868 People Tested — Everyone Got Their Dog Wrong

That "guilty look" your dog gives you? Science says it's not guilt at all. 🐕 Researchers Holly Molinaro and Clive Wynne at Arizona State University tested 868 people across two experiments — and found that we judge our dogs' emotions based on everything EXCEPT the dog. The background. The situation. Even our own mood. When they swapped backgrounds in the videos, people followed the background — not the dog. And when owners were in a bad mood, they projected it onto dogs who were actually fine. The scariest part: what we call "guilt" is almost always FEAR. And punishing a fearful dog who doesn't understand why only makes everything worse. 📖 Study: Molinaro & Wynne (2025), Anthrozoös 🔗 DOI: 10.1080/08927936.2025.2469400 0:00 The Guilty Look Lie 0:18 What If You're Wrong? 1:27 The 868-Person Study 2:36 They Followed The Background 3:01 Getting It Backwards 3:31 Your Mood Lies To You 4:24 Your Mood Changes Your Dog 5:23 Fear, Not Guilt 6:26 What To Do Instead 7:02 Start Looking