Assuming that your dog looks guilty is always an incorrect assumption.
He lowers his head, looks away, tucks his tail and flattens his ears. What is causing your normally friendly, happy-go-lucky dog to behave like this? Is it because of the shoe he chewed an hour ago or the trash he overturned this morning after you went to work?
Does he remember his earlier misdeed as soon as you begin scolding him about it and does he “know he was wrong”? Or is he trying to tell you that you’re being scary and he wishes you would be nice again?
Dog owners often translate a dog’s behavior into human terms – treating the dog as if he were an adult human with a moral conscience. But animal behaviorists agree that a mature dog’s emotional capacity is comparable to that of a toddler. A two or three-year-old isn’t yet able to understand the difference between right and wrong, but they certainly do know how to get what they want. They do whatever works! And so do dogs!
A toddler doesn’t “know he was wrong” when he breaks, spills, throws or flushes something adults value. He might react emotionally to the way an adult handles the situation. If he gets enough attention for what he’s done, he might just go ahead and do it again! He’s not feeling guilty but just figuring out how to get what he wants.
When raising and training a dog in your family, it’s important to keep in mind that dogs have the emotional maturity of a toddler.
They’ll never grow up, leave the nest and start their own lives independent of yours!
But, because dogs are so intelligent and trainable, we jump to conclusions about their similarity to humans. When your normally happy dog acts like the frightened pup in the picture, he is not feeling guilty. The dog in the picture is showing clear signs of stress and fear.
You can’t teach a dog anything when he is fearful. But he’ll remember that you scared him and he didn’t know why.
What he did an hour ago is in the past and your dog can’t connect what he did then to what you are doing now.
What should you do instead of scolding the dog? Be proactive, not reactive. Train your dog or hire a great trainer to help you.
My free online course tells you how to find the right someone who will guide you. Get the course here.