Why Are Dogs Wagging Their Tails

Written By admin on Saturday 2 July 2011 | 01:55

By Jerry Welsh


Have you ever thought why dogs have the habit of enthusiastically wagging their tails? Dogs form a strong bond with their master and they may not be able to voice out their gladness of seeing you but their body language would certainly tell you about their feelings. The wagging of the tail is one very effective way of showing their happiness. The wiggling of the dog's tail typifies its friendly personality. The bond that is formed between a kid and a dog is legendary. Dogs may not immediately take to strangers but a child will be met by the dog with a happily wagging tail.

The wagging of the tail is explained by animal behaviorists as the dog's effort to communicate with other dogs, with other animals and with humans. Dogs may not be able to speak and may not have hands but they can certainly communicate with body movements. For a dog, the tail is the most effective communication tool. Dogs would recognize the presence of other dogs at a distance by waving the tail. Similar to human handshake; tail waving is the dogs' way of greeting each other.

The kind of tail wagging depends on the emotional state of the dog. An aggressive dog would raise the tail high and stiffly wag the tip. This type of tail wagging should make people aware that the dog may attack. Some dogs are considered "yellow" pets not because of the yellow colored fur but because of its nervous personality. Nervous dogs will be noticed easily because the tail that is held low between the legs is wagged slowly.

Aside from being a form of communication, the to and fro movements of the tail is theorized by dog experts as an indication of submission. Having descended from wolves; dogs are also pack oriented like their ancestors. In a pack of dogs, it would be easy to see who is the leader of the pack and who are the dogs lower in rank simply by looking at the position of the tail and at the way the tail is wagged. Dogs lower in rank will wag the lowered tail slowly in the presence of the leader of the pack. Being the leader of the pack, the dog's dominance will be shown by a tail the is held high and wagged in a very confident manner.

Dogs wag their tails in different manners and to be able to know the emotional state of the pet, it would be very necessary for a dog owner to make an effort to understand what the pet is trying to convey through the movements of the tail.




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