Doggone Etiquette —

Guilty As Charged

By Bardi McLennan

A Word to the Dog:

What happens when you are punished for something you didn’t do? Maybe you did something yesterday and didn’t even get the “evil eye” to let you know you were wrong, and then today you’re being soundly punished for doing the same thing! Let’s hope you do not fight back by snapping or growling because that will only get you into a whole lot more trouble. Crawling away will usually satisfy your VIPeople, and it will give you time to try to work out the puzzle they have landed on you. Lots of things in a dog’s life are hard to figure out. Your best bet is to go along with as much as you can, without questioning it. Keep in mind the Dog Father’s motto: “To err is human. To forgive, canine.”

A Word to the Dog’s Owner:

We dog owners like to think we can understand most of what our dogs are thinking and feeling, but it is a tad presumptuous to assume that those dear dogs are always able to understand us! Rufus gets up into your favorite chair and, depending entirely on your state of mind at that moment, you ignore him, or give him a mild “off” command. Or you flip your lid. Then, of course, you blame the dog for not having learned to obey every rule you come up with 100 percent of the time when in fact you, yourself, have given him all those alternative options!

No matter what the dog did that was wrong, his reaction to your correction or punishment should give you some indication that he knows precisely what he did that displeased you. Remember, his obedience is according to your rules, so you are responsible for the dog’s ability to make the connection between good and bad behavior. Your punishment or anger is especially misunderstood if the dog did not do whatever it is that seems to be upsetting you. There’s no way for Rufus to explain to you that Pretty Kitty Kat did it! That’s when the wrongly accused canine takes on that ‘Guilty as Charged’ look. He does it in order to pacify you, and slinks away to a safe spot where he can contemplate the situation.

Another misunderstanding occurs when you accept that guilty look as actual proof that the dog knows whatever he did was wrong. That acceptance on your part simply creates a dead end. You may think you’ve won, but it’s more likely you have only confused poor Rufus. Corrections and punishments need to be perfectly timed, fairly dealt with, and every attempt made to have the dog understand exactly what he did that was wrong. So where are we? Back at that good old standby: Prevention!

Apart from the relatively few spoken words we use that dogs can connect with actions, there are thousands they cannot. They depend on our tone of voice, our facial expression and our body language — just the same way dogs read other animals.

So, in teaching Rufus to stay off your favorite chair, use a frowning evil eye along with the “Off” command. The rule is: Use the same one word, “Off” every time — and without the dog’s name. (Then follow through to be sure he does get off!) That warning look of yours is the key to prevention. Granted, sometimes adding a guttural “Uh-uh!” helps get your point across.

The lowered head and tail, the slinking away from you, are the dog’s form of prevention. He’s hoping that you will readily accept it as his admission of being guilty as charged. Don’t fall for it too casually. Only when you feel sure that Rufus understands the charge, can you be confident that the correction (or punishment) did indeed fit the crime. Take a break. Then you — and Rufus — can get over it.                 

Until next time – BE GOOD!

- Bardi

Bardi McLennan bred, trained and showed Welsh Terriers for 30 years, during which time she wrote a monthly column on canine behavior in Dog Fancy Magazine. In addition to contributing to numerous dog publications, she has written 15 books on dogs, the latest being Rescue Me!, which received the ASPCA Humane Issues Award in 2008.