How to React to Your Dog’s Apology
Now that you know how your dog apologizes, you also want to forgive your dog after showing remorse. This helps to make them feel less insecure and self-conscious. Forgiving your dog also prevents it from becoming withdrawn and stressed.
As long as you let them know that they were naughty without anger or aggression, they’ll know their apology was accepted.
Dog psychology studies the social interactions and thought processes of dogs. It also studies how they create bonds with other dogs and humans. Dog psychology associates many theories with dog behaviors, including their methods of saying sorry.
Studies show that dogs express apologetic gestures because of the reaction they get from you. For instance, when you yell, your dog knows it has done something wrong. So, it relates it to its previous actions when you’ve reacted that way and repeat it.
There hasn’t been any study to show that dogs truly understand what they did wrong. They typically act based on your reaction to their actions. As a result, it seems like an apology when they respond to you with body language.
MEANWHILE, back on the farm: First off, my mistake working Skip did not seem to cause any long term harm this last weekend. Skip ran in the Land of Lincoln Sheepdog Trial in Illinois last weekend, and his driving was spot on. We didn’t get great scores, but both of his drives were gorgeous, and that’s what we’ve been working on. If you’re interested, here’s his run (six minutes), video taped by Jim:
I’ll end with a day lily, adorned with its picturesque stamens, joined by some black oil sunflower seeds at the flower’s base that fell out of the feeder!
Patricia B. McConnell, PhD, CAAB Emeritus is an applied animal behaviorist who has been working with, studying, and writing about dogs for over twenty-five years. She encourages your participation, believing that your voice adds greatly to its value. She enjoys reading every comment, and adds her own responses when she can.
Or, did he? Does anyone remember a study that found that dogs behaved as if they understand the difference between being stepped on by mistake versus something less benevolent? And of course, we know about the studies of primatologists, who have found numerous examples of reconciliation and consolation in apes who were previously in conflicts. But reconciliation is not the same, exactly, as an apology, and dogs are not primates.
So, last week, I was asking Skip to drive the sheep into a small pasture that’s angled to the right of us. The sheep want to go hard left. The best I’ve been able to do previously is to stop him from over flanking by saying Lie Down, but that’s far from ideal. Better would be Skip walking steadily forward, pushing just enough on the sheep’s shoulders to keep them moving in the right direction.
How Should You Say Sorry to Your Dog?
Hurting your dog or leaving it alone at home all day can make it feel neglected and lonely. When this happens, it’s important to show that you’re sorry. Dogs are intelligent animals, so they’ll know you’re sincere. So, if you need to apologize to your dog, there are a couple of ways to go about it.
A Guide On How Dogs Say Sorry
Sometimes your dog does things you dont agree with. Sometimes you come home from work after a long day only to find the trash can’s contents have been emptied and spread across your entire kitchen. Sometimes your dog eats an entire roll of toilet paper just because he misses you so. Sometimes when you go to sit on the couch, your dog is there first when he knows he doesnt belong there at all.
Most of these indiscretions are forgivable, but wouldnt it be nice if your dog could apologize to you? If you have a dog who likes to speak, barks or howls, or likes to mimic sounds, train him to say sorry. You can also train non-verbal dogs to say sorry with sweet or timid gestures. And you can tell him he owes you an apology when he does something like make a poor choice.
Training your little guy to speak in word sounds will occur when he is open to mimicking noises and sounds you make. You may not get your dog to say a clear ‘S’ sound. But you can get him to say a sound that is very similar to sorry and to understand when you require such an apology. Basically, you will be training your little guy to make syllable sounds that will mimic the word sorry. This will take some practice, and because this word is two syllables, you may need to teach the first syllable first and the second syllable second before you combine them into what you know as one word.
Another way for your pup to say sorry is for him to look down timidly as if in regret or to paw at you as if to reach out with an apology. A puppy is often easier to train than an adult dog, but consider teaching all basic obedience commands before trying this more advanced training no matter the age of your pup.
Because this is an advanced trick, you will need to train your dog in a quiet space where he can focus on the sound of your voice and not other distracting sounds around you. Be sure to have lots of tasty treats for your bud to earn as he learns to apologize to you with a sweet sorry. Youll want to keep your training sessions short yet engaging to make this fun for you both.
Grab your dog’s attention and give him a treat. Have him sit and give him a treat. Ask your pup to lie down and give him a treat. This sets him up for a training session and rewards.
Say the command ‘say sorry,’ and hold another treat down toward your dog’s paw. He should be lying down, so he’ll need to look down to get to the treat.
Repeat this several times getting your pup to associate the command sorry with the action of putting his chin down to the floor. Be sure to give him a treat each time he is successful.
Keep practicing asking your dog to say sorry with only the command. His goal should be to lie down and put his chin to the floor with that remorseful look. Be sure to reward him with a treat. This will also be his forgiveness because he apologized.
When it’s appropriate for your dog to apologize, ask him to say sorry. Over time and with practice, he will know when he’s done something worthy of an apology and say sorry all on his own.
If you have a dog who will mimic or howl with you, you might be able to get him to vocalize his apology.
Sit with your dog when he’s behaving and spend some time training him. Start by howling and making sounds getting him to howl along with you.
When your dog is howling and talking with you making his own noises, start only saying the word sorry. Keep practicing these sounds in effort to get him to repeat them.
Say a command like ‘say sorry,’ and wait for your dog to reply with his new word. If he doesn’t repeat the word, you can keep practicing, saying sorry in the howling way you two practiced earlier.
Keep practicing this new word for your pup until he can say it by command. When he’s done something he should apologize for doing, use your command and ask him to say sorry.
Be sure as he is learning and each time he says sorry, you give him a treat. This will take some time and effort from you both, so those rewards will go a long way in motivating him to keep learning and practicing.
Train your dog to say sorry with a sweet gesture of his paw touching you. This will look a lot a dog giving you his paw, but you can train him to do it when he’s made a poor choice.
Start right away with your command ‘say sorry.’ Hold a treat in your hand but hide it from him. If you don’t have his attention, you can show him the hand and let him sniff the hidden treat.
Hold the treat at his chest level but out away from him. Be patient. He should eventually paw at your hand to get to the treat.
When he paws at your hand, use you ‘say sorry’ command again and give him the treat.
Repeat and practice this several times until he is pawing at your hand when you first use the command. He should do this several times before take the hand with the treat away.
Once he knows the words for the command and is familiar with the actions that go with the command, begin to use only the command without the hidden treat.
Anytime you ask your dog to say sorry, he should put his paw up to shake your hand or place it on your leg. Be sure you are accepting his apology by giving him a treat.