Human beings communicate with each other with words. This means that human beings listen to each other very well. As human begins to communicate, dogs are watching.
Dogs cannot communicate with words but they can communicate broader messages through body language.
They do this through certain actions they take, such as moving their ears, furrowing their brow, shifting their eyes, or wagging their tails.
Tail wagging is of great benefit to dogs. However, do pitbulls have feelings in their tails?
The sight of dogs is more powerful in recognition of movements but poor in recognition of colors and details. It is easy for dogs to understand tail wagging.
Over time, dogs have developed more visible tails. Thanks to evolution.
Most tails vary in color. Some tails are dark and some have light tips, while others are lighter undersides while some are really bushy.
These qualities make the tail waggle more noticeable thereby making communication better.
What messages does a wagging tail communicate?
We have to understand that different breeds of dogs have different neutral or natural tail positions before we begin to discuss “tail”.
When some dogs are relaxed, they have their tail hanging down, near their heels.
On the other hand, dogs like Beagles have their tail in vertical positions. Greyhounds and Whippets get their tails curled under their bellies.
Dogs like Pugs and Boston Terriers do not wag their tail at all. They have their tails coiled tightly against their body.
Tail position may indicate:
Preparedness or agitation
When she is prepared for agitation, the dog stays alert. Her ears will be up and her tail will be raised. You have to understand that the dog is keeping watch and ready for any confrontation
Negotiation
If a dog stops tail wagging and freezes, it means she politely wants to divert a threat without aggression. You see your dog do this when she is petted by a stranger, to tell you she does not want to interact with the stranger.
Aggression
When you see your dog move her tail from its neutral position to a vertical position or arches it over her back, be careful, she may have become aggressive.
The higher she lifts her tail, the more aggressive she becomes. As she raises her tail high, the scent is released from her anal glands, telling everyone that the aggressive dog is around to secure her territory.
Submission
If your dog moves her tail from the natural position to a lower position, she is showing you a sign of submission. If she has her tail tightly tucked between her legs, it is a sign the dog is afraid.
She had seen a threat and is pleading for protection. When the dog’s tail is in a low position, the amount of scent she emits from her anal gland becomes low. The dog will either remain in the background or run for cover.
Curiosity
When you see your dog holding her tail straight in a horizontal position, it is a sign she is curious of something.
Happiness
When you see your dog holding her tail in a neutral position or slightly raised position and wagging it a little, it is a sign she is happy. The rate at which she wages her tail adds more meaning to what she is telling you.
Wagging speed may indicate:
How fast a dog wags her tail shows how excited she is. The rate can be very slow or highly rapid. When the tail wagging is highly rapid it is known as “flagging”. Your dog sometimes can wag her tail so fast that it looks like the tail is vibrating.
If your dog is not so comfortable with meeting someone new or another dog, she will be slightly wagging her tail to show you she is feeling insecure.
When your dog freely wags her tail and hip at the same time, she is telling you how friendly she is.
When your dog’s tail is in a vertical position and she wags it very fast, be very careful with her. She has become a threat herself. Do not forget that someone can be a victim of a tail-wagging dog.
Dogs’ body language communication system is very complex. The direction in which your dog wags her tail also communicates meaning.
According to studies, if a dog wags its tail to the right, it means she is happy or confident, but when she wags her tail to the left, it means she is afraid. The scientific reason behind this is very significant.
Movements on the right side of the dog’s body are controlled by the right side of her brain and movements on the left side of the dog’s body are controlled by the right side of her brain.
In view of this, when the dog wags its tail to the right, the left side of the brain will be at work and when the dog wags her tail to the left, the right side of her brain will be at work.
Your dog will wag her tail to the right when she is happy because the left side of her brain is associated with positive feelings such as love and serenity.
She will wag her tail to the left when she is afraid because the right side of her brain is associated with negative feelings such as fear and depression.
FAQs
Why do pitbull tails hurt?
Any dog that suffers from limber tail goes through a lot of pain. It is a muscle condition that is said to be caused by overexertion. The dog feels pain at the base of her tail which is always sensitive to touch.
The remaining parts of the tail are most times limp. Those breeds of dogs that are naturally big in size and working dogs suffer this health condition the most.
Why does my pitbulls tail hurt?
Dog tails have nerves and tendons that makes it possible for your dog to feel her tail. If you happen to step on your dogs tail by mistake, she will cry out and wince in pain.
This is because there are nerves in her tail and the nerves will give her a painful sensation as if she sustained injury.
Do pitbulls have feelings in their tails?
Your dog can tell you a lot of things about her feelings through her tail. It can be curiosity or agitation. When she tucks her tail between her legs, she is communicating shyness or submission to you.
However, when she lifts up her tail sticking straight in the air, she is communicating confidence or aggression to you.