# Tail Wagging



## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

Ever wonder why dogs wag their tails. I love watching tails. (talking literally here) . ound: And I really think our bushy haired curly tailed Hav's are a little harder to read than a typical shorthaired dog. I think the Beagle has the best tail ,with it's usually tipped white end. And different breeds carry their tails differently. But just like any calming signal ,tail wagging serves a purpose. We can gather lots from this little appendage. And one must be aware , not all tail wagging means the dog is happy. Lots of people have been bitten by a tail waggin dog. Being different breeds carry their tails differently, it's important to be familiar with this to a degree. 
THe height of the tail generally means the following. A medium height or closer to horizontal tail wag indicates an attentive calm dog. The higher the tail is wagging,ie closer to verticle, it means the dog is becoming more uneasy and possibly threatening/assertive. As the tail moves to a lower position it indicates the dog is more submissive and appeasing. 
The frequency of the tail repetitions is also another barometer on how the dog is feeling. The faster the tail is wagging the higher level of excitement. 

The applitude ie the distance from it's furthest left to its furthest right positions tells whether the dog is happy or uncertain. The broader the wag, the more happy the dog. The short vibrating type wags the more unpredictable the dog. The combination of a high vibrating type wag, means beware.
A recent study is really interesting and is based on the same principles as the human brain. It's studies show when dogs feel generally positive about something or someone, their tails wag more to the right side of their rear ends, and when they have negative feelings, their tail wagging is biased to the left. How cool is that? Same sort of stuff that show in human brains how certain emotions are controlled by different sides of the brain. 

So watch those tails and let your dogs wag their tails. Let's not let the tail wag the dog. :brick:


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## clare (Feb 6, 2010)

How about when the whole butt is wagging?!Nellie's wag is sometimes like a propeller it goes round and round!Other times her whole lower half wags.She uses her wag almost all the time,and it is easy to read most of her different wags.But Dizzie has a very subtle wag,he doesn't wear his heart on his sleeve!


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## Tuss (Apr 22, 2012)

when my labradoodle wags her tail her entire rear body wiggles and sometimes so much that it almost knocks her over. She also does the "propeller wag" which i know means super excited. this is the wag I get after coming home from vacation. The straight out "twitchy wag" is what I get from her when i see the neighbour's nasty dog in the back yard. It's her "don't mess with me wag".

I find the curly tail of my hav a lot harder to read. When she is afraid it uncurls some but otherwise is so tightly curled it's just her bum that wags and not the tail.

I love watching wagging tails. Why anyone would dock a dog's tail I'll never know!


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

clare said:


> How about when the whole butt is wagging?!Nellie's wag is sometimes like a propeller it goes round and round!Other times her whole lower half wags.She uses her wag almost all the time,and it is easy to read most of her different wags.But Dizzie has a very subtle wag,he doesn't wear his heart on his sleeve!


Ahhh yes ,the circle wag. Here's what Patricia McConnell says..."The more the wag spreads to the body, the happier I assume the dog to be. I call it a "Full Body Wag," in which the tail, the hindquarters and sometimes even the chest of the dog swings back and forth. In this case, the body is relaxed, the tail is sweeping back and forth, and if the eyes are squinting too.. well, then I'm as happy as the dog is."


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

Tuss said:


> when my labradoodle wags her tail her entire rear body wiggles and sometimes so much that it almost knocks her over. She also does the "propeller wag" which i know means super excited. this is the wag I get after coming home from vacation. The straight out "twitchy wag" is what I get from her when i see the neighbour's nasty dog in the back yard. It's her "don't mess with me wag".
> 
> I find the curly tail of my hav a lot harder to read. When she is afraid it uncurls some but otherwise is so tightly curled it's just her bum that wags and not the tail.
> 
> I love watching wagging tails. Why anyone would dock a dog's tail I'll never know!


yep docking defeats the purpose of the tail. in more than one way. The Brits have banned it, and good for them.


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

I forgot to mention. When trying to interpret a tail wag, especially in dogs without a prominent tail , ie Havs and a number of toy dogs, it's equally important to look at the rest of the body language as well. In most cases one element will back up the tail . Example , quite often the uncertain/assertive and potentially aggressive high held ,vibrating type wag is generally always accompanied by a rigid body language , mouth closed. 
HAPPY TAILS TO YOU... UNTIL WE MEEEET AGAIN. ....


