A new study suggests canines can tell how other dogs are feeling by the direction its tail wags and can respond accordingly.
The tail-wagging can trigger an emotional response in another pup, but it should not be confused as a form of communication. The findings were published in the Cell Press journal Current Biology on Oct. 31.
Giorgio Vallortigara of the Center for Mind/Brain Sciences of the University of Trento said in a news release the direction of the tail wagging triggers and "automatic byproduct of differential activation." However, Vallortigara doesn't throw out that there may be "practical uses" to the dogs' responses, suggesting owners and veterinarians take note of the tail wagging.
"It could be that left/right directions of approach could be effectively used by vets during visits of the animals or that dummies could be used to exploit asymmetries of emotional responses," Vallortigara said.
The study findings suggest the direction of the tail wagging does impact how a canine reacts, according to the news release:
While monitoring their reactions, the researchers showed dogs videos of other dogs with either left- or right-asymmetric tail wagging. When dogs saw another dog wagging to the left, their heart rates picked up and they began to look anxious. When dogs saw another dog wagging to the right, they stayed perfectly relaxed.
"The direction of tail wagging does in fact matter, and it matters in a way that matches hemispheric activation," Vallortigara explained. "In other words, a dog looking to a dog wagging with a bias to the right side-and thus showing left-hemisphere activation as if it was experiencing some sort of positive/approach response-would also produce relaxed responses."
"In contrast, a dog looking to a dog wagging with a bias to the left-and thus showing right-hemisphere activation as if it was experiencing some sort of negative/withdrawal response-would also produce anxious and targeting responses as well as increased cardiac frequency. That is amazing, I think," he added.
Watch the video from the study here.
