# Do you apologise to your dog? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 16, 2023, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-apologise-to-your-dog/985650 "2023-06-16T20:53:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![EnglishGrey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/englishgrey/32/14111_2.png) [@EnglishGrey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EnglishGrey)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2023, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-apologise-to-your-dog/985650/1 "2023-06-16T20:53:47Z")
So, when I zig left and he zigs right and we collide… I invariably say ‘Oops, I’m sorry!’ Or if I realise his water bowl is almost dry I’ll let him know, in words I’m sure he understands, that I am aware it’s a poor show on my part. Recently a close friend commented that it was weird… What say you? If your particular non-human companion is a snake, llama or civet cat I am of course also interested, but it’s primarily dogs I am thinking of. Is this silliness of the highest order? Common politeness? A sign of a worrying brain lesion? ---
**Author:** ![Kron](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kron/32/12444_2.png) [@Kron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kron)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2023, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-apologise-to-your-dog/985650/2 "2023-06-16T20:56:04Z")
I speak more to my dogs in any given week than to any humans. Yes, I apologise to them if I accidentally bump into them, or have the gall to give them their morning kibble without their breakfast bacon (treats). ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2023, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-apologise-to-your-dog/985650/3 "2023-06-16T21:04:49Z")
Yes, I apologize to my dog if I step on her paw or other accidental bump. I think dogs are very perceptive to our facial expressions and mannerisms, and can see that an apology for something like that followed by a quick hug or scritch lets them know it was not intended or anger/annoyance-related. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2023, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-apologise-to-your-dog/985650/4 "2023-06-16T21:11:30Z")
I apologize to my landlady’s dogs and my sister’s cats, yes. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2023, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-apologise-to-your-dog/985650/5 "2023-06-16T21:21:45Z")
Yes, I do. I apologize for bad trips to the vet. Thunderstorms and household incidents. I worry about the brain lesion as well🤭 ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2023, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-apologise-to-your-dog/985650/6 "2023-06-16T21:25:12Z")
I apologize to bugs. I apologize to plants. I also apologize mammals and birds, including my own. I’m perfectly serious. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2023, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-apologise-to-your-dog/985650/7 "2023-06-16T21:28:36Z")
> [@EnglishGrey](#): > > So, when I zig left and he zigs right and we collide… I invariably say ‘Oops, I’m sorry!’ Or if I realise his water bowl is almost dry I’ll let him know, in words I’m sure he understands, that I am aware it’s a poor show on my part. Recently a close friend commented that it was weird… What say you? Not weird at all, extremely civil, and – I mean this seriously – the dog very likely understands your meaning, especially if it’s about something like the water bowl. In general, dogs infer far more about the things we say to them than most of us imagine. It’s not always about understanding the actual words, although even there, dogs often have a larger vocabulary than we think. Some dogs know the names of many of their toys, for example, and can be asked to go into another room and fetch a specific one. And what dog doesn’t know the meaning of “go for a walk”? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2023, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-apologise-to-your-dog/985650/8 "2023-06-16T21:42:17Z")
I apologize to the cats, so… ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2023, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-apologise-to-your-dog/985650/9 "2023-06-16T21:47:09Z")
Absolutely I do. As a matter of fact, my wife effusively apologized after opening the armoire door to hastily last night, and smacking our poor pup squarely in the beezer. I made a point of fussing over him, too - as @snowthx says, it helps him know that the action was inadvertent and not his fault in any way. (Yes, I know it’s _never_ the dog’s fault if a human hits him, that’s just abuse; but I want to make sure _he_ knows that, as well.) ---
**Author:** ![XOldiesJock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/ec9cab/32.png) [@XOldiesJock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XOldiesJock)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2023, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-apologise-to-your-dog/985650/10 "2023-06-16T22:07:33Z")
If I had a dog, I would certainly apologize and make a fuss over them in the event I did something that caused them distress. We have cats and I’m always talking to them about one thing or another. Though they don’t know what I’m saying, they know my tone of voice as comforting, just as your dog knows yours. Our cats are quite the talkers. And if I had a snake I would probably talk to them too. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2023, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-apologise-to-your-dog/985650/11 "2023-06-16T22:09:17Z")
