There is an absolutely hilarious website whose posts are making the rounds of Facebook, Pinterest, and the like. It's called Dogshaming, and is basically a series of photos of naughty dogs by a hand-written sign telling what shameful, embarrassing, or horrible thing they've done. Here's one example:
You could look through the photos for hours and never stop laughing, trust us.
But it makes you wonder: can dogs get embarrassed? The answer is, We don't know for sure. But many vets and researchers say yes, that dogs can and do experience secondary emotions such as jealousy and guilt (primary emotions being fear, excitement, and anger). And most dog owners would say, definitely -- most of us have seen guilt or empathy in our pets.
What we do know is that your reaction to your dog when he comes out of his grooming appointment has a huge effect on him. If he senses or sees anger, disappointment, or ridicule from you when he sees you again for the first time in hours, he will associate those emotions with the visit and will probably think he himself has done something wrong. Of course then he will think getting cleaned or groomed is not a happy experience, which is the last thing you need, right?
So here at the Groomerie we like to remind you to greet your pup with praise, excitement, and happiness when he comes up front at pick-up time, no matter what your reaction to his haircut. Of course, if you're not happy with the grooming, we want you to tell us so we can fix it right away, but we also don't want your pup to think she's done something to disappoint you!
But do enjoy the hilarious photos on Dogshaming.com -- and send us your own to ashley [at] petgroomerie.com!