To find out more about what a dog's wagging tail might mean, we consulted Dr. Camille Alander, a veterinarian with NYC's Bond Vet. Here's what she had to say. Why do dogs wag their tails?

Why Do Dogs Wag Their Tails? What It Means “In general, a wagging tail just means that a dog is experiencing some emotion,” says Amanda Farah, CPDT-KA, National Training and Behavior ...

Is your dog’s tail-wagging a side effect of domestication, or did humans select for it? Skip to main content. Scientific American. February 6, 2024. 4 min read. Why Do Dogs Wag Their Tail?

Last Updated on July 4, 2025 by ellen Pet-sitting is a wonderful way to spend time with animals, but it isn’t always as easy ...

Tail wagging is also a social indicator, which means that a dog won't wag their tail unless they're around other dogs or humans.Even though "tail talk," as Dr. Buzhardt calls it, is a form of ...

Dogs can pick up emotional cues from another dog by watching the direction of its wagging tail, a new study suggests. In a series of lab experiments, dogs got anxious when they saw an image of a ...

Many people believe that dogs wag their tails when they are happy. But, according to a new study, the behavior is actually much more nuanced than that.

Interpreting what a tail wag or tail position means depends on context—who the dogs are, their social relationship, and how what the tail is doing fits in with other components of composite ...

A wagging tail doesn't necessarily mean a dog is happy. Some dogs will even wag then bite! When assessing any dog communication, it's important to look at the whole picture.

Specific tail wags provide information about the emotional state of dogs. Skip to main content Mobile Navigation. Psychology Today.

“We usually refer to cats as swishing their tails, as the movement is not quite the same as a dog’s wagging tail,” she says. “The meaning of the tail movements can be quite different in ...