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Dog shaming is a popular and fun pastime for dog owners all around the world because dogs can’t read and it’s rather cute seeing them next to the evidence of their bad behavior. You probably already have seen pictures like that on the internet already, but these ones are dedicated only to our husky friends.
The Siberian Husky is a popular breed that a lot of people have in their homes, with thick fur and sharp triangular ears, you’ll immediately fall in love with them. But because of their thick double fur, you have to make sure they’re brushed often, and that the climate you’re in isn’t too hot, because they will get overheated quickly. Now onto the shaming!
AnimalBehaviourAssociate had this to say:
By now you’ve probably seen the “shaming” pictures of dogs on the internet with hand-written signs about the “bad” things the dogs have done. These include peeing on the owner’s leg at obedience class, slamming against the bedroom door to wake the owner up, eating feces or TV remote controls, and more. We’ve included a couple of the cuter ones on this page.
We can all get a good laugh at these, in part because our dogs have likely done something similar. Publicly shaming kids on the internet is quite controversial, but we’ve heard no one complain about shaming dogs. Obviously the dogs will never see their photos, so the “shaming” doesn’t create any direct emotional fall-out for them as it could for children who see their shaming online. BUT, dog shaming isn’t necessarily the harmless event it seems to be on the surface.
The problem is that dog shaming perpetuates a common, and sometimes damaging myth about dogs, their behavior and how they learn. Some of the dogs in the shaming pictures are showing what behavior scientists would call submissive behaviors. Their ears are back, they are avoiding eye contact, their eyes are wide, and/or the eyes are drawn together making their brows appear wrinkled (giving that “worried” look).
When people believe their dogs show guilt, and know right from wrong, it provides justification for punishment after the fact. From fundamental principles of animal learning, we know that the consequences of a behavior (whether good or bad) need to immediately (within about 3 seconds) follow the behavior in order for learning to occur. Attempting to show the dog his “mess” (whatever that may be) as a means of connecting past behavior with later punishment not only isn’t effective at stopping the unwanted behavior, but often creates conditioned fears and aversions (dogs that stop greeting their owners at the door). It’s certainly not fair to the dog, who can’t understand why he’s being scolded, and only teaches dogs not to trust their owners because the latter are so unpredictable.
What did you think? Have you ever shamed your own pets?
