A Labrador retriever has gone against type by showing little in the way of remorse after being caught getting up to no good.
Dani Dyrland told Newsweek her dog Georgia is “definitely the troublemaker” out of her and her older black Labrador sister, Gloria.
“They’re six years old, and we got them when our 12-year-old bichon shih tzu passed away,” she said. “We were heartbroken and my dad couldn’t handle us being sad, so he brought home Gloria, then Georgia a few months later.”
The two dogs enjoy an active social life. “They love swimming and wrestling with their cousins,” Dyrland explained. “My family is very close and we have seven dogs that all are in a pack and hang out together.”
However, Georgia stands out from the pack for two reasons: her unfettered desire to explore and her apparent lack of guilt about doing so.
Proof of this was provided in a clip Dyrland shared to TikTok showing how Georgia ended up stranded on the kitchen counter, having gone up for a good sniff around.
Most dogs caught in that kind of situation might appear guilty, but not Georgia with Dyrland describing her Labrador’s reaction as “unfazed” in the viral video. “Are you a bad girl?” Dyrland is heard asking on the clip. It’s not a moniker that bothers the yellow Lab from the look of things.
But while the idea of a dog appearing guilty after committing a misdeed might be commonplace, scientists are still unsure whether dogs are able to experience this kind of emotion.
A 2009 study published in the journal Behavioural Processes, saw a group of dogs and their owners observed in a series of scenarios. Researchers found that the dogs tended to display what could be interpreted as “guilty” behaviors after being scolded by their owners.
However, if the owners remained neutral, the dogs did not react in the same way, regardless of whether they had done anything wrong. These reactions indicated that the canine response may be down to owner cues rather than any acknowledgment of misdeed.
Dyrland said Georgia is “always doing stuff like this” and has even earned the nickname “Curious George” for her troubles.
“The bench that was knocked over in the video was at the end of the counter and she climbed up there and knocked it over and couldn’t get back up,” she said. “Georgia didn’t get into anything that day, but she usually gets into anything we have on the counter. We had to move our fruit bowl because she kept taking apples.”
In the video, Georgia can be seen sitting on the counter appearing nonplussed at having been caught out. According to Dyrland, that’s her standard response. “She usually has that same nonchalant look when she’s in trouble,” she said.
Despite her apparent lack of remorse, Dyrland and her family can still see the funny side in their Labrador’s antics. “It’s very innocent but also odd,” she said.”Just innocent goofiness by a dog being a dog.”