Tail Dog Signs To Decipher

How to understand your pet dog through their tails.

A wagging tail. After a long day at work, isn’t it stress relieving to see your dog happy and waving their tails at you when you arrive home? Yes, through their tails, dogs are communicating at you.

In general, when dogs are energized, their tails wag faster while dogs are less excited when their tails wag slower. How to understand your pet dog through their tails.

Here are some dog tail languages (according to doghealth.com):

Tail held high-indicates alertness and excitement
Tail held down-indicates fear or submission and concerned
Tail held straight out-indicates neutrality and exploring
Tail wagging to the left- means your dog is concerned or unpleasant with a person or an animal
Tail wagging to the right-means your dog is feeling pleasant about a person or an animal
Tail wagging fast-is feeling excitement
Tail having broad strokes-means your dog is feeling happier
Tail having short strokes-means your dog is feeling anxious or uptight
Relaxed tail-your dog is feeling calm

But there are some exemptions. It is best not to rely on dog’s tail position when meeting a new dog. Observe the overall body language of the dog and ask the owner if the dog is friendly before approaching. There are also dogs who have naturally high, curved tail like Chow Chows and Chinese Shar-Peis, while Whippets and Greyhounds have a lower tail carriage. In pugs and other breeds with naturally curved tails, a tense tail is when the existing curl in the tail gets tighter.

It is important to interpret dog tail position along with the dogs’ other body language he does while in that observed position. However, like people, dogs have individual habits regarding with their tail positions. Therefore, you will know what your dog is trying to tell you as you will try to know him better and create a close bond with him.