What messages does a wagging tail communicate?
Before we learn to speak “tail,” we must recognize that the neutral or natural position of a dog’s tail varies by breed. Most dogs have tails that hang down near their heels when they are relaxed. But some dogs, like Beagles, hold their tails more vertically. Others, like Greyhounds and Whippets, curl their tails under their bellies. Still others, like Pugs and Boston Terriers, have tails that coil tightly against the body and don’t wag at all.
Tail position may indicate:
The rate at which a tail moves adds further meaning to canine communication.
Wagging speed may indicate:
Canine “tail talk” is so complex that even the direction of the wagging is significant. Studies show that dogs wag their tails to the right when they are happy or confident and to the left when they are frightened. Interestingly, there is a scientific reason for this.
The left side of the brain controls movement on the right side of the body and vice versa. Therefore, the left brain is engaged when the tail wags to the right and the right brain causes the tail to move to the left. Since the left side of the brain is associated with positive feelings like love and serenity, a happy dog wags his tail to the right. Conversely, the right half of the brain is associated with negative feelings like fear and depression, so a frightened dog wags his tail to the left.
Why do dogs wag their tails to communicate?
Words are the basis of human communication, so people are good listeners. Dogs, on the other hand, are watchers. Lacking a verbal vocabulary, dogs communicate broader messages with body language by taking a certain stance, moving their ears, furrowing their brow, shifting their eyes or wagging their tails.
Tail wagging works well for dogs. Since canine vision is attuned more to movement than to colors or details, dogs readily discern different tail wags. Evolution has also helped by producing tails that are more visible. Some tails have color variations such as dark or light tips, some are lighter on the underside, and some are really bushy. All of these traits accentuate the tail wag and enhance communication.
Ever wish you knew what your dog was thinking? You can — just watch his tail! Instead of using words, your dog uses body language to communicate. While a dog’s message can only be fully understood by looking at his entire body, the tail end offers some significant clues to how he is feeling. Here are some indicators to help you decipher what your pooch may be telling you with his tail.
Tail height can offer important insight into a dog’s state of mind. In general, a dog who is holding his tail high may be feeling excited, alert or dominant, while a dog holding his tail down low may be afraid or submissive. The more anxious or submissive a dog is feeling, the more tightly he will tuck his tail close to his body. Sometimes a tail held in a neutral or low position just means the dog is incredibly relaxed — this even happens to dogs with curled tails like Pugs, whose tails unravel and go straight when resting. A dog who carries his tail lower than usual can also be indicating that he is in pain, or exhausted from too much exercise. It’s important to keep in mind that the normal tail carriage varies for every dog, since tail height is relative to the breed and individual dog. Chow Chows and Chinese Shar-Peis, for instance, naturally have a high, curved tail, while Whippets and Greyhounds have a lower tail carriage. Your knowledge of your dog’s personality can help you determine if your dog is feeling happy or threatened, or if he’s a little bit scared or just super relaxed.
Not all wags mean a friendly dog. The type of wag that indicates a happy, relaxed dog is usually a sweeping tail wag that moves from side to side at a height close to the dog’s relaxed tail carriage. An exuberant, joyful reaction would be a tail wag that beats back and forth with gusto at a fairly neutral height, with the dog’s hind end often wagging back and forth in unison and the tail possibly even moving in a circular fashion. Keep in mind that a friendly dog may not wag his tail, while a tense dog may. An insecure tail wag is usually held low and may tick back and forth slightly or swiftly. The low, insecure tail wag could mean the dog is unsure about a situation; this wag may be a form of submission, or the dog may be conflicted and may bite. Believe it or not, the direction your dog’s tail is wagging toward you or other family members may indicate the way he feels about you, according to a study from Italy published in Current Biology. The study showed that when dogs were attracted to or wanted to approach a person or stimulus, their tail wagged with bias to the right, while dogs that were fearful or wanted to withdraw from a person or stimulus had their tails wag with bias to the left. Though it’s fun to try to guess what our dogs are feeling with their tail language, it’s absolutely essential to look at your dog’s overall body language to truly decipher what he may be feeling. One small slice of a dog’s body language will not tell the full story. More on Vetstreet:
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A rigid, highly held tail shows a very aroused state; this dog is likely going to react to things around him, whether that’s the squirrel he’s spotted in the tree or a dog across the street. If a dog is agitated, his tail may also “fluff” up, with the hair standing up on end. When the highly raised tail flicks back and forth rapidly, it’s called “flagging” and may indicate an imminent attack from a dog who is ready to defend his ground. Interfering with a dog in this state is a good way to get bitten. In Pugs and other breeds with curled tails, a tense tail looks different: The existing curl in the tail simply gets tighter the more aroused the dog gets, eventually curling over itself again. In these dogs, a tensed tail doesn’t always mean aggression, and can simply indicate excitement.
Interpret Dog Tail Wags: How to Understand Dog’s Body Language
Everybody knows that when a dog approaches you wagging her tail it means she’s inviting you to pet her, right? Wrong! We may have all grown up thinking a wagging tail means a happy dog, but that misconception has gotten countless well-intentioned dog-lovers bitten, sometimes quite badly.
