Dogs are one of the most adorable and beloved pets out there. They’re cute, sweet, playful, and their loyal nature makes them excellent companions. As a dog owner, you may have wondered why dogs have tails and what purpose it serves at one point or another.
Tails offer a wide range of benefits to dogs, aside from making them appear cuter than they already are. Well, we have the answer to your question right here:
A dog’s tail helps it maintain balance, which is useful not only when it’s walking but also when running. A dog walks on all four legs, and while it’s walking, have you ever noticed the tail wagging? That’s because it helps the dog maintain balance. The tail supports the dog maintain its balance by placing its weight on the other end of the dog’s tilt.
Your dog’s tail also helps him walk straight on uneven surfaces, which is why mountaineers who have dogs usually prefer keeping German shepherds or huskies as pets.
Another great benefit that most people and even dog owners do not know much about is that tails help dogs control their movements. While this is not obvious to the naked eye, it offers many benefits to dogs.
When a dog is running and has to turn or change directions, it will move its front two legs, but its backward legs will stay on course to the original path. The tail, however, shifts in the direction it wants to turn to and acts as a counterweight to the dog’s body, ensuring that it doesn’t fall or hurt itself.
A dog owner can testify that when their dogs were mere puppies, they would always fall while running or while changing course. That’s because they haven’t learned to maintain their balance or the use of their tails.
Unsurprisingly, tails are a great way of communication for dogs. Dogs always sniff each other, bark at each other, but they also wag their tails. Dogs use their tails to communicate with each other, but over time, we have learned to understand the meaning behind their use of tails.
Whenever we see a happy dog, it’s always wagging its tail at us in joy while barking loudly and will lick us to show he’s friendly. When we see a scared dog, it tucks its tail away between its legs. A sad dog will be lying on the floor or simply walking without wagging its tail at all. Wagging tails, however, do not always mean friendly dogs. Wagging contracts the area around the anal muscles, which spreads the dogs’ unique scent, due to which reason, dominant dogs keep their tails higher to make everyone aware of their presence.
On the other hand, submissive dogs will keep their seats down to go unnoticed. Have you ever noticed how Labradors usually have their tails down while Doberman tails are generally high and pointed? Puppies do not wag their seats until they’re about thirty to fifty days old as they start interacting and communicating with humans and other puppies at that age.
Various dogs use their tails for a wide variety of reasons according to their breed. Dogs belonging in the northern breed category use their thick tails to cover their noses to protect themselves from the cold. Running dogs usually have straight pointed tails, which allows them to change direction even when they’re running at high speed, thereby helping them with balance and gait. Dogs trained for water rescues, such as pool dogs or lifeguard dogs, have thick tails that allow them to swim efficiently. A Bulldog is born with a tiny tail, which is about one inch in length. These dogs are not good at communicating and have difficulties interacting with other dogs.
Sight is not as important to dogs as it is to humans. They see colors, such as blue, green, yellow, and red. They have very sharp noses and whiskers that help them detect their surroundings and decide if it’s hostile or friendly. Tails are a great way of communication as in the presence of other canines, the wagging of the tails, their direction, and the way it is pointed establishes authority and shows either dominance or submission. Dogs also often mark their territory by wagging their tails upwards and spreading their scent. Due to this reason, dogs often get loud and jealous around other dogs, especially if two dominant dogs come across each other.
Over time, humans have learned to pick up signals from dogs. Dog owners can usually understand what their pet wants by its behavior. Despite the language barrier, dogs can communicate what they want and express themselves and their emotions. Movements give a different meaning to the signals. The speed with which a dog wags its tail indicates how excited it is. Simultaneously, the width of each tail sweep shows whether the dog’s emotional state is negative at that time or it’s positive, aside from the level of excitement it shows in all the other ways. When a dog is angry, it’ll bark or ignore its human.
Similarly, when it’s happy, it’ll wag its tail joyously. When it wants food, it will keep wagging its tail. When it’s upset, it will sit quietly or walk without wagging its tail. For further information, please visit our website.
by Maria A Davidson || You can’t buy love, but you can rescue it™ .
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