To date, researchers have not found direct support for the claim that dogs look “guilty” in the absence of concurrent scolding, but this doesn’t necessarily mean nothing’s going on. In her book “For the Love of a Dog: Understanding Emotion in You and Your Best Friend,” Patricia McConnell, Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist, at the University of Wisconsin-Madison comments on what numerous clients have said: “So often people think their dog ‘knows’ she shouldn’t potty in the house because she greets them at the door looking ‘guilty,’ with her head and tail down, her eyes all squinty and submissive” p. 17.
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