Dogs can tell if you're cruel or just clumsy - and judge you for it

Getting the'side-eye' look from your dog can certainly make it seem like they are judging you, and a new study suggests they really could be. Researchers at the University of Vienna found that pooches can tell when we dangle a treat out of their reach to be cruel, or when it is just an accident. What's more, they also act differently towards us depending on our perceived intention, as they appear more patient with the clumsy than the mean. Only a few animals have previously been shown to be able to make social evaluations of humans in this manner, including chimpanzees, capuchin monkeys and African grey parrots. The team recruited 96 pet dogs for the experiment, and each was presented with one of two scenarios.