Is your dog a rightie or a leftie?
We’re not talking about paw-tendencies here. We’re talking about tail wagging.
Turns out, you can learn a lot from your dog about the way he wags his tail!
Consider this yet another form of “dog speak”.
A study describing the phenomenon “Asymmetric tail-wagging responses by dogs to different emotive stimuli” appeared in the March 20 issue of Current Biology. The authors are Giorgio Vallortigara, a neuroscientist at the University of Trieste in Italy, and two veterinarians, Angelo Quaranta and Marcello Siniscalchi, at the University of Bari, also in Italy. Source
They say that the way a dog wags its tail is similar to the way humans use the right side vs the left side of their brains.
A dog wags its tail to the left when they are fearful or anxious.
This tail wagging behavior suggests that the muscles in the right side of the tail reflect positive emotions while the muscles in the left side express negative ones. Source
Check out this informative overhead video of a dog wagging its tail at different times. (It’s easier to see right vs left tail-wagging behavior this way.)
I like to help Dog Parents find unique ways to do things that will save time & money — so I write about “outside the box” Dog Tips and Dog Hacks that most wouldn’t think of.
I’m a lifelong dog owner — currently have 2 mixed breed Golden Aussies that we found abandoned on the side of the road as puppies. I’ve always trained my own dogs and help friends train theirs, as well. Professionally, I worked at a vet and have several friends who are veterinarians — whom I consult with regularly. (And just because I love animals so much, I also worked at a Zoo for awhile!) I’ve been sharing my best ideas with others by blogging full-time since 1998 (the same year that Google started… and before the days of Facebook and YouTube).
My daily motivation is to help first-time dog owners be better prepared from the first day your new puppy enters your home. I like to help dog owners understand what’s ‘normal’ and what you can expect in terms of living with and training your dog — how to get through the ups & downs of potty training, chewing, teaching commands, getting your dog to listen, and everything else that takes place during that hectic first year!
When I’m not training, walking, grooming, or making homemade treats for my dogs, you will find me at the corner of Good News & Fun Times as publisher of The Fun Times Guide (32 fun & helpful websites). To date, I’ve written over 600 articles for dog owners on this site! Many of them have upwards of 200K shares.
