Deciphering Your Dog's "Guilty" Look: What Does It Mean?

While your dog may have been an angel sent from above, there’s no denying the havoc they can wreak when you turn away for only a few seconds. The universal “guilty look” that you see from either your own dog or viral videos often includes a bowed head, their ears pressed back, a lowered tail, and the whites of their eyes exposed. Essentially, they’re cowering because they know they’re in big trouble.

However, you may wonder what that guilty look means and if they’re truly ashamed of their behavior when they look like that. Usually, when you see your dog, they bound to you with such excitement they nearly ricochet off you, eager to give you kisses. You return the affection by smothering them with hugs and lots of love. However, the story is slightly different when your dog gets bored and decides to play around in your house, leaving you with chewed-up shoes, remotes, and a new hole in your sofa. So what does it mean exactly when they put on their guilty face?

They Know Something’s Wrong

When you’re upset at your dog, they immediately know, even though they may not understand the cause. They can instantly sense the change in your body language during your lecture, which looks very different from how lovingly you otherwise interact with them. Instead of hearing your usual softer, sweeter, likely higher-pitched tone, they’re suddenly hearing a firmer, louder, clearly angrier voice. You also aren’t touching your dog as you normally would, so they can tell something is wrong.

In this situation, your dog will slink away, hide from you, tuck their tail, and bow their head while looking up at you. They understand that you aren’t your typical cheerful self, and they’re offering their body language to communicate that they feel confused and threatened. They’re trying to appease you and avoid more tension and conflict. People usually misinterpret this as guilty behavior, which means they believe that the dog is admitting to misbehaving and feeling ashamed. However, there is currently no evidence to support this.

They’re Connecting the Events

While making the connection between your anger, the mess on the floor, and your dog being responsible for it is straightforward enough for humans, it isn’t quite so for dogs. Your dog does not understand germs, your expensive (and now destroyed) items, your precious flooring, and the effort it takes to clean it all up. These factors are all things that would make a human feel like they’ve misbehaved. Assuming your dog comprehends a situation like this means they’re capable of high-order thoughts and feelings, but unfortunately, they are not.

They must be able to link your reaction to the physical reason you are upset with them, which is the mess they made. Then, they’ll have to attach the mess to their past behavior and connect the dots to realize that how they behaved made you upset. Then, they’ll feel bad for upsetting you and recognize that the action they are no longer performing is why you are upset. This complex processing is difficult enough for human children and even some adults, so there’s a big possibility your dog isn’t interpreting the situation this profoundly. 

While it’s your dog can make intricate connections, there is no research suggesting this.

Conclusion

While dogs may not directly understand that their misbehavior is why you’re upset, they can certainly tell when you’re upset. For this reason, they offer body language to de-escalate the situation and try to calm you down. It’s not necessarily an admission of guilt, as they’re feeling nervous by your reaction. All they want is to get their affectionate, happy master back, and if flashing puppy eyes at you is the only way, they’ll probably keep at it!

Earthwise Pet is a local pet store in Fremont where you can get everything you need for your dog. Whether you need dog grooming, food, or more pet supplies, our wide range of products will suit your needs. Shop our products today!