Dogs can learn from their mistakes on their own too
My grandma has a dog named Barrel; called that because he barrels people over in his excitement. hes a pitbull mix, big wall of muscle. he has a past of abuse in fighting rings: he was the dog theyd tie to a pole for the fighting dogs to practice on. he has scars all over, and evidence suggests someone once poured oil all over him and lit him on fire. Hes insecure around dogs and starved for attention: a jealous little shit. Still, hes sweet and gentle, if a bit overbearing in his excitement. hes also a huge wall of muscle.
my Grandma was watching scooby (our husky/malamute) at the time. Scooby was another abuse case who was tied to a tree his whole life. Big dog: Very lacking in muscle mass. It took him a long time to build up enough to run. To be fair, he looks as big as a pony (its all fluff!); while barrel was probably the runt of the litter.
my brother figured hed take the dogs on a walk. he took scooby out first. they got back, and barrel and scooby fought. it lasted for 13 seconds. but barrel got off with only a nick to the muzzle; but scooby had to get stitches on his cheek, and was bleeding in a few places.
I dont think barrel quite understood what hed just done until it was already over. but he smelled the blood, and you can just see on his face: guilt and sadness. He went to his cage and stayed in there for days. coming out to eat and walk. He genuinely felt bad.
And he learned his lesson. he didnt growl at dogs on the street anymore. he doesnt growl at dogs in general as much anymore. Hes never acted agressive to another dog. he still fights shadow (our labrador/greyhound) over petting rights but hes always careful not to hurt him. hes more careful with his mouth (picking up/holding things like ur hand) and barrels people over a lot less often and a lot less roughly.
He learned from his mistakes, and He tries. Thats more than I can say for most people.
(it also doesnt help that he never saw scooby again after that day: mom gave him away to a family in denver after the stitches healed)
