Do dogs know when they do something wrong?

Dogs are adorable animals and are loved by most people, but they can also be quite messy. In the face of this, a question arises: do dogs know when they make mistakes?

Are dogs aware of their own mistake?

Dogs are animals that can be quite energetic, which is why messes sometimes end up happening. A common scene for dog owners is to get home and suddenly see everything turned over by them. However, when looking at your dogs, it's hard to resist their facial expression.

For this reason, many people believe that dogs are aware of their own mistakes. However, by saying this, we are attributing a human characteristic to dogs.

Research on dogs' guilty gaze

Curious to better understand why the dogs made a guilty face, since they supposedly were not aware of their mistakes, researcher Alexandra Horowitz started a study on the subject.

In the study, owners were asked to place a treat in front of their dogs, say a forceful "No" indicating they couldn't eat, and then walked away. Afterwards, when they returned, the behaviors of the dogs and tutors were analyzed.

How did the search go?

The study was divided into two parts: in the first, the tutors were previously informed if their dogs had eaten the treat or not. On the second, they entered the room without knowing the answer.

As a result, the researcher realized that the dog's guilty facial expression appeared more frequently in the first part, when the owner entered with a scolding attitude. This suggests that the dog is not aware that he has made a mistake, but is able to perceive his owner's body language.

Dogs can understand humans

Everyone has heard that dogs are man's best friend, but the truth is that, over the years of living together, dogs have learned to interpret human behavior and how to react to it.

So, when a dog flattens its ears and looks at its owner with a guilty expression, it indicates that it is trying to avoid conflict and is a form of non-verbal communication.