Can your dog REALLY tell if he's in trouble?

Does a dog really know if he’s in trouble?  And what does that really mean?

Just because your dog tucks his tail and runs, does that mean he knows he’s been bad, or is it something else, behavior specialists call an avoidance response?

For an interesting perspective on this question check out this article:

Do dogs know when they’ve done something naughty?

You might realize that if your dog is consistently “misbehaving” and you think he’s doing it on purpose… that you have a much bigger problem on your hands.

This is often a sign that you are not communicating clearly with your dog in a way he understands, and that you probably are effectively listening to what he wants either.

This is a common problem with people who try to stop dog barking.

Their dog’s will tuck tale and run when their owners yell at them over a long period of time.  This causes the dog to fear the owner, and doesn’t necessarily mean the dog knows what he did was bad.

And it certainly doesn’t even begin to address the owners complete lack of understanding the underlying issue of what’s really causing the dog’s barking in the first place.

Take this as a reminder to always try to get at the root ‘emotional’ cause of your dog’s problem if you want to have the most success.

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