Of course. I don’t expect him to understand individual words, but it makes sense he could understand the intent. Though I often include pleasurable things, too. If you watch dog behaviors, it definitely seems like something they do with themselves. A dog who, say, bites another one too hard in play will immediately pull back and then seeming to try and console them. It actually seems to be common in any animal that engages in play, at the very least. But it would seem useful for any social animal. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2023, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-apologise-to-your-dog/985650/12 "2023-06-16T22:09:24Z")
I do. > [@wolfpup](#): > > It’s not always about understanding the actual words It’s not even the actual words, but the tone of voice, the facial expression & what you do during/after apology, like give them a skritch &/or a treat & generally fawn over them after accidentally bopping or scaring them. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2023, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-apologise-to-your-dog/985650/13 "2023-06-16T22:11:54Z")
> [@Spiderman](#): > > It’s not even the actual words, but the tone of voice, the facial expression & what you do during/after apology, like give them a skritch &/or a treat & generally fawn over them after accidentally bopping or scaring them. Also works for people. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2023, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-apologise-to-your-dog/985650/14 "2023-06-16T22:18:01Z")
Word for word almost exactly what I came here to post. So I don’t need to bother. Thanks. j ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2023, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-apologise-to-your-dog/985650/15 "2023-06-16T22:22:36Z")
Usually for the accidental bonk or sqoosh. She is forgiving. ---
**Author:** ![troub](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troub/32/14802_2.png) [@troub](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/troub)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2023, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-apologise-to-your-dog/985650/16 "2023-06-16T22:23:59Z")
Agreed that they definitely get the intent. I’ve played with dogs before and when they get a little too rough I yelp and turn my back…they themselves often adopt a range of very conciliatory behaviors when they think they’ve hurt or upset you. From the classic “puppy dog eyes” to another that would get super affectionate and force herself under my arm for a hug. So yeah, go ahead and apologize…they do it too and definitely understand\*. \*like people some dogs are psychopaths and YMMV 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2023, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-apologise-to-your-dog/985650/17 "2023-06-16T22:56:23Z")
I apologize to the dog if I screwed up about him. Also to the cats, most often for stepping on one (which one in particular makes it very hard to avoid.) Also sometimes to plants, or to insects even if I’m killing them. But then, I occasionally apologize to the tractor. And I have never claimed not to be weird; only that I like me that way. / / / – apologizing to the dog and cats makes sense, though; they may or may not be paying attention to the words, but they definitely pick up on the sense of the difference between ‘my human kicked me by accident, still safe to approach’ and ‘that human kicked me on purpose! stay the hell away from them!’ The tone of voice and gestures of apology probably help make it clear what’s happening. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2023, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-apologise-to-your-dog/985650/18 "2023-06-16T23:15:10Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > but they definitely pick up on the sense of the difference between ‘my human kicked me by accident, still safe to approach’ and ‘that human kicked me on purpose! stay the hell away from them!’ > [@](#): > > " **Even a dog knows the difference between being kicked and being stumbled over.** ” - Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2023, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-apologise-to-your-dog/985650/19 "2023-06-16T23:37:21Z")
I do apologize to my dog and I say “thanks buddy,” when he complies with something like standing still so I can put his harness on. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2023, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-apologise-to-your-dog/985650/20 "2023-06-17T00:09:14Z")
I don’t have dogs anymore, but I definitely apologize to my cats. Even when they’re at fault. Like when they run in front of me and almost trip me and then yelp when I inadvertently kick them to keep from falling and breaking my neck… yeah, I apologize. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-apologise-to-your-dog/985650.md?page=2)