24/03/2024
The amount of times someone has said âbut their tail was waggingâ
A WORD ABOUT WAGS
âI donât understand why that dog reacted so badly to me; his tail was wagging!â
Contrary to popular belief, a wagging tail doesnât always mean a dog is happy.
Dogs communicate through so many different types of body language, but the wag and the tail position are probably one of the easier to notice.
As with most things it depends on the individual dog. Some breeds naturally carry their tails in a different position and some breeds wag their tails differently to others.
Wags and tail positions should always be looked at in context and together with the rest of the body language. Body language should always be looked at as a âvideoâ and not as an isolated âpictureâ.
Noticing how your dogâs tail usually looks or how the tail behaves when theyâre happy to see you or relaxed and contented, provides a good base line to interpret other types of tail language.
I often watch my dogsâ tails with fascination as they stalk or hunt for something, bark at something outside or see another dog approaching while out walking.
The type of wag and position of their tails gives me so much information about their emotional state.
Although some people wonât agree, I definitely see wags to the right when my dogs are happy and wags to the left when there is arousal, uncertainty, predatory behaviour or other emotions going on.
Not only is the tail an important method of communication but it also plays a role in balance, stability, movement and counterbalancing should a dog quickly change direction.
I believe that tail docking destroys an essential part of a dog's ability to communicate with other dogs by creating a distinct social disadvantage or misunderstanding as tail signals canât be read.
People with working dogs believe that tail docking is necessary to prevent tail injuries or improve performance, but many countries have banned this practice either completely or only under specific medical circumstances.
Start taking notice of what your dog is doing with their tail - you may find it interesting and it may open up a new way of understanding how your dog is feeling.
Here is a link to a graphic I created with some different tail positions and what they might mean -
https://www.canva.com/design/DAF_7l_2LvA/UGXVDl-TOPc_FCqHXsCWRQ/view?utm_content=DAF_7l_2LvA&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=uniquelinks&utlId=GOVbqw1dfw
