Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Reasons Why Dogs are Wagging Their Tails

By Jerry Welsh


Have you ever thought why dogs have the habit of enthusiastically wagging their tails? Dogs do not have the ability to talk but with they can easily convey their affection and whatever they want to convey to their human friends by using various body movements. The wagging of the tail is one very effective way of showing their happiness. Dogs are noted for their friendly personality and this kind of behavior is typified by the enthusiastically wagging tail. The bond that is formed between a kid and a dog is legendary. Not all dogs would be friendly when approached by a stranger but dogs commonly wag their tails when they see a kid.

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 don't talk, dogs don't have hands but they can communicate by using various parts of the body. For a dog, the tail is the most effective communication tool. Similar to the wave of the hand, dogs standing at a distance from each other would wag their tails. Just like humans that shake each others hand, dogs would wag the tail to greet each other.

The different ways dogs wag their tails indicates different emotional conditions. A tail that is raised high with only the tip wagging stiffly is an indication of aggression. Dogs wagging the tail this way may attack. Dogs are generally fighters - some are even known to be very ferocious but some breeds have nervous personalities. The nervous personality will be apparent by the tail that is held between the legs and wagged ever so slow.

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. The same with the wolf ancestors, dogs are also pack animals. 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. The tail will be held rather low and wagged stiffly by dogs lower in rank. On the other hand, the leader of the pack will hold the tail up proudly and wag it in a very dominant manner.

It pays to know the meaning behind the wagging of the dog's tail to be able to understand the message the pet is trying to convey.




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