Dog tail wagging: what are they trying to communicate with us?
A dog uses all sorts of body language to signal to us how they are feeling and what they are trying to communicate. One of these signals is the tail. But why, I hear you ask, is this important?
Understanding your dog’s behaviour is so valuable as it lets us know how they are feeling. If you know what your dog’s behaviour is like, a change in it can indicate something is wrong. This article will hopefully guide you on how to recognise those all-important body language signals so that you can know your dog even better.
What are tails used for?
Dogs use their tails for movement, balance and communication. Sighthounds, eg. greyhounds will use them as a counterbalance as they navigate changing direction quickly chasing their prey. Retrievers use their tails as rudders whilst swimming to change direction in the water. They also use them as a counterbalance to help them make high speed turns whilst hunting and helps keep them balanced on uneven ground. Tails are also used to communicate how they are feeling.
Why do dogs wag their tails?
Dogs are communicating with us all the time. They can’t use speech (obviously!), so they use their own body language including their tails. When they wag (or do not wag!) their tail, your dog is expressing their feelings about the current situation in combination with their other body language signals.
What do different tail wags mean?
Is your dog’s tail wagging and thumping the floor when they see you? This is most likely excitement at seeing you and they are feeling happy. Is their tail tucked under, they look at you and then immediately look away and maybe roll over? They are feeling scared or worried and are showing appeasing behaviours to tell you they are not a threat and that they are feeling uncomfortable. However, some dogs do not have tails at all which can make it trickier for them to express how they are feeling and they must rely on other body signals such as their ears, eyes, head, mouth and body. This is why it is important to look at their body language (as a whole) when trying to interpret how they are feeling.
Tail positions and movements:
Free and sweeping movements of the tail mean happiness. Often their whole body moves and sways with their tail indicating a dog’s joy. This along with the relaxed body posture (mouth open and relaxed ears in neutral position) and smooth hair indicates they are happy and relaxed. Equally, a tail that is wagging above their body with their bottom raised along with the other postures, signals they want to play. If a dog’s weight is evenly distributed across all four paws and all other signals are present, with a wagging tail, it is safe to presume that the dog is happy.
A tail tucked under, ears back, the dog is yawning, lip licking, turning his head away from you avoiding eye contact and raising a front paw with their head lowered mean a worried dog. They are signalling that they are very uncomfortable about the presenting situation and are telling you not to go near them.
But did you know that the speed of the wag also indicates their feelings – clever, eh?!:
A tail that is vertical and either very stiff or the tip is wagging very quickly, means the dog is unhappy and wants you to stay away or go away. Their bodyweight may also be leaning forwards with their ears up, hackles up (piloerection), eyes staring at you with their pupils dark and enlarged with a wrinkled nose – WATCH OUT! Give them space and DO NOT APPROACH until they can calm down.
If the tail is wagging to the right, this suggests a positive feeling and normally means your dog is relaxed.
If it is wagging to the left, this can indicate they are feeling stressed.
Research also shows that other dogs can read your dog’s tail wagging in different directions very accurately and react accordingly. One study by Siniscalchi et al. (2013) showed that dogs watching the tail wagging to the right of the other dog, reacted in a relaxed fashion. However, when they watched that same tail wag to the left, they showed signs of increased anxiety including a higher heart rate! This is because the left hemisphere of the brain controls the right side of the body. This area of the brain is associated with positive emotions.
If the dog is in a heightened state of arousal, their tail may be erect whilst wagging which you may think means happiness, however this means they are actually aroused and unsure of the situation and their behaviour can be unpredictable. They may have seen a squirrel or there is a knock on the front door.
Equally, if their tail has a backwards and gentle wag, it can mean they are curious and again unsure of what is going on. For instance, this may be because they have never seen this particular object or person before.
Now that you know what these sometimes subtle or even overt signals mean, hopefully you can now understand your dog that bit better. Always though, look at the bigger picture to understand how they feel.
If you are concerned about your dog’s behaviour, speak to your vet first however I may well be able to help you as a qualified Animal Behaviour Counsellor and Registered Veterinary Nurse, who deals with all sorts of behavioural problems - see My Services to find out more.
Get in touch with me if you would like to know more – www.talkingpetbehaviour.co.uk/contact
References:
Seeing Left- or Right-Asymmetric Tail Wagging Produces Different Emotional Responses in Dogs by Marcello Siniscalchi, Rita Lusito, Giorgio Vallortigara and Angelo Quaranta, 2013, Current Biology Vol 23, Issue 22, p.2279-2282 - https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(13)01143-3