Did You Know You Could Speak Fluent Dog?

Perhaps the most common misinterpretation of dogs is the myth that a dog wagging its tail is happy and friendly. While some wags are indeed associated with happiness, others can mean fear, insecurity, a social challenge or even a warning that if you approach, you are apt to be bitten.

We humans have come to think we’re pretty good at knowing what’s going on with that (hopefully) long, often fluffy and sometimes curly thing at the back end of our dog. Especially when it’s happily wagging.

But research and observation by various scientists and veterinarians has led to a deeper understanding of the language of dogs’ tails. And yes, it’s an entire language. With vocabulary, grammar and, it’s been discovered, periods where it’s not even needed.

This tail language is wholly dependent on the type of dog we’re talking about. A boisterous dog, like a Terrier, is going to require a different tail interpreter to a Greyhound, with its more laid-back approach to life in general.

So take a deeper look at this canine tail language for yourself. Who knows what you’ll pick up the next time you have a heart-to-tail with your pup?