Fortunately, despite these breed differences, the tail movements are generally the same. The faster the tail wag, the louder the voice. When a dog is expressing happiness or friendliness, their tail is often in a neutral or slightly upright position and wagging at a moderate speed.
Their tail is more relaxed than usual and often wagging more freely. The more excited a dog is, the faster their tail typically wags. When dogs are really excited and friendly, they will sometimes also wag their hips or even their whole body, from their shoulders down to their tail. When a dog is curious about something, such as when they find a new smell, their tail is typically held straight out behind them.
This may or may not be associated with a tail wag—the tail is often held still. They will also be standing with an alert posture with their ears perked up. A dog that is relaxed will stand with a relaxed posture and hold their tail in a neutral position without a tail wag.
They will only start wagging their tail when an emotion is elicited. Dogs that are submissive will often lower their tail or tuck it between their legs. This is typically done because the dog feels threatened and does not want to be harmed.
A submissive tail position may or may not be associated with a tail wag. If a dog is wagging their tail with it tucked tightly between their legs, this is typically indicative of extreme submission and fear. There are many different types of canine aggression, such as fear aggression, leash aggression, territorial aggression, and so on. However, the signs of aggression are generally the same.
An aggressive dog will move their tail into a vertical position that often arches over their back. The tail will be very stiff and may or may not be wagging. Why do dogs wag their tails? Dog tail signs and positions - what do they mean? Natural position, no wag This position indicates relaxation in your dog. Erect, wagging tail You may think that an erect, wagging tail tells you that your dog is happy, but this is actually a behaviour usually displayed in excited dogs, meaning that their behaviour may be unpredictable.
Tail between legs If your dog has their tail between their legs or tucked, this indicates that they may need a little space as they could be feeling nervous or scared. Big wags. Vertical tail If their tail is high in the air and rigid, be wary as this dog tail sign can indicate aggression in dogs. The direction of the wag According to Live Science , the direction of the wagging also speaks volumes. Explore our dog brands:. Related articles. Advice and articles tailored to your pet's needs.
Free access to our in-house team of vets, behaviourists and advisors. Discounts and offers from our brands. Sign me up. This phenomenon has to do with the fact that the brain's left hemisphere controls the right side of the body, and vice versa.
Research on the approach-avoidance behavior of other animals has shown that the left hemisphere is associated with positive-approach feelings, and the right hemisphere is associated with negative-avoidance feelings.
Interestingly, a study found that dogs understand the asymmetric tail wagging of other dogs — a right-wagging tail relaxes other canines, while a left-wagging tail makes them stressed. Live Science. Joseph Castro.
0コメント