Do your dogs ever show guilt when they do something they know they should not have? Share some experiences when you think your dog has acted guilty or sorry for doing something bad


One day we came home and something had been destroyed. We can always tell who did it because one will always go sit away from us and turn his head away as if ashamed..it's cute..but atleast we know they know it was bad!

All 3 of my dogs pretty much act the same when thy did something they know they shouldn't have. They look at us, hang their head, tuck their tail between their legs & run to their crate & won't come out until we call them out. LOL It's really cute...they take it so bad when all we do is give them a dirty look. They take it even worse if we raise our voice at them!

What is often mistaken for "guilt" is actually deference signals. The dog displays deference signals to avoid or stop conflict. Many dogs act this way in response to their owners body language or tone of voice, rather than because they feel bad about something they did. This also happens often when dogs are punished after the fact and learn to predict punishment under the same or similiar contexts.

I have one dog, a toy poodle, who acts "guilty" under certain circumstances, even when he has done nothing wrong. For instance, he once acted guilty when there was poop on the dinning room floor and I entered the room with him. The poop was clearly (because of his size) not his yet he rolled over on his back because previously poop on the floor + owner = punishment.

Thank you so much for that great expanation

Dog behavior is a really funny thing sometimes, I had no idea the way I act could signal my dog to "appear guilty". I really thought it was just him feeling remorse for his actions that he thinks I'm about to find out he did. LOL

I guess I'll have to consider that before walking in the door and immediately looking to Spike sternly, wondering what he did while I was out. :P

My pups do the guilt act way before I can react or say a word to them. Is it so hard to believe an animal that is loyal and loving can feel bad or guilty? Not such a big stretch in my mind but to each their own.

My dog does a sad face with a teary eye if he had done something wrong. I don’t who he knows that he have done something but he does. Not only does he show a sad face but also acts weird also. It’s kind of cute though.

I know if my dog has done something wrong immediately I walk in.
He does give himself away sometimes, simply by altering his behaviour.

It's very funny, because if he does act differently I set off hunting around for the misdemeanour. It usually ends up being the kind of thing I wouldn't have noticed if he'd 'kept quiet'

Originally Posted by ScottyDoggy

My pups do the guilt act way before I can react or say a word to them. Is it so hard to believe an animal that is loyal and loving can feel bad or guilty? Not such a big stretch in my mind but to each their own.

I used to feel the same way you do so its not hard to believe at all. We as humans have a habit of humanizing our pets. If you really think about it though, why would a dog do something repeatedly if he knew it was "wrong"? I think it is very easy for us to misunderstand our dogs. A dog who has frequently been punished for trash on the floor upon his owners return is likely to act "guilty" when trash is on the floor in the future and his owner returns, even if the cat is the one that got into the trash. So you don't always have to give off body language or verbal signals to get this "guilty" reaction from a dog. The context itself can cause a dog to react.

My neighbors dog is 5yrs old and still urinates in the house even though they punish him everytime they come home to his mess. He acts guilty each time but yet he continues to do it. Why does he continue to urinate in the house despite being punished for it so many times? Because his owners are punishing the presence of urine on the floor, not the act of urinating on the floor.

If I put a book in the middle of the dining room floor and then drag my dog over to the book, point to it, and punish him for several days in a row....I guarantee that he will be acting guilty each time that book is lying on the dining room floor and I am present. He would have learned that the book on the middle of the dining room floor and my presence were predictors of punishment.

I'm not trying to be argumentative just trying to help others understand the point I'm trying to make because I think it is important.

I don't know...I have noticed my dog acts extra cuddly to me when I am depressed or upset. I feel that he really senses when I need a little extra loving and attention.

I do agree that we can misinterpret the reason why the dog is acting guilty.

What he associates our disproval with, may not actually be the reason we are angry.

All the same it does go to show that dogs do know when they have incurred our disapproval. Even if we might not be on the same wave length about the crime.