Why do dogs wag their tails ?

The most common idea is that a wagging tail means that the dog is happy. Actually, this is no exactly true!

Indeed, dogs use their tails to communicate strong emotions. It could be annoyance, anger as well as hapiness. So by a wagging tail, a dog can try to convey "Please, pet me!" or "Don't even try to come closer, idiot".

As their language is mostly based on the position and the motion of their tails, we have to observe it to get their emotional state.
Basically, a relaxed dog will hold his tail in its natural position, a nervous dog will hold his tail lower than its natural position, and if a dog is scared, he will truck his tail between his legs.

But it is more complicated than that because it also depends on what breed the dog is. For example, when a husky curves his tail over his back, that means he is relaxed while for a labrador, that reveals an aroused state.

As dog's eyes are more sensitive to movements than details or colors, the speed of the wag reveals how excited the dog is.

Moreover, it appears that when dogs feel generally positive, their tails wag more to the right side and conversely, when they feel negative, their wagging tail will be more to the left side.

Besides observing their tails, you will be much better off looking at their whole body. So stiffened muscles, dilated pupils or ears pinned back are signs that you should back off!

It is also interesting to know that dogs wag their tails only when other animals or humans are around. When they are alone, they don't need to communicate so they don't wag their tail, in the same way people don't talk alone (even if you do, I will not judge you).

To conclude, be aware of dog's body language or you could be bitten!

3 dogs happily wagging their tails

Did you know ?

A dog could understand between 250 and 300 words. Let's start to train yours!