Religion and Spanking

[Homeless Nutter]

[...]When I come home and one of my dogs have made a mess I know it immediately from the look on their face and their reaction when I ask what happened all this before I enter the door. [...]

LOLOLOLOL...

You ask them what happened? What kind of moron are you? Oh, right - the kind that believes in talking donkeys and snakes... So, Dr. Dolittle - what do they say in reply?

Sure - dogs can associate physical violence with certain behaviors (although you can achieve the same results using other deterrents, like strong scent in a spray bottle), but unless you catch the dog in the act - they have no f*cking idea what you're punishing them for. Many dog owners imagine they can see "shame", or "guilt" on their dog's faces, but that's just projection and confirmation bias on your part. I have no doubt, that they can be afraid of you and behave submissively, when they can sense anger in your tone (for example when you start angrily interrogating them), but they don't follow your logic, because - and I know this is going to be difficult to believe, but bear with me - dogs are dumber than even you.

I grew up in the country-side. I've seen enough cruelty, to become somewhat desensitized, so if you want to punch your dog for making a mess - be my guest, let off some steam. But you're kidding yourself if you think, that dogs have a concept of "guilt", or "sin", or that they understand what you're saying to them.

And of course - dogs will "love" you regardless, because they don't really have a choice - it's their evolutionary instinct to submit to a pack leader and they've been bred over thousands of years to submit to humans. I've seen dogs starved half to death, tied with a piece of wire to a metal barrel, which was their "doghouse" and regularly kicked and beaten by their alcoholic owners, whom they still adored. Dogs and religious people share this tragic tendency to give up dignity and replace it with servility...

http://www.sciencealert.com/dogs-may-loo...xperts-say

According to veterinary scientist Susan Hazel, the fact that dogs may look ashamed to us after we’ve caught them doing something bad says a lot more about our relationships with our pets than it does about their ability to feel complicated emotions such as guilt.

“There’s been a number of studies done and it’s pretty clear that dogs don’t feel or display guilt,” Hazel told Simon Royal at the ABC. “It’s not the way their brains work.”