What does it mean when a dog wags its tail?
Dogs communicate all the time in unspoken ways and as owners, and anyone who may interact with dogs, we need to be able to read what is being said. This is especially important when you welcome your new rescue dog home.
The majority of people will see a wagging tail and say that the dog is happy and friendly. Tail wags certainly do mean that, but not all the time.
Dogs communicate through visual signals, sounds and smells. Using their tails is just one of the visual signals that dogs can use.
You can get so much information from a dog’s body language, their tail is one to keep an eye on.
It is important to remember that you can’t see the whole picture just by the dog’s tail, their ears, eyes and posture are also important to observe.
For this particular blog post, we are just going to talk about tails.
A tail that is low, or tucked in between the legs, can mean fear, anxiety or appeasement. The dog is making itself look smaller physically.
A high tail can communicate confidence and willingness to play, but notice if it is held stiff in the air as this could be communicating a threat or the dog feeling anxious.
When one of my dogs spies a squirrel, his wagging tail is straight up in the air and he is not looking to play with the squirrel!
Source: Communication in Dogs
What I find really interesting is the idea that tail wagging is also used to spread the dogs pheromones. Although I have read this being suggested from different sources, I have not come across a study to cite but it certainly makes a lot of sense.
“The position of the tail also determines how much scent a dog releases from the anal glands located at the base of the tail. With each wag, the dog’s muscles contract around these glands, which contain pheromones (a communication chemical). ”
So what does it mean when a dog wags its tail? It can mean many different things, depending on how the dog is wagging its tail and all the other visual signals they are sending with their body.
The main takeaway from this post is to understand that just because a dog is wagging its tail, it does not mean that it is “happy” or “friendly” in that particular situation. Don’t discount everything else the dog is trying to say, just because it is wagging its tail.
We will delve into body language more in future blog posts, it’s a big and fascinating topic!
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