Comments on: Asymmetric tail-wagging responses by dogs to different emotive stimuli

By: Kirsten

Kirsten — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 13:21:29 +0000

:-)

By: Jo, proud Dutch Shepherd owner

Jo, proud Dutch Shepherd owner — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 06:27:23 +0000

Well, I’ve been making my observations. My dog really truely DOES wag his tail mostly to the right!! ….When he’s not frantically excited about something. And he seems to paw mostly with his right paw as well. Interesting…very interesting.

By: Kirsten

Kirsten — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 12:52:00 +0000

Hi, Lilly & Jo, sorry to take a bit to moderate your comments, I’ve been entertaining an out of town guest and so have been spending quite a bit less time recreating on the internet :-)

John, letting your comment through until I check out your site & see if you’re only plugging yourself or if you’re graciously promoting Outwitting Dogs as well, heh heh heh.

That said, regarding dog body language, verbal descriptions aren’t nearly as useful as pictures or, better yet, video. Of course Turid Rugass’ stuff is fricking excellent and here’s another book out by, is it Brenda Aloff? might have teh name/spelling wrong here, I’m off to play shuttle bus now so have to run . . .

By: Jo, proud Dutch Shepherd owner

Jo, proud Dutch Shepherd owner — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 21:24:14 +0000

Michelle,
that was an excellent question! My dog paws a bit…thought not as much as he used to(we did our best to nip it in the bud). That’s the last behavior he really has….and while i’ve never noticed which way his tail wags the most to, or which paw he paws with the most, i’m determined to conduct observations until next Saturday….

peace out!

By: John Lacher

John Lacher — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 17:55:08 +0000

When discussing canine behavior, one has to keep in mind the breed characteristics of the dog especially when discussing a mixed breed. Understanding canine body posture is extremely important, not to mention that of the human. Both have a direct correlation when it comes to training. Observation in the positioning of the dogs tail upon greeting another dog or a human will tell you a lot. A straight ridgid position of the tail will tell you that the dog is being cautious, almost to the point of being guarded. Human body position such as the arms folded at chest level sends un unfriendly message to the dog. A stare, or direct eye contact of the human toward the dog can often casue the dog to establish a defense posture. The ears and mouth immediately become less relaxed. The dog begins to move forward toward you or he will stand his ground.

By: Lilly

Lilly — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 12:59:24 +0000

My dog goes crazy – happy when she sences (she’s blind) my oldest son but more or less ignores my younger son. Wonder if it has anything to do with the fact that my older son has a dog.

By: Kirsten

Kirsten — Tue, 01 May 2007 13:50:43 +0000

Interesting question, Michelle.

The “give a paw” behavior is shaped version of a more generalized behavior . . .

It would be interesting to see if dogs have a tendency to paw with the right more than the left — i.e. to see if pawedness has a bias as well.

By: Michelle, Co-Founder of Leashes and Lovers

Michelle, Co-Founder of Leashes and Lovers — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 19:33:35 +0000

Wonder if this applies as well to when a dog give you their paw? Are all right pawed dogs, happy dogs? :)

By: Kirsten

Kirsten — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 00:02:41 +0000

I don’t know, Roberta!

My dog’s a Pembroke Welsh Corgi so none of this theory helps us a whit. Too bad, maybe if she could emote a bit with her tail she’d be a little more, er, balanced.

By: Roberta Liford

Roberta Liford — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 18:31:09 +0000

What if your dog has a cropped tail that sticks straight up so that when he wags it it goes rapidly from side to side with no discernable difference.