Life

Watch This Dog Tell On His Friend

by Pamela J. Hobart

Have you had your dose of cute today? Check out a toilet-paper wrapped black and white French bulldog and his larger, yellower pal (via Daily Dot and Digg). When asked by their owner whodunnit, this better behaved dog totally tells on his smaller, troublemaking sibling with an outstretched paw. Guess dogs really are man's best friend if they'll even sell out each other to the homo sapiens authorities!

This isn't the first dog who seems to be telling on its sibling, although it is a cute one. But is there any reason to believe that dogs really tell on each other? Probably not. Because humans love dogs and live with them so frequently, it's tempting to project human emotions, motivations, and capabilities onto dogs. But in reality, dogs have developed complementary traits as compared to their humans, not the same ones. Compelling evidence suggests that dogs understand human communication cues, but that doesn't mean that Fido grasps everything about what you're saying to him. A "guilty" looking dog is more likely to be responding to angry voice in the moment than to be literally remembering that pillow he destroyed earlier.

I suspect that the owner here taught her dogs to sit, stay, and point. But even if the dog isn't really a tattletale, the point is still relevant — dogs love their humans and mostly want to obey. The least you can do is learn a little dog body language in return, so you never mistake a nervous wag for a happy wag again.

Image: woottigon/Fotolia