You walk into the room and immediately know something has happened.
Your dog’s head drops. Their ears go back. They avoid eye contact and give you that look.
Then you spot the chewed shoe, shredded cushion or whatever piece of household chaos they’ve created.
Surely they know they’re guilty?
That familiar expression might look like an admission of wrongdoing, but your dog’s body language could be telling you something quite different.
What does a dog’s guilty face look like?
Dog parents will probably recognise the expression instantly, but there are several body language cues commonly interpreted as guilt.
These include:
- Showing the whites of the eyes, sometimes called “whale eye”
- Ears pulled back
- Lowering the head
- Lowering the body
- Lip licking or yawning
- Looking away
- Moving the body away from you
Put them together and it certainly looks as though your pup knows exactly what they’ve done.
But that’s not necessarily what is happening.
Does your dog know they’ve done something wrong?
Dogs are highly responsive to their humans’ moods, tone of voice, facial expressions, posture and body language.
So when you walk into a room, discover the damage and become visibly frustrated, your dog is responding to those signals.
Rather than the “guilty face” proving your dog feels guilt, the behaviour is better understood as an attempt to avoid confrontation and diffuse the situation.
Your dog notices that something isn’t right and responds accordingly.
In other words, that heartbreaking little face might have more to do with your reaction than their feelings about the chewed-up shoe.
Do dogs understand consequences?
Dogs can learn to associate their actions with particular outcomes.
Immediate consequences are particularly important because they help the dog connect the behaviour with what happens next.
Dogs also pick up on changes in human behaviour and use tone, body language and previous experiences to recognise when a situation has changed.
This is why how you respond to unwanted behaviour matters.
What should you do when your dog misbehaves?
Finding something destroyed can be frustrating, but scolding your dog isn’t necessarily the answer.
Instead, focus on understanding why the behaviour happened and teaching your dog what you want them to do.
You can:
- Work out what might be triggering the unwanted behaviour
- Use clear and consistent training cues
- Keep tempting items such as shoes out of reach
- Provide appropriate alternatives such as chew toys
- Interrupt unwanted behaviour while it is happening
- Reward the behaviours you want your dog to repeat
Your dog’s individual temperament also matters.
Sensitive or easily worried dogs might require a gentler approach to prevent unnecessary stress. Watching their body language can help you recognise signs of stress early and adjust how you respond.
ADAPTIL Calm provides calming pheromones to support dogs during training.
With clear, consistent training and rewards for positive behaviour, your dog can gradually learn what you expect from them.
And the next time you get that face after discovering some household mischief, remember: your pup might not be confessing after all.
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