Signs Your Dog Feels Humiliated
Humiliation can be described as a “secondary emotion,” which refers to a more complex emotion that requires self-reflection. Experts in animal behavior are still unsure if dogs feel humiliated.
There are some signs you can watch for, such as when your dog trips or gets scolded. This will help you determine if your dog is feeling embarrassed or sheepish. You should be alert to your dog’s behavior and if your dog is showing signs of distress, anger, or both.
Sometimes, even though it may seem humiliating, hiding or running away can be a sign of distress. You could also notice signs that your furry friend is feeling unwell or anxious. These behaviors could indicate that your furry friend is feeling embarrassed or even sheepish.
The Science Behind Dogs Feeling Humiliated
Emotions like feeling scared, being angry, or feeling sad are emotions that are processed automatically without any need to think about it. The feeling of humiliation, however, is a self-conscious emotion, which requires self-evaluation and self-reflection. So the question remains: are dogs able to look inward at themselves, and feel humiliated?
Researchers have found that dogs are as mentally and emotionally capable as an 18-month old human. This is based on scientific research. Children can feel emotions such as anger, sadness, and happiness. The ability to feel empathy and other complex emotions is only something that humans can develop around the age of 2. It’s still unclear if dogs will react differently to humans at 2 years.
Researchers believed that dogs had no sense of their own personal awareness until recently. This was due to the failure of the mirror test, which involves putting red dots on the dog’s face in order to see if it recognizes its reflection as its own. Further studies have shown that dogs pass the test if they are assessed in how they gather information about the world rather than the way people do.
It’s possible that we are using the wrong tests to assess our fur babies’ cognitive abilities and emotions, just like the mirror test. Although there are still many things we don’t know about man’s best friend the evidence that dogs feel secondary complex emotions such as humiliation is possible. It wasn’t that long ago that people believed that dogs could be colorblind or that only humans could show emotions. Both are false, and more research is needed.
How to teach your dog how to deal with humiliation
Some studies have shown that a pup’s brain is more similar to the human brain than we once believed to be true, at least when it comes to processing social information. You can help build a strong relationship with your dog by sustaining eye contact. This mutual gaze causes oxytocin to produce in both humans and dogs alike, furnishing the bonding process (this form of social bonding likely developed during the domestication process!).
Dogs are not all created equal. This means that some dogs may be more embarrassed than others. As an owner, the best thing you can do for your dog is to help them deal with bad behavior. You can teach your dog to go to his safe places, such as a crate or doggie bed. This will help your puppy feel better. You can also train your dog to run to their safe place if they feel humiliated.
Remember that being humiliated or angry does not excuse misbehavior. To keep your dog from getting upset or becoming angry, calmly say “no” and “stop” instead.