Dogs and their Tails: Hidden Language of Canines
As a dog owner, you probably spend a lot of time with your canine companion. The more time you spend with your dog, you sit there and think, “I wish I could know what you’re thinking” or “I wish I could talk to you.”
Good news — you can!
Many pet owners, my former self included, ignore the language of a dog’s tail and what it tells us. We all assume it just means they’re happy — happy to see us, play with us, be near us, etc. But that wagging tail doesn’t always mean they’re happy; in fact, it can mean a lot of things.
Tails represent the secret language of dogs. By understanding what the tail is saying, we can uncover the mood of our canines and have an indirect conversation with them!
Breaking Down the Tail’s Language
When understanding what the tail is saying, there are a few key things to look for:
- tail height
- horizontal movement
- speed
- range of movement
These traits can be observed independently or in conjunction with other characteristics, but together these are the critical indicators to understanding what dogs are saying to us.
Happy or Angry?
Giorgio Vallortigara, an Italian Neuroscientist, conducted a study on 30 dogs to understand their psychology, publishing his results in the journal Current Biology.
In this study, Giorgio noted that dogs would wag their tails to the left and right as a response to certain situations. Over time, he pointed out that a left-wagging tail was representative of a negative emotion while a right-leaning tail wag was indicative of positive emotions.
His next study was to find out if the dogs themselves were doing this purposefully, and after further testing, noted that they tend to see movement better than objects or colors. The tail was the perfect language to speak with other dogs; their wagging was meaningful and intentional.
On a basic level, you, as the pet owner can now interpret whether the tail wag on your dog is good or bad: if it’s wagging to the dog’s left (your right), that’s a negative indicator of your dog’s mood. If the wag is on the dog’s right side (your left), then everything is good, and you can approach your dog!
What Does Height Indicate?
Understanding your dog’s horizontal tail wagging is good, but it’s not quite enough yet. Next up is the height of the tail and what that’s meant to tell us.
If the tail is held up high and stiff, it means something has caught your dog’s attention, making them alert. Usually, it’s when they see a squirrel or a dog on a walk, a plane or some other unfamiliar object in the air, etc.
When a dog’s tail is hanging low between their legs, it means that they’re in fear mode. Emotions that accompany this are usually fear and anxiety, saying your dog is on guard, and it’s best to approach them carefully.
Combination Tail Wags
Now that the more basic tail movements have been established, let’s move onto some more complex ones.
If your dog’s tail goes at a decent pace with a wide range, it’s usually an indicator of them being friendly. It’s what most people associate with happiness when they see a dog’s tail wag; a dog is typically playful and happy to see you when its tail is flailing back and forth.
A slower wag with not a lot of stiffness to it indicates your dog is feeling somewhat insecure. Dogs, like all living creatures, have their mental health that impacts them. We might not think that a dog can feel anxious, but the more you spend time understanding your dog, the more emotions you see inside them.
Learn the Language of Dogs
All living creatures have a means of communicating. While most of us think the bark to be the most indicative, it’s merely the loudest. The best way to understand your fur baby is to learn what their tail is telling you.
The same way humans won’t sit down and talk to a wall, dogs won’t wag their tails if they’re alone. It’s how they communicate, and if no living creature is around, they do not need to convey any emotions. While we all love our dogs, it is essential to note that a tail wag does not necessarily always indicate happiness.
Understanding the tail wag is a crucial step in communicating and bonding with our dogs; however, it’s far from the only indicator. Without a written or spoken language of their own, dogs rely heavily on body language to convey emotions and thoughts across to all living creatures: be it humans, other dogs, cats, birds, and so on.
To truly bond with our pets, we must come to understand them and adequately provide for them in a manner that maximizes their happiness.
