Golden Retriever Puppy Has Serious Regrets About Bullying His Older Brother
We've all made mistakes and have regrets. Usually, though, they aren't as fully on display as they are in this TikTok video, which shows the aftermath of a golden retriever puppy too pure for this world — or maybe not — bullying his big brother. The candid moment is so pure from the glum pup that you feel for him, even while he's sitting in puppy jail for bad behavior.
@nicolarimmer3 'Respect your elders? Never heard of her soz' #goldenretriever #goldenretrieverpuppy #frenchbulldog #dogsoftiktok
The little golden is seen longingly staring through a closed glass door as his doggy sibling maneuvers through his toys, alongside the caption, "When you've been put in time out for bullying your big brother, now he's got free rein to all your toys & you regret everything."
Of course, some people ran to the comments to jokingly say they thought the original poster was misinterpreting the puppy's thoughts. "This is so cute but he is deffo plotting revenge and doesn't regret anything lol x," said one viewer, as another wisecracked that the scene's vibe was more "villain origin story🤨🤭." Others felt the pup's pain, like this comment: "His little baby face. 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭❤️❤️I can't handle it. Free. Him." Of course, we assume he got out with good behavior.
Do dogs ever feel bad?
Dogs certainly have feelings, from happiness to fear. But it's still not fully known whether they truly ever feel bad or guilty. It is assumed that dogs do not fully understand breaking rules or exhibiting bad behavior. What they do understand is that their owner is upset or scolding them, leading them to look guilty as an appeasement technique, using learned submissive body language as a reaction to a perceived threat.
If a dog owner comes home to find a chewed-up pair of shoes and scolds the dog, the dog doesn't understand that chewing the shoes was bad, only that their owner is upset, so their reaction is based on the moment at hand. So, disciplining a dog for a mess they created hours ago won't teach them anything. Instead, focusing on positive reinforcement training should help in the long run to prevent bad behaviors before they happen. No matter what they do, though, owners must always remember to show them compassion and that they are just dogs being dogs.