What a Dog’s Tail Wags Really Mean: Some New Scientific Data

Just wondered what people think of this

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/canine-corner/201112/what-dog-s-tail-wags-really-mean-some-new-scientific-data

"We can now add another newly discovered, feature of dog tail language that may surprise attentive pet owners as much as it surprised scientists like me. It now appears that 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."

....."This is not as strange a finding as you might think at first. Research has shown that in many animals, including birds, frogs, monkeys and humans, the left brain specializes in behaviors involving what the scientists call approach and serenity. In humans, that means the left brain is associated with positive feelings, like love, a sense of attachment, a feeling of safety and calm. It is also associated with physiological markers, like a slow heart rate. Contrast this to the right brain which specializes in behaviors involving withdrawal and energy expenditure. In humans, these behaviors, like fleeing, are associated with feelings like fear and depression. Physiological signals include a rapid heart rate and the shutdown of the digestive system."

....."Since the left brain controls the right side of the body and the right brain controls the left side of the body, activity in one half of the brain shows up as movements on the opposite side of the body. For instance chicks prefer to use their left eye to search for food (approach behavior) and right eye to watch for predators overhead (avoidance). In humans, the muscles on the right side of the face tend to reflect happiness (left brain) whereas muscles on the left side of the face reflect unhappiness (right brain). So now we can add to this that positive feelings pull a dog's tail to the right and negative feelings pull it to the left."

Rocky wags his up and down so goodness knows what a psychologist would make of that   But I shall be watching Bailey closely to see if there's any truth in this...

It's possible that there's a certain amount of truth to it, though I think people should bear in mind that this is based off of one study

It may be that some dogs are inclined to follow that pattern, though it's clear from everyday life that that isn't always the case, so I look forward to seeing any future studies on the subject!

Lexi doesnt wag her tail. It worries me actually lol

Moo thrashes her tail, anything breakable has either been broken or moved  

Hayley wrote:Lexi doesnt wag her tail. It worries me actually lol

Lily isn't much of a wagger compared to Lola  

Daisy wags her tail a lot too, its usually right up in the air, we get quite a few comments about what a waggy tail she's got!! I will be watching now to see if its more to one side of the other!!

Sometimes I think Darcy will take off her tail wags that much all over the place.

sasha wags her bum,making her tail wag  

Vinnie is a thrasher too and I have had whiplash many a time on my legs! 

when I smile I tend to bias it to the left , does that mean I have my head on back to front  

Jax literally wags his entire body... it's actually quite funny. He does this little sideways walk and wags from front to back  His tail is rarely not wagging, so many people have commented on "what a happy dog he is".

kkjax wrote:Jax literally wags his entire body... it's actually quite funny. He does this little sideways walk and wags from front to back  His tail is rarely not wagging, so many people have commented on "what a happy dog he is".

and that is testament to what a good job you are doing , keep up the good work

Dave wrote:
and that is testament to what a good job you are doing , keep up the good work

Aw, thanks! Made me smile  We do our best!

These studies are fascinating, there may be some truth in it I guess.

Dave wrote:when I smile I tend to bias it to the left , does that mean I have my head on back to front  

Actually mate you have something there. I was watching some research on dogs behaviour and if they can tell how we are feeling. Apparently when we look at someone to judge what mood they are in we scan the left side of the face first to make that judgment. They then put some retina postion mapping glasses on dogs and showd them images. Inaniment things like bowls, fruit etc the stared straight ahead. Also with other dogs they did the same but when shown a human face they always scanned the left side first. Cant remember the profs name but the research was done at lincoln university.

Pretty sure that my Douglas is right-handed. When he sits to have his harness put on him before walkies, he always offers his right paw first to go through the hole. Every time.