17/10/2024
I see so often in bite cases where people seem to have missed the cues that the dog was uncomfortable and teetering on the edge. I hear all the time how the dog's tail was wagging and so they thought the dog wanted interaction. We are going to go through a lot of the signs that your dog is uncomfortable in the next few weeks so you can watch for stress signs and ward off problems before they happen.
A dog's natural tail carriage does have to be taken into account. For instance, if your dog's tail naturally curls up over their back like a husky, their language will look different than a dog whose tail is perpetually between their legs like a greyhound.
Generally speaking, a high tail is aroused and cautious. IF a tail is wagging high and rapidly, the dog is generally ready for action. It could be excitement, or it could be stress (caution), but taking the extra time to make sure a dog that is "flagging" like this is comfortable is recommended.
Medium, loose wag. This is the friendly, confident, happy tail. This is the tail we want to see. Normally, a dog's whole back end will be wiggling with the tail (note my business name lol).
Low and even tucked tail will always indicate a fearful dog. These are the dogs signalling they need space. Get them space and work on creating more positive associations with whatever the trigger was. Do not ignore this or force your dog to interact when they are clearly afraid.
Ensuring that children are being actively supervised around dogs is important for this reason as well. They cannot understand what the dog is saying. I continually see forced interactions between people, children, other dogs, etc. on reels, Instagram and tic tok and it is heartbreaking how few people are advocating for the dog in all of the comments. Advocating for the dog is advocating for the child or the general public. Dog bite prevention is a win for everyone.