So here’s the thing: A wagging tail does not necessarily mean a happy dog. It simply means arousal of some kind. That can be happy arousal, or fear, excitement, or even aggressive arousal. Here are some tips to help you decipher the canine tail-wagging lexicon:
Tail wagging works well for dogs in the canine world. Since dogs communicate primarily through vision and body language, dogs are generally very good at understanding each other’s tail wags. (And yes, dogs who are born with short tails or whose tails are docked are at a very significant disadvantage when it comes to tail talk!)
In general, the higher the dog’s tail and faster the wag, the greater the level of arousal. While a very high tail indicates high arousal, a very low-wagging tail most often denotes fear and appeasement.
High tail wag. A “flagging” tail – straight up or even curved slightly over the dog’s back – moving at blur-fast speed, is an indication of strong emotion. Of course, some dogs naturally carry their tails straight up or curled over their backs (Huskies, Pomeranians, Pugs, Basenjis, and more), so you need to take that into consideration when tail-reading.
But how do you know if it’s a fun-and-games, fast-wagging high tail saying, “I’m so happy and excited to see you! Yes, please pet me!” or an aroused and angry high tail telling you, “If you try to pet me, you’ll be toast!”?
The simple answer: body language. The “Pet me!” dog is animated and wiggly, with soft or squinty eyes and an inviting open-mouth grin. Sometimes her whole body wags!
In contrast, the “I want to eat you!” dog is likely to have a tense body and hard eyes, with all his energy focused forward – no wiggling. Even still, a happy aroused dog can do damage in her excitement, so you are better off waiting to engage even with a happy high-tail wagger until she calms down a bit.
Meanwhile, a high-but-slower tail wag suggests less active arousal, but it still can be a caution sign. She may just be happy and not as aroused, or it might be that an elevated level of tension has slowed the aggressive dog’s tail; it could be the beginning of an agonistic freeze just before the bite happens. (“Agonistic” refers to a continuum of social behaviors including all aspects of aggression, from appeasement and flight at one end, to warning signals, threat and actual attack at the other extreme.)
Again, reading the dog’s entire body language will help you determine what’s really going on, and if it might be safe to interact, or not.
Half-mast tail wag. A medium-height tail wag is generally an indication of a calmer, less aroused dog. The speed of the wag can further indicate how calm the dog might be.
I like to look for what I call “the half-mast swish,” where the tail is gently wafting back and forth at about hock level. A faster wag indicates more energy on the dog’s part (happy or angry energy), and a fast wag that slows to a freeze is always a warning sign.
A dog with a half-mast wag can still bite you. Watch all the body language, not just the tail. Happy, relaxed tail wagging is usually accompanied by a happy facial expression. A happy dog usually has bright eyes, a relaxed open mouth, and possibly a gentle pant.
Circle tail wag. This is my favorite, and the most unambiguous of all the tail wags. Most often, a dog will wag her tail in a circle if she is particularly overjoyed to see someone special, especially someone she hasn’t seen recently. A very friendly dog may offer this wag in happy excitement any time she meets someone she wants to call her friend, even someone new to her.
Although I’m sure there might be exceptions, I have personally never seen a dog do a circle wag who had any aggressive intent.
Low tail wag. When the wagging tail goes below half-mast, the dog is likely feeling fearful and defensive. The lower the tail wag, the stronger the emotion. The low tail wag is often accompanied by a lowered body posture and, sometimes, submissive urination. Also, the faster that lowered tail is wagging, the more emotion the dog is expressing to you.
It may be tempting to try to comfort the low-tail wagger. Don’t! All that appeasement behavior she’s offering is her way of telling you that you are making her very uncomfortable and she wants you to leave her alone. She may even roll over on her back as she wags her tail.
Sadly, this appeasement behavior is often misinterpreted as an invitation for a belly rub. Again, don’t. While some dogs may enjoy a belly rub, a low-tail wagger is likely pleading with you to go away; she feels very threatened by your proximity and is making a last-ditch effort to get you to leave her alone. Rubbing this dog’s belly is quite likely to result in a significant bite, often to the face of the person doing the rubbing, since you are probably bent over her for the rub.
Absence of wagging. The lack of tail movement can also give you information – again, in context with the rest of the dog’s body language.
If a dog is calm and relaxed, a motionless tail just means that the dog is being zen – not enough emotion happening to make the tail move. A fearful dog whose tail is still is likely shut down, afraid to move at all. An aroused, angry dog whose tail stops wagging may be doing the agonistic freeze mentioned above. And a happy aroused dog may be engaging in a whole-body “pause” prior to a play bow, a bounce, or some other play-invitation behavior. Left Side Wags vs. Right Side Wags
Canine “tail talk” is so complex that even the direction of the wagging is significant. Studies suggest that dogs more frequently wag their tails to the right when they are happy or confident and to the left when they are fearful. There appears to be a scientific reason for this.
The left side of the brain controls movement on the right side of the body and vice versa, which means the left brain is engaged when the tail wags to the right and the right brain causes the tail to move to the left. Since the left side of the brain is associated with positive feelings, a happy dog is likely to wag her tail to the right. Conversely, the right half of the brain is associated with negative feelings, so a fearful dog is likely to wag her tail to the left.