****** Good theory and in case of poo on the floor, that dog is right. But he knows he did something wrong, I could still go with guilt...
Actually, I don’t think they are associating the act much after the fact. I once had a golden who was housebroken. I came into the hallway and there was a puddle on the floor. She was acting submissive and *guilty*. I told her she was a bad girl and cleaned it up. Shortly after that I found out one of my sons had spilled water on the floor. Why did the dog act like that? Perhaps because she knew if there was liquid on the floor she was going to get into some trouble.
And sadly, when I helped people train their dogs I saw a lot of bad things done to dogs in the name of “He knows he did wrong!”
I’m sorry, but if you leave the house and your dog has an accident and an hour later you come home and beat the snot out of him because you know “He knew he did wrong!” and he ever does it again there are two options. Either you’re totally wrong and your dog does NOT associate the punishment with the crime, OR your dog is an idiot. (I’m not talking to you Goat Granny, I’m just venting!)