AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |
Back to Blog
Dog tail quiver meaning8/2/2023 ![]() Tail wagging is its own emotional language. A lowered tail tucked between the legs means something very different than a tail raised high in the air. You can tell a lot about a dog’s mood by paying attention not just to the wagging, but the specific position of its tail. How can you tell a dog's mood by its tail? Some studies even suggest that tail wagging can correspond to a dog’s personality, though further research is still needed to be sure. Regardless, dogs move their tails for any number of reasons - to convey anxiety, alertness, or other emotions. This may explain why dogs wag their tails so much after their owner’s prolonged absence. Meanwhile, a 1989 study published in the journal Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior found dogs wagged their tails more after a period of limited social contact. The researchers write these results suggest “tail wagging may be a useful indicator of positive affective states in dogs.” In a 2013 study, dogs demonstrated excitement by wagging their tail in response to their achievements. Sometimes dogs wag their tail in response to an achievement. “When looking at another dog movie which shows tail wagging prevalently to the right, appeared more relaxed than the other way round,” Vallortigara says. Tail wagging is such a strong indication of emotional intent that dogs will react positively or negatively to the movement of another dog’s tail, according to a follow-up 2013 study by Vallortigara and colleagues. This tail movement to the right could signal a positive desire to approach the individual.Ĭonversely, dogs wag their tail to the left when seeing - and possibly withdrawing - from an unfamiliar individual, such as an aggressive dog. ![]() Vallortigara’s research suggests dogs wag their tail more to the right when they see a familiar individual, such as their owner. If a dog moves their tail to the right, that’s due to activity in the left hemisphere of the brain, and vice versa if the dog moves their tail to the left. “In dogs, movements to the left and to the right are controlled by brain mechanisms located on the other side,” Giorgio Vallortigara, a co-author on the study and head of the University of Trento’s Animal Brain Cognition Group, tells Inverse. The direction of a dog’s tail wag can suggest how they feel. ![]() The researchers measured the direction of the wag - left or right - in response to emotional stimuli, such as seeing their owner, a cat, or an unfamiliar dog or person. ![]() Meanwhile, in a 2007 study published in the journal Current Biology, researchers found the direction of the dog’s tail wag can reflect a dog’s emotional state. How do dogs communicate with their tails?Īccording to a 2018 report by veterinary medicine researchers at the University of Bari, dogs lower their tails in an effort to reduce the appearance of their size and avoid conflicts with other dogs in stressful encounters. In this article, Inverse analyzes the surprising science behind dog wagging to help pet owners parse out the complicated psychology underlying their pup’s everyday behavior. ![]() Certain positions, directions, and the speed of the tail wag can provide clues about a dog’s state of mind and intentions. Dogs use other body parts, such as ears and tail, to convey how they feel. People convey body language through facial gestures and eye movement. However, science suggests reducing a dog’s tail wagging to a mere sign of happiness is an oversimplification of the way dogs use their tail to express highly complex emotions. What better symbol of happiness is there than a dog wagging its tail? It’s easy to assume a pooch is overcome with joy if it’s wiggling it’s behind back-and-forth. ![]()
0 Comments
Read More
Leave a Reply. |