Whether you're a fan of dogs or not, chances are you've seen "dog shaming" online. It is the meme-able, viral trend of photographing one's dog next to handwritten signs in which the pups "confess" to their real-life misdeeds. Such canine crimes include barking too loudly, biting strangers, eating remote controls, stealing cookies from children and peeing on a Virgin Mary statue. On each occasion, the presumption was that the dog expressed shame — or, at least, that's what it looked like.
Yet do dogs actually feel shame — or are they just mirroring human emotions? What about other animals, for that matter? In 2018, The Atlantic published an article boldly titled "Your dog feels no shame," with the author William Brennan reporting "the guilty look is likely a submissive response that has proved advantageous because it reduces conflict between dog and human."
