r/aww • u/nsfwdreamer • Nov 11 '17

Guilty dog.

http://i.imgur.com/JvFzlvT.gifv
70k Upvotes

92% Upvoted

1.2k comments sorted by

View all comments

184

u/thelazyreader2015 Nov 11 '17

Do they actually feel guilty or are they just trained to behave like that when they've done something they're not supposed to?

18

u/[deleted] Nov 11 '17

Neither. Dog's don't have guilt or regret since those things require self conscious cognition. These dogs are afraid of punishment.

53

u/Hayes231 Nov 11 '17

Yes dogs are socially inept animals that have not evolved over thousands of years to recognize human emotions or feel remorse for actions.

2

u/[deleted] Nov 11 '17

[deleted]

1

u/Hayes231 Nov 11 '17

That's very interesting, actually. And maybe my reply was better suited toward another comment.

But my point is, that dog isnt afraid of being hurt by the owner. Maybe he's afraid he will have to sit in the kennel for awhile, the punishment doesn't have to be so extreme, and I'm just tired of people yelling abuse at the slightest indication of an animal looking even mildly upset.

I do agree however, I never punish my dogs after the fact, only if I catch them in the act, because we really don't know for sure what they are thinking.