What Your Dog Is Really Thinking

Reading a pup’s body language requires experience and expert guidance. Zazie Todd, a dog trainer and founder of the blog Companion Animal Psychology, weighs in on how to decode Fido’s behaviour.

- Zazie Todd

1 IF YOUR DOG LOOKS REMORSEFUL WHEN YOU WALK IN THE DOOR AND SEE A MESS… 

They’re expecting punishment but don’t necessarily know that what they’ve done is wrong. Alexandra Horowitz, a professor at Barnard College in New York City whose research focuses on canine cognition, put that “guilty” look to the test in 2009. In the end, it wasn’t linked to whether the dog had transgressed but rather to being scolded by the owner. Subsequent research out of the University of Cambridge found no evidence that dogs can even feel guilt, which is a secondary emotion and more complex than a primary emotion, such as fear.

2 IF YOUR DOG LICKS THEIR MOUTH…