littleroads
04-15-2008, 07:46 PM
From AnimalAttraction.com:
Does Your Dog Really Feel Guilty for Misbehaving? (http://animalattraction.com/Default.aspx?tabid=539&EntryID=336)
Apr 1 Written by:veronica_sanchez
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
Many people tell me that their dog “knows” when it has misbehaved because of its body language and facial expression. The truth is that dogs will often show fearful body language – lowered head, licking, ears back, tail tucked, wide eyes -- in response to humans showing angry body language. Dogs showing fearful body language are indicating that they want to avoid a confrontation. Unfortunately, their owner’s may misinterpret the dog’s body language as “guilt” and scold the dog anyway!
So in short, the lesson here is to remember that dogs do not house soil, chew our shoes, or otherwise knowingly engage in unwanted behavior out of “spite” and they do not feel guilty afterwards. Preventing unwanted behavior from occurring to begin with by careful management (i.e. put those shoes away!) and then rewarding your canine friend for the desired behavior is the best way to create a well-mannered companion.
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Veronica Sanchez is an experienced professional dog trainer and behavior consultant in the Northern Virginia area. In addition to working with hundreds of client’s dogs, Veronica has trained her personal dogs to high levels of obedience and has also trained 4 of her own canines to work as therapy dogs in area nursing homes. Veronica also has experience training cats, and recently expanded her services to include felines. Visit her website, Cooperative Paws Private Dog Training and Behavior Consulting. (http://www.cooperativepaws.com/)
Does Your Dog Really Feel Guilty for Misbehaving? (http://animalattraction.com/Default.aspx?tabid=539&EntryID=336)
Apr 1 Written by:veronica_sanchez
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
Many people tell me that their dog “knows” when it has misbehaved because of its body language and facial expression. The truth is that dogs will often show fearful body language – lowered head, licking, ears back, tail tucked, wide eyes -- in response to humans showing angry body language. Dogs showing fearful body language are indicating that they want to avoid a confrontation. Unfortunately, their owner’s may misinterpret the dog’s body language as “guilt” and scold the dog anyway!
So in short, the lesson here is to remember that dogs do not house soil, chew our shoes, or otherwise knowingly engage in unwanted behavior out of “spite” and they do not feel guilty afterwards. Preventing unwanted behavior from occurring to begin with by careful management (i.e. put those shoes away!) and then rewarding your canine friend for the desired behavior is the best way to create a well-mannered companion.
--
Veronica Sanchez is an experienced professional dog trainer and behavior consultant in the Northern Virginia area. In addition to working with hundreds of client’s dogs, Veronica has trained her personal dogs to high levels of obedience and has also trained 4 of her own canines to work as therapy dogs in area nursing homes. Veronica also has experience training cats, and recently expanded her services to include felines. Visit her website, Cooperative Paws Private Dog Training and Behavior Consulting. (http://www.cooperativepaws.com/)