Dogs guilty look

You know that look.

The guilty ‘yes, it was me’ look your dog gives you.  I was certain that a dog knew when he’d done something really wrong but it turned out that my body language alone was giving it all away.  Dogs are well conditioned to our happy demeanor so when they see us suddenly annoyed or angry they respond immediately and it doesn’t have anything to do with whether they did something wrong.  But how could we be sure? How could I dispute whether folks truly know when their dog looks guilty?

Sorry, but it’s merely us humans trying to project our human feelings onto the dog.  Our dog can read us faster than another human and they know us very well.  They know right away when ‘something’s up’ but they may not know what is up exactly.

The video evidence is in.  Provided the owner displays appearance and tone of voice precisely as he/she does upon finding an alarming scene

E.g. Owner enters the kitchen to find the dog has emptied the trash-can onto the floor.  Humans’ eyes widen, their face changes and the tone of voice and choice of words is drastically different.

If there is no trash-can spilled and nothing wrong, given this display from the human, the dog still takes on the ‘guilty’ look.  It’s simply the dog trying to appease, avoid, his ears will probably go down and he may even slink out of the room.  He is giving you calming signals and body language to reduce confrontation.

Leah & Angela OMeara

Hound Dog Day Care (Specialists in Dog Minding & Dog Boarding, Pet Sitting Brisbane & Doggy Day Care Brisbane)