Friday, November 1, 2013

Wag the Dog

I heard the most awesome story on NPR's Morning Edition this morning. It was about dogs.


You can find it here, but the audio won't be up until 9 AM.

TL;DR when dogs see something they love (like their owner) they wag their tails more to the right. When they see something threatening (like a strange dog) they wag their tails more to the left.

Isn't that fascinating? I love dogs.

Happy Friday, everyone!

14 comments:

Jessica Bell said...

Hey that's cool. :-) Did you know that the Dalmatian is the only dog that smiles like a human? (i.e., it bares its teeth) It's SOOOOO CUTE!!!

Natalie Aguirre said...

Interesting. I just got a puppy in April. I'll have to see if she does that.

Dianne K. Salerni said...

I'll have to pay attention, although I don't think Sorcia wags her tail when she sees a strange dog.

Unknown said...

Dogs are amazing. They have just as many quirks as people. <3 all animals! :-)

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

I never noticed the difference in wagging. Now I'll be watching the next dog I meet.

mshatch said...

I'll have to watch my dog more closely - I did not know that!

Sarah Ahiers said...

I did indeed know this about dogs.
Dogs are fascinating

Andrew Leon said...

Interesting. I wonder if there's stuff like that in people. Well, other than how close someone stands to you.
Psychology is cool.

Michael Offutt, Phantom Reader said...

But...do dogs have brains? To answer this, you should watch the video on my blog because it's very informative.

ShaunaKelleyWrites said...

Hmm.... I am not sure how to determine which way my dog is wagging his tail, as he does it super fast. Now I will live in fear that he finds me threatening :-)

Sheena-kay Graham said...

Oh, so if the dog feels threatened by it's owner then that's a bad thing.

SC Author said...

That is actually really cool! I want a dog :(

JeffO said...

My dog's tail goes side-to-side when she's happy or excited in a good way; when a stranger is on the street or she meets the neighbor's dog (she's not great with other dogs), her tail gets stiff and goes up and down.

NPR is a treasure trove of interesting stuff.

Jay Noel said...

Been watching my puppy. Her tail just goes nuts, so I'm wondering if this observation about tail wagging direction only applies to non-hyper adult doggies.