Your companion animal's "guilty" look signals his understanding that you're angry. But he likely has no idea why, so don't be quick to punish.
Remember that you and your pet are not the same species. To change your pet's habits with a minimum amount of confusion, frustration, and damage, you must first learn how he thinks.
Example: your dog tips over the kitchen trash can whenever he's left alone. When you get home, you scold and shake him in front of the mess. Despite this, he continues to dump the trash, but now when you arrive home, he cowers and looks "guilty". Obviously he knows what he's doing is wrong, right? WRONG.
His "guilty" looks are only submissive postures to show you that he know you're angry, but he does not know why. What your dog does understand is that, if there is trash on the floor when you get home, he gets yelled at. He does not understand that it's the actual act of him dumping the garbage that upsets you.
Even though pets are not people, we do share a preference for pleasant things. Humans and animals alike catch on very quickly when rewarded. If you start rewarding your companion animal every time he does something right, you'll see a definite difference in his behavior. This is called "positive reinforcement." However, be careful not to make the behavior worse by using positive reinforcement in the wrong situation. For instance, if you comfort your pet by stroking and soothing him while he's acting afraid, he'll think you're rewarding him for being scared.
As with most pet problems, your pet is probably performing a perfectly normal behavior, like urinating, chewing, or barking, but in the wrong place or at the wrong time. So, first, you have to find out why your pet is doing it, and then encourage her to do something else or to perform the behavior somewhere else. For instance, if your cat scratches your couch, it's because that particular texture, orientation, and location satisfy her scratching needs. To solve this behavior problem, replicate those factors in a desirable location. Offer her a scratching surface with the same texture (nubby, smooth, soft), length, width, height, location (put it very close to where she's been scratching). then reward her with food treats or affection whenever she uses it. Rubbing the new surface with catnip can also help it seem more appealing.
The next step in improving behavior is to change the environment so that the unwanted behavior is no longer fun. This means that the environment, not you, deters your pet from wrongdoing. This technique of making a desired behavior more rewarding than the unwanted behavior applies to most problems you'll have with your pet. For instance, with dumping the trash, start by asking yourself why he does it. Your dog was likely bored, smelled something good in the trash, and started investigating. After that, it just became something to do. So take the fun out of the old behavior by sealing the trash can, booby trapping it, or placing it where your dog cannot reach it. But you still must help relieve the cause of his "bad" behavior - boredom - or he's apt to do something else you don't like, perhaps chewing your shoes. try hiding treats around a room that you let him into right before you leave: give him his favorite chewie only when you're gone: or leave him a toy that you've stuffed with treats or peanut butter. Just like the garbage, these provide him with something to do that's fun, tasty, and time-consuming.
Just remember that punishment alone rarely works, stresses you and your pet, and never teaches your pet a desirable behavior. Quit thinking about how to stop the "bad" behaviors and start thinking about how to get your pet to do what you want her to do so your can reward her.
If you're not sure how to modify your pet's behavior, call your local shelter and ask to talk to someone trained in resolving pet behavior problems.
Check out the American Humane Association link on the right for more great tips.
Good luck with training your best friend in a humane friendly way!
Jenniene
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