Lexi can't keep a secret =oD

thats exactly how i look when I'm guilty...

Love how dogs get guilty and cats don't give a shit what you think.

That's not guilt, it's expectation of punishment.

I'll try to find the anecdote, but basically, someone kept coming home to find a mess their dog made, then punished their dog. Before he even found a mess, he "could tell there was one cuz the dog looked guilty". One time, a friend said to have the dog stay outside, create a mess, put the dog back in, walk away for a couple minutes and come back.

The dog still "looked guilty". Not because it had made the mess, but because of the mere existance of the mess, the dog knew it was going to get bawled out.

Moral: If you can't stop the dog WHILE IT'S DOING THE PROBLEM BEHAVIOUR, you might was well not react. It won't understand. Dogs neither rationalize, nor understand cause and effect without immediacy.

This dog could very well be reacting to the mess being there, while the other dog actually did it, but if he never got bawled out for it, so he was ok with it. She, however, may get blamed all the time, or merely reacts to the owner's attitude and body language.

Agreed @Payback. This could be a vicious circle where Gus has been blundering around for years with no idea he's causing trouble and poor Lexi has been getting into trouble because her ever-growing (and rational) fear of the mess is mistaken for guilt. Perhaps.

Cats are even more like this - if you don't tell off a cat right in the act, it's a waste of time that will just teach the cat that you're crazy.

Well obviously they do or they wouldn't be acting like that. Cat's? They understand too, they just don't give a rat's ass.

I don't disagree about the cats. Fucking assholes.

Who made the mess? has been added as a related post - related requested by PlayhousePals on that post.