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Why Do Dogs Like Wagging Their Tails?

来源:中国数字科技馆

Why Do Dogs Like Wagging Their Tails?

Source of pictures: Pixabay.com

This weekend, Daniel felt bored at home alone, so he went to Benjamin's home. As soon as he entered the house, the dog called Thor ran towards Daniel wagging its tail. Daniel fondled Thor's head joyfully and said to Benjamin, "Thor has a good memory. I have been here only once and it remembers me!" "Of course," said Benjamin proudly, "A dog can remember the smells of a lot of people, even if it only smells one time. Thor knows it every time my mom stews ribs."

Benjamin guided Daniel to the balcony, and Thor followed them. Benjamin took out a lot of dog foods and Thor's favorites. Daniel found a small red collar with a bell on it. "This was worn by Thor?" asked Daniel curiously. Benjamin nodded, "Thor worn it as a child. It was very naughty and played many tricks at that time, so my dad bought a collar and hung it around its neck. Whenever it moved, there would be a tinkling and we all knew where it was." Thor also saw the collar and wagged its tail more merrily, as if it still remembered the collar. From the pile of toys, Daniel also found a small pair of pincers and picked them up. "What is this for?" asked Daniel. Thor also saw the pincers. Its wagging tail immediately stopped and stood upright towards the ceiling, and its eyes became less friendly, as if it was stimulated. Benjamin hurriedly took away the pincers and put them on the ground. "This is used to cut Thor's nails," whispered Benjamin, "It takes a long time every time. Thor is so afraid of cutting nails." No wonder Thor suddenly became nervous. It might have thought Daniel was cutting its nails. Daniel took a handful of dog foods into the bowl and gently brushed Thor with a brush, trying to pacify the dog. Soon, Thor forgot about the pincers and played with two boys again.

When Daniel left, Thor followed him to the door, with its golden tail wagging like a waving goodbye. Daniel became fonder of Thor. On the way home, a question came up to his mind: "A dog has four paws. But why does a dog wag its tail instead of lifting up one of its paws for a goodbye, just like humans?"

Daniel told his doubt to Mom. "Tail wagging is a social signal for dogs, like facial expressions of a human being," explained Mom, "They wag tails to express their emotions. For example, if a dog's tail stands upright, that means it is angry and likely to bite. You'd better leave it alone. If its tail is hanging down and wagging, that means it's in a good mood. If it puts the tail between legs, that means it is a little nervous and may lose its temper. But, anyway, tail wagging of a dog is complicated, depending on its breed."

"So except for those, what else does tail wagging mean for dogs?" Daniel could not help asking.

"People mainly judge the mood of a dog based on the direction and speed of its tail wagging. If a dog is in a relaxed state, its tail will naturally hang. The hanging positions depend on the breeds of dogs. Some dogs hang their tails close to their buttocks, while others between their legs. And if a dog wags its tail fast, that means it's excited. Some people have studied the direction of tail wagging and found it is mood-related. A right-wagging tail indicates a good mood while a left-wagging tail indicates a bad mood. This is possibly because the left hemisphere of the brain controls the movements of the right side of the body. The left hemisphere is related to positive emotions and the right hemisphere is related to negative or bad emotions. Of course, anyway, it also depends the breeds of dogs."

Daniel thought that quite made sense. He told Mom that Benjamin's dog, Thor, was all like this. The dog's tail was wagging when it was in a good mood and stood upright in a bad mood. Hearing that, Mom insisted on letting Daniel take a bath and change his clothes before continuing the talk. Daniel found that Mom was allergic to hairs. That's why he could only keep some naked fish or turtles as his pets.

Author: Huang Jing

本文来自:中国数字科技馆
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