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How Can Verbal Wagging Affect Human Behavior?

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Dogs were domesticated from the wolf thousands of years ago, and yet, what do we truly know about their behavior? Starting at the youngest of ages, we humans have been raised with the knowledge that puppies wag their tails when they are happy! It is in our literature, in our childhood movies, in our lullabies. We even see it in real life, as a dog comes to greet us. Dogs aren’t always just happy, though. They have a range of emotions, just like humans, yet they express them in different ways, especially through their body language. Dogs really do have emotions, and the purpose of their tail wagging goes far beyond only happiness.
The dog’s language is one, unfortunately, that humans cannot fully understand and interpret. If dogs cannot tell …show more content…

Although, key information is left out about the uses of this body movement. As well as being used to portray emotions, the action of tail wagging is used to spread scent and mark territory. As written in the Animal Planet article, “Dogs also wag their tails to spread their natural scent from their anal glands. Each dog has a scent that's unique to him or her. An ‘alpha’ or dominant dog that carries his tail high will release more of his scent than a dog that carries his tail lower.” (Animal Planet, 2015) The way a dog wags his/her tail may also reveal how dominant they feel over other dogs, depending on territory. This information shows that dogs do not only use their tails for emotion portrayal, but does play a big part in it. To differ from our childhood beliefs as humans, wagging their tails does not necessarily mean they are happy. “Dogs use their tails to communicate strong emotions such as agitation, annoyance and anger as well as happiness. A person can get bitten by a dog that's wagging his tail because he read the signs incorrectly. And make no mistake, there is a science to tail wagging.” (Animal Planet, 2015) This use of a dog’s tail is indeed for the portrayal of feelings, whether it be in agitation, happiness, anger, or …show more content…

All dogs wag their tails to express themselves, and use their body language, yet there are many breeds of dogs. Bulldogs are commonly known for their aggressive nature and personality. Sheepdogs are known for their herding abilities. Retrievers, for their playful, family-friendly personality. These breeds are very different, and their personalities much more so. How might the breed of a dog affect emotion portrayal, if breed affects personality? In an online blog, Pet Helpful, this topic is discussed, reading, “A dog's behavior may also significantly be influenced by the breed. You may have a hyperactive Labrador because this breed was meant to work for most of the day and you may have an aloof Rottweiler because this guarding breed was bred to be wary of strangers.” If the behavior of the animal is altered by breed, depending on how the dog was bred to react what it was bred to do, it seems likely that the dog might also represent its emotions in a different way than other dogs. Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Claire Thomas says in a recently held interview, “Each dog breed does come with characteristics that affect them, and how they interact with people, so I do think, potentially, yes.” (Thomas, 2018) Dr. Thomas declares that she does believe that breed can affect how feelings are shown in a dog, because of their distinct characteristics and differences. There are many factors to how a dog will show people how it was

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