Humans ruin things also. Should they be locked up as well?

Well 60, there are the places called jails and prisons. They lock people up in a cell there, so yes some humans need to be locked up too.

You've obviously never owned a dog... Guilt is definitely something they can feel. People who have never had a dog don't understand.

You clearly forgot how understand humour.

If they can understand right and wrong, they can definitely feel guilt about doing something wrong.

They don't understand right and wrong. They understand behavior that gets them punished and behavior that does not get them punished. While 45's explanation was probably unnecessary and sort of a buzzkill, it's absolutely in accordance with what we understand about human/animal behavior. The "guilt" you think you see is actually the dog's physical response that accompanies anticipating the punishment it knows it's going to receive. It very likely has nothing to do with the fact that the dog feels guilty because it wronged you. And saying "yes they do feel guilt and you don't know because you've never owned a dog" is a pretty vapid and presumptuous response. Okay, pointless Internet arguing of the day complete. *fades into the wind*

Dogs totally can be capable of feeling guilt. You should meet my Aussie. When she's done something wrong, and I hold up--say: an item she chewed up: she turns her head and tries to run before she gets a swat. She knows when she's done something wrong and does display guilt. Check your sources ("facts" that aren't factual) before you speak.

Argh! NO! Dogs are incapable of feeling guilt! The 'guilt' you are talking about is appeasement. The dog knows you are angry at it. It try's to appease and calm you. When that doesn't work and you advance towards the dog (a physical threat and challenge) the dog runs, again appeasement behavior, because it is backing out of your challenge. Also punishing a dog for a behavior more then 10 seconds in the past is abuse as the dog cannot link the behavior with the punishment. You holding the shoe, showing anger, then punishing the dog is nothing but you holding a random object and punishing the dog while its showing appeasement submissive behaviors which is a huge mistake! Seriously. Before spouting shit as gospel how about knowing what you are talking about? Again. DOGS ARE INCAPABLE OF FEELING GUILT! Next time the dog chews a shoe, pick it up, and in a happy playful voice accuse it of chewing it. I will bet you $100 it will wag its tail and act like its play time. If it could TRUELY feel guilty for its actions it would not do it.

I cannot believe that 20 people did not even bother to look something up before they thumbed down the original commenter. I thought this was common knowledge by now but I guess it's more of a little-known fact. Sorry #55, 63 and 98 but there have been actual STUDIES about dogs and whether or not it's true that they have a 'guilty' look after they do something 'wrong'. You know what they found? the 'guilty look' was just something the owner projected onto the dog. It wasn't real. If you told the owner that the dog had done something wrong, and asked the owner if they thought the dog had the 'guilty look' they'd say yes. This was what the experiment found. So there is no such thing as a dog's 'guilty look'. It's what humans want to see, and it's documented in human psychology. Look it up. Now, as for dogs feeling guilt, guilt is aligned with morality. It is very unlikely that dogs have a sense of morality, and #63, just because somebody understands right and wrong is not enough for them to feel guilty if they do wrong. Children as young as 4 'know' that lying is wrong, but they don't feel guilty for lying. That is because children are taught basic rules about right and wrong before they adopt the values behind those rules. A true sense of morality develops much later, starting somewhere between 9 and 12. And you might be interested to know that even psychopaths understand right and wrong - at least, what society deems as right and wrong, but they see right and wrong like road rules and they don't associate any intrinsic value to it. That's why they don't feel guilty or care if they kill someone. I have no idea why 45 got thumbed down so much, the belief that dogs do not have the higher-level functioning to possess a complex moral code and feel complex moral emotions is one shared by most behavioural and animal psychologists. As I said, that kind of higher-level cognitive thinking develops at a relatively late age in human childhood (around 10 years old), and even very clever chimpanzees only have the cognitive functioning of a 5 year old. (This is true too, look it up if you don't believe me). Dogs are not smarter than chimpanzees. It is extremely unlikely they have a set of morals and it is thus extremely unlikely they feel guilt. It is quite plausible thus that they DO feel fear or anxiety because they understand that what they have done is something that their human friends don't like and negative consequences will ensue. Basic classical conditioning. Simple psychology material. Do some more learning before you come back with nothing but anecdotal evidence, #98.

#105 so you didn't even read my full comment but remarked on the 'unecessary' nature of my comment anyway. Compared to the three replies which belittled the original comment with evidence such as 'only dog owners would know' or 'you've obviously never owned a dog', mine was the only one to actually be backed up by scientific evidence. Oh but of course it is my comment that is unecessary. Makes perfect sense. For the record I am also a dog-lover and I have a dog myself. If you had actually read my comment you will see I argue practically what you just wrote, but was obliged to add research evidence to back up the claims or else another bunch of brainless idiots would have simply rocked up and thumbed down or disparage the comment. It seems I was ultimately unsuccessful in that regard despite my efforts. 'I feel ridiculous for this reply' is the one part of your comment which I wholeheartedly agree with.

67, THAT comment is what i call a buzz kill.