Animal tails fascinate me. I love the variety of them, the way they are used to communicate, and the sheer beauty of the way they sway and bob when a dog walks down the street or a cat decides that it’s time to play.
My little pal Chip uses his tail to keep his nose warm while curled up on my lap.
If you read the breed standards for a dog or cat, you’ll find very specific information about the characteristics required for a proper tail. Purebred Beagles will always have a white tip on their tails which helps to spot them in high grass. Maine Coon Cats should have lush tails they can use to wrap around themselves for warmth and protection. Labrador Retrievers tails should be otter-like and can serve as a rudder to help steer when they are swimming. Tails are useful things!
Tail Signals
People often misinterpret tail movement. While some wagging may be friendly and welcoming, dogs and cats also use their tails to signal anxiety, aggression, fear, and excitement. The phrase, “tail tucked between his legs” comes from the fact that a fearful dog or cat will curve their tail under their body when they are nervous.
When walking our Westie Poppy, who does not enjoy the great outdoors, we consider a slightly raised tail a victory. Most of the time her tail is down (as in the photo above) or tucked.
Recent Research
Psychology Today reported on recent research about how dog’s deliver very defined messages to one another via their tails.
Stanley Coren, PhD., DSc., FRSC, Professor Emeritus in the Department of Psychology at the University of British Columbia wrote, "Dogs' eyes are much more sensitive to movement than they are to details or colors, so a moving tail is very visible to other dogs. Evolution has made tails even more visible, such as tails with a light or dark tip, a lighter underside or a bushy shape."
In this report, I learned that dogs have a right and left wag. Dr Coren explained, “… when dogs feel generally positive about something or someone, their tails wag more to the right side of their rear ends, and when they have negative feelings, their tail wagging is biased to the left." (This right and left is as viewed from the rear as if you are facing in the direction the dog is viewing.)
Happy Tail Injuries
On a visit to Angell Animal Medical Center, I met a Lab with a bandaged tail. Despite a cone on his neck and a substantial bandage on his tail, he was still wagging at high speed. A tail injured in a bout of enthusiastic wagging is officially called a happy tail injury and sadly can result in permanent damage or amputation.
Dr. Marty Becker writing for VetStreet explains, "This type of injury occurs when a dog with an outgoing personality and a long tail repeatedly thwacks the tail against a hard surface such as a crate or wall. Really happy dogs — think Golden Retrievers or Cavaliers — or dogs with thin, delicate skin, such as Greyhounds, wag so hard and fast that a bleeding ulcer can develop on the tip of the tail."
While there are genetically bobtail breeds like the Australian Shepherd and Manx Cat, most of the dogs we see with very short tails had their tail surgically removed for cosmetic reasons.
When you think about all the ways dogs use their tails, you wonder why anyone would ever allow this to be done to their animal. Fortunately the tide is turning on this practice. With each passing year, we see more dogs strutting a tail in all its natural glory and fewer and fewer dogs with cosmetically stumpy tails.
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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: ©2017 Penny & Ed Cherubino
(Adapted for BostonZest from one of our City Paws newspaper columns.)