Forum Discussion

Noel's avatar
Noel
Explorer
Dec 10, 2013

Tail wagging: right to left or left to right?

So....I heard that if a dog wags the tail to the LEFT, things are OK. If Fido wags to the RIGHT......trouble.

I can't really tell how Slobbermouth wags her tail. It seems to go circular. CW or counter CW: I'm not sure. Especially when she is excited or friends come over

I was watching her just now, when she came into the room and I was telling her what a good dog she was.......and tail was wagging to the left, mostly, from the rear view. Looking at her face on...the tail was going to MY right.

HELP........
  • Old-Biscuit's avatar
    Old-Biscuit
    Explorer III
    Dec 11, 2013
    I heard that if wagging to THEIR right they were happy all OK
    To their left.....caution

    Git bit.....didn't pay attention to the caution :B
  • doxiemom11's avatar
    doxiemom11
    Explorer II
    Dec 11, 2013
    I saw that also and don't understand that. None of our dogs has ever "wagged" in one direction. Ours were back and forth, back and forth from side to side, or all over the place when excited.
  • Francesca_Knowl's avatar
    Francesca_Knowl
    Explorer
    Dec 11, 2013
    Noel wrote:

    I was watching her just now, when she came into the room and I was telling her what a good dog she was.......and tail was wagging to the left, mostly, from the rear view. Looking at her face on...the tail was going to MY right.

    HELP........

    Get a TV so you have something else to watch. :)
  • Pawz4me's avatar
    Pawz4me
    Explorer
    Dec 11, 2013
    doxiemom11 wrote:
    I saw that also and don't understand that. None of our dogs has ever "wagged" in one direction. Ours were back and forth, back and forth from side to side, or all over the place when excited.


    But if you watch some of the videos where they've slowed it way down, you can tell the dogs are wagging slightly more to one side than the other. The tail will go farther away from the center of the body on one side.

    Which makes me think that in real life, to be able to tell with most dogs, we'd all need to video them and then watch it in slow motion. I don't care to go to that much trouble, 'cause I'm pretty sure my dogs are happy w/o needing that bit of confirmation. ;)
  • Dog_Folks's avatar
    Dog_Folks
    Explorer
    Dec 11, 2013
    I would rather count on other, more obvious clues as to the dogs mood and intentions, such as raised hackles, low growling, etc.

    Much better than standing there and wondering, his right? My right? Faster on the right?
  • dturm's avatar
    dturm
    Moderator
    Dec 11, 2013
    What if the dog is left-handed??? Is everything backwards ... :B
  • kokosfriend's avatar
    kokosfriend
    Explorer
    Dec 11, 2013
    If there is any Lab in your dog - circle wagging is a given!! :)

    Barb and the 4 chocolates
  • xteacher's avatar
    xteacher
    Explorer
    Dec 11, 2013
    dturm wrote:
    What if the dog is left-handed??? Is everything backwards ... :B

    As a lefty, I Love this!! :B

About Pet Owners

2,081 PostsLatest Activity: Dec 29, 2024