Boppard. Anyone who has a dog knows the situation: the four -legged friend looted the trash can, chewed the shoes or was disobedient on the walk. He looks at a head, pinched, pinched tail and large eyes. As a dog owner, you immediately think: “He knows exactly what he did wrong!”. But is that really like that? Is the dog really capable of being aware of his guilt to be ashamed?
What is shame?
Shame is a basic human emotion. It presupposes that you understand how others perceive one and you have violated certain expectations. In humans, shame is closely associated with self -reflection and moral awareness. Even social primates such as chimpanzees that show complex feelings and social behaviors, there are no clear scientific evidence that they shame like man feel. Accordingly, it is not possible that the dog can be ashamed.
Why does the dog make chaos?
Dogs are curious and playful beings, but sometimes they do chaos by destroying things or looting the trash can. There are various reasons that are usually due to your needs, emotions or development phases:
- Boredom or excess energy: If dogs do not have enough mental or physical employment, they are looking for a task themselves. Unfortunately, this can lead to nibbling furniture or browsing garbage.
- Search for attention: Some dogs notice that they get a lot of attention when they do something forbidden, even if it is negative attention.
- Instinct or sense of smell: The trash can smell like a treasure chest for a dog! Remains of food or interesting smells awaken his natural hunting and collecting instinct.
- Fear of separation: If dogs are left alone, they can be stressed or anxious. Destinating objects can be a kind of valve for these feelings.
- Lack of education: If dogs do not learn what is allowed and what is not, they tend to follow their instincts.
Maintaining things or searching the trash can is often a sign that the dog lacks something like employment, movement, care or security. It is important to recognize the cause and to offer the dog suitable alternatives and sufficient utilization and to set clear rules.
If dogs constantly destroy things or show destructive behavior, a dog trainer can be helpful. He analyzes the causes of behavior such as boredom, under demand, lack of impulse control, fear of separation or frustration and develops a training plan to change the behavior. If fear or uncertainty play a role, professional support is definitely useful to find solutions to improve the dog's well -being.
Does the dog understand that he did something wrong?
The 'guilty' behavior of a dog usually does not arise from a real feeling of guilt, but in response to the body language and the tone of its person. Studies have shown that dogs read these signals and instinctively react with soothing behavior. This includes:
- Intended tail: A sign of uncertainty and the desire to make yourself smaller.
- Located ears: Also a sign of submission and fear.
- Avoiding look: The dog tries to avoid eye contact to avoid confrontations.
- Yawn or tongue licks: Stress signals that show that the dog feels uncomfortable.
- Make yourself small or crawl: The attempt to escape the situation.
Dogs are excellent observers and learn through association. They link certain actions with consequences, learn to read human body language and mood quickly. You understand that your counterpart is upset, but notto have made a mistake yourself. The dog adapts and his 'guilt behavior' is an attempt to avoid the conflict and to appease people – a remains of the social behavior of their ancestors, the wolves.
Even if it is difficult to say goodbye to the idea of a 'guilty' dog. Man tends to humanize the dog's emotions (Anthropomorphism) And transfers your own feelings and interpretations to the behavior of the four -legged friend. According to the scientific status, dogs cannot feel shame or guilt in the human sense. Your behavior is a reaction to the mood and body language of man, a form of avoidance of conflict and communication with the other person. It is important to correctly interpret the behavior of the dog in order to build a fair and understanding relationship. Instead of going out of a guilty conscience, one should concentrate on clear communication and positive reinforcement in order to promote desired behavior and undesirable behavior direct to interrupt. (Stefan Richter)