punishment is that it must take place while the dog is engaged in the unacceptable behaviour. So if this ever happens to you, don’t punish or scold your dog. It won’t help, and may generally make behaviour worse by increasing your dog’s anxiety.
Calmly clean up and instead, try to focus on what you can do to PREVENT the
issue in future - by giving your dog more stimulation, teaching them an alternative behaviour, treating behavioural issues like separation distress or indiscriminate chewing, or setting their environment up in a way that they can’t go too wrong.
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