Shame on us

My dear sweet Ike was always a regal gentleman, and being a long-haired dog, on occasion would be encumbered by what my family termed "dingleberries". He'd come in from outdoors, and the look of embarrassment/mortification on his face would immediately tip me off. And I NEVER made a big deal out of it - it was actually pretty funny! I'd ask him if he had poop on his butt - but he was too embarrassed - he'd just stand with his head down, and patiently wait for me to grab some paper towel....lol!!!

frmAloha wrote:
What about the times I've arrived home and my dog immediately "looks guilty" and I have to search the house to find what she has done? She's certainly not reacting to a scolding, since I had no idea there was something that was worth a scolding. It actually makes me laugh because she's the one who tells ME she did something "wrong."

Was she acting guilty before you got home? You often see pictures of dogs sitting blissfully among stuffing removed from a chair or couch. The guilt doesn't start until you walk in the house. You may not be reacting, but dogs are really smart and realize that the mess plus you means trouble. Guilt, shame??? I don't really know.

What about the times I've arrived home and my dog immediately "looks guilty" and I have to search the house to find what she has done? She's certainly not reacting to a scolding, since I had no idea there was something that was worth a scolding. It actually makes me laugh because she's the one who tells ME she did something "wrong."

It's all body language and tone of voice.

Try telling Fido what a bad, awful boy he's been in your happy, do-you-want-to-play voice and the wide open posture we use when we're happy or playing. It's much more difficult to do than most people believe, because we aren't consciously aware of our body language, but dogs will pick up on the slightest variation. If you use the happy voice but muck up just a little on the body language you'll confuse the dog and this little experiment won't work. But if you can pull it off you'll see that Fido is totally reacting to tone of voice and body language.

Executive wrote:
has your DOG ever cleaned up YOUR poop...:h:h....just sayin.....Dennis

No-
But only because I won't let her. She herself regards this prohibition as a form of abuse...;)

Who's the master and who's the slave..:h....has your DOG ever cleaned up YOUR poop...:h:h....just sayin.....Dennis

How about those video's of dogs that have done something wrong and they're not even being scolded. The owner just asks Fido if he did something and he looks guilty!
They know when they've done something wrong LOL

our Lhasa doesn't look guilty when he's being scolded because he's the alpha in the family and so he couldn't care less if we're mad at him. LOL
But I have scolded "bad" dogs in the past and they hang their heads down and their tails droop and they sort of crouch and they look like they understand they've done something to make you mad.
I'm sure they're just responding to the tone of voice, etc., but it's the proper response.

Don't know about dogs but I do know what my cat was thinking when I dropped her off at the vet for a two week board. The look in her eyes was very telling.

I wouldn't trust anyone who claims with utter certainty to know what everyone's dog is feeling.

X2. Although I think to some extent it's wrong to humanize any animal, I also believe that dogs have been domesticated for so long that how they react and behave has changed. Temperament plays a big part in whether or not a dog can be a companion animal, therapy dog, etc. IMHO a dog's innate ability to sense and behave accordingly is part of that temperament, which also allows it do react to our behavior.