Do dogs get embarrassed wearing silly props or if they get a bad haircut? Dr. Ernie Ward thinks so.
I recently got a bad haircut. I was embarrassed. In fact, it happened the day before I hosted the annual Calabash Christmas Tree lighting and parade. I wasn’t happy but I soldiered on.
The reason I mention this is because of a complaint I heard from a client recently. She had taken her dog to her groomer (not ours, thankfully) and reported that its hair was cut so short her pooch acted embarrassed. She told me how her dog came home and hid under the bed after her haircut. She wouldn’t come out for several hours, even when her husband came home. Do dogs get embarrassed if they have a “bad hair” day? I’d never really given it much thought.
Turns out some canine behavior researchers have. Dr. Marc Bekoff, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Colorado, has observed dogs for thousands of hours in his career. He concludes that dogs do have feelings of embarrassment, shyness and humiliation. Another researcher, neurobiologist Dr. Frederick Range at the University of Vienna, agrees. His studies demonstrate that dogs have other secondary emotions such as jealousy, guilt and empathy. I’m guessing Markoff and Range would definitely agree with my client that her dog was embarrassed by the bad haircut.
Not every animal behavior expert agrees. In fact, most say researchers such as Markoff and Range are off their rocker (you don’t want to know what they say about me). The traditional notion is dogs only experience “instant-reaction” emotions such as fear, joy, sadness and anger. Established thought would state embarrassment is far beyond the emotional reach of dogs. I’d love for them to meet my menagerie and still believe that. Not only do my dogs feel secondary emotions, they’re also capable of being downright silly. Study that, superstar know-it-all experts.
In my own experience posing as “Santa Paws” for nineteen years and witnessing an almost endless parade of dressed-up and dolled-up dogs and cats, I can tell you some pets are clearly
Dr Ernie Ward aka "Santa Paws" and two potentially embarrassed dogs.
unhappy with what mom and dad are doing to them. These are pets I’ve seen since baby teeth days that suddenly act very strangely when a pair of faux antlers is perched atop their heads. They dive for cover, bolt out of the room or cover their face. Some even turn nasty. Let me tell you, most dogs and cats aren’t as fond as you are of the little elf costumes and Santa hats.
At the other end of the spectrum are the ham-it-up-hounds. These dogs L-O-V-E to dress up and prance around. They’re the Lady Gaga’s of the canine culture without the other odd behaviors. That’s another study for our big-shots to ponder.
I believe most of us intuitively know that dogs and cats have feelings. To me, those feelings include some form of embarrassment. So talk to your groomer and give them details on exactly what your dog wants from its next haircut. If your dog gets embarrassed, you have no one to blame but yourself. And don’t forget to toss out those antlers…
