The higher the tail, the greater the threat. When a tail moves from a neutral position to a vertical one or arches over the back, it indicates that the dog may be aggressive. Many dogs do this when petted by strangers, to communicate that they don’t want to interact with them. When a dog suddenly stops wagging his tail and freezes, it may mean that he wants divert a threat without being aggressive. This posture indicates that they are watching and ready to confront whatever caught their attention. When dogs are alert, they stand with their ears up and tails raised.
Still others, like Pugs and Boston Terriers, have tails that coil tightly against the body and don’t wag at all. Others, like Greyhounds and Whippets, curl their tails under their bellies. But some dogs, like Beagles, hold their tails more vertically. Most dogs have tails that hang down near their heels when they are relaxed. What messages does a wagging tail communicate?īefore we learn to speak “tail,” we must recognize that the neutral or natural position of a dog’s tail varies by breed. All of these traits accentuate the tail wag and enhance communication. Some tails have color variations such as dark or light tips, some are lighter on the underside, and some are really bushy. Evolution has also helped by producing tails that are more visible. Since canine vision is attuned more to movement than to colors or details, dogs readily discern different tail wags. Lacking a verbal vocabulary, dogs communicate broader messages with body language by taking a certain stance, moving their ears, furrowing their brow, shifting their eyes or wagging their tails.
Words are the basis of human communication, so people are good listeners. Why do dogs wag their tails to communicate? The pup wags his tail to tell his littermates that he’s tired of playing or to tell his mother that he’s hungry. But when a pup is about a month old, he recognizes the need to communicate with his mother and siblings, so he picks up the lingo. Pups aren’t born knowing what a wagging tail means any more than a newborn baby understands words. Like human infants, dogs must learn their language. In fact, a wag of the tail is one of the best methods of communication in the canine kingdom. When your dog wags his tail, is he telling you that he’s happy? Not necessarily! Canines know many variations of the “tail wag” and they all mean different things.
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