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## clare (Feb 6, 2010)

DH just calls a mad ass as apposed to bad ass,when the whole tail is going mental!!


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## Tuss (Apr 22, 2012)

probably obvious to most, but the same doens't hold true for cats.

I remember as a young kid, cornering one of the feral barn cats at my grandparents farm. It's tail was waving wildly so i thought "his tail is wagging, he must be happy" so i tried to pick him up. You can just imagine how that ended. Just one of many reasons I'm a dog person and not a cat person!


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

Tuss said:


> probably obvious to most, but the same doens't hold true for cats.
> 
> I remember as a young kid, cornering one of the feral barn cats at my grandparents farm. It's tail was waving wildly so i thought "his tail is wagging, he must be happy" so i tried to pick him up. You can just imagine how that ended. Just one of many reasons I'm a dog person and not a cat person!


yep, they are different for sure. I miss my cats though. Tom Tina and Tara.


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## RitaandRiley (Feb 27, 2012)

I'm glad to hear the Brits have banned tail docking. Have they banned ear cropping as well? I wish the AKC would ban them. I know they say they don't "require" it, but they should ban it. Shame on them.


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## clare (Feb 6, 2010)

Tail and ear cropping have been banned in Britain for many years now.


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

clare said:


> Tail and ear cropping have been banned in Britain for many years now.


right on


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## LuckyOne (Sep 3, 2009)

Watson wags with his entire body. He even folds in a butt to nose, left to right as he walks along. He exudes joy!


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## azcolaw (Jul 19, 2013)

I know this is an old post, but I was wondering if anyone has a Hav who doesn't wag his or her tail much, if at all, and what this means. My older Hav, Ginny, (age 2) is a big tail wagger. If you look at her, she wags. If you say her name, she wags. If you walk in the house and she hasn't seen you for 10 minutes, she goes ballistic with all the tail wagging. 
Griffin hardly moves his tail! He expresses happiness/excitement by wiggling, jumping and "yipping" with a high pitched bark. He is very affectionate, relaxed and playful with us, so I don't think he is unhappy. Does it mean anything if he doesn't wag his tail? Could it just be how it's attached??? Sounds weird, but he does have a more tightly curled plume than Ginny.


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## Carefulove (Mar 20, 2009)

Bumi is a tail wagger and wags his tail to mostly everyone.
Toby used to have different wags. If he wanted to play, he would wag once (from right to left and stop), then after a few seconds, he would do it again and wait, always looking you in the face, reading you, it was hysterical.

To me, the best wags are when I get home from work, Bumi's (and Toby when he was alive) entire body vibrates!


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## jabojenny (Sep 18, 2011)

Interesting post I don't know what makes some pups wag and some not, maybe personality? I don't think it is necessarily a measure of happiness though. Mae is a constant tail wagger, her tail wags so fast that if she's close it makes me cold. I think Mae was wagging her tail from day one from what Laurie tells me. Timmy is very selective with his tail wags. Tim's typical tail wag is more of a wiggle. If Tim does wag his tail he's either barking at one of my cats, getting bacon from my father-in-law, or also when we come home from somewhere too.


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## azcolaw (Jul 19, 2013)

Tim and Griffin sound a lot alike with the wagging. I am thinking some of the wiggling that Griffin does is his form of a "wag."


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## sandypaws (Aug 8, 2012)

Tyler has always been an avid tail wagger, except now in his old age. He always held his tail as it should be over his back. Bailey was never a tail wagger unless he was playing fetch. He always held his tail at half staff or that's what I called it. In place of tail wagging, he used to do the jumping up with a very high pitched bark when excited. It was almost ear piercing. Guess they are all different, just like humans.


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## azcolaw (Jul 19, 2013)

sandypaws said:


> Tyler has always been an avid tail wagger, except now in his old age. He always held his tail as it should be over his back. Bailey was never a tail wagger unless he was playing fetch. He always held his tail at half staff or that's what I called it. In place of tail wagging, he used to do the jumping up with a very high pitched bark when excited. It was almost ear piercing. Guess they are all different, just like humans.


Yes, Griffin's bark is very high pitched when he is happy and excited!


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