Curious about how dogs say sorry? Explore the fascinating world of canine emotions and learn about the different ways dogs express their remorse and seek forgiveness in this insightful article.
If you live with a dog at home or have a close relationship with people who have dogs, you have surely heard more than once phrases like “my dog knows perfectly well what he has done wrong”, “he is sorry” or “when I get angry he comes to ask me for forgiveness”. But, have you ever wondered if all this is true? Are dogs really aware that they have done something inappropriate and ask for forgiveness for it?
How do Dogs Say Sorry?
When owners say that their dogs are sorry and ask for forgiveness for doing something wrong, they usually mean that they display a series of very characteristic body postures and facial expressions, among which the following stand out:
- Head and ears down .
- Arched body .
- Tail between hind legs , usually moving rapidly.
- Licking of lips .
- Moans .
- Lying on the floor face up .
- Yawns .
- Sideways glance .
- It zooms in and out repeatedly .
- Close your eyes .
All of these behaviors actually correspond to signs of calm or appeasement . In addition to being able to associate temporal events, dogs are true experts in observing and analyzing our body language, interpreting each of our movements with great precision. And not only that! They can also detect, through smell, chemical changes in our body, which give them clear clues about our mood.
All of the above means that, even if you don’t scold your dog, the simple act of getting angry generates a series of signals that dogs quickly pick up on (a deeper than normal voice, snorting, a slight increase in body temperature, sweating, putting your hands on your head, facial expressions of disgust, etc.). If your dog has seen these signals before being reprimanded, he will associate them with a negative experience. And what is his way of acting accordingly? He will deploy the entire repertoire of behaviors mentioned above in order to calm your anger and release tension. However, this does not necessarily mean that he has the slightest idea of what he has done or why you are angry. So, do dogs ask for forgiveness? Not exactly.
How to train a dog to know what is right and wrong?
The conclusion of all this is that dogs do not have a conception of “good” and “bad” as clear as we do, but they are very intelligent animals with an enormous capacity to learn, so it is not difficult to teach them that there are certain behaviors that they should not perform. Ideally, the dog’s education should begin when it is a puppy, because during this period its behavior is more modifiable because its nervous system is still immature and is capable of creating and destroying thousands of connections every day, giving the animal an enormous predisposition to learn new things. Therefore, to get your dog to understand what is right for you, you should take into account the following:
- Good socialization and a healthy bond are the basis for living with a dog and, only with that, we will avoid many behavioral problems. In this article we explain ” How to socialize a puppy “.
- Dogs should always be trained using positive reinforcement , avoiding threats and physical punishment (hitting, tying, locking, etc.), because from these negative experiences the animal can develop fears that will be very difficult to eliminate in the future and that can lead to behavioral and emotional problems, reducing its well-being.
- Act immediately . As we all know, it is inevitable that our dogs will do things we don’t like sometimes, especially when they are puppies, and in these cases it is important to remember what we have explained previously in this article: dogs only consistently associate events that occur at the same time. Therefore, do not scold your dog if he does something wrong while you are not at home , this will only confuse him. It is better to call his attention only if you see him doing something wrong and to offer him, in exchange, an alternative behavior (similar and equally stimulating) that is appropriate, reinforcing the latter. In this way, the dog will not only learn what he should not do, but he will also know what is allowed.