What Is Your Dog Saying?

Everyone thinks that if your dog is wagging their tails then they must be happy and in a good and playful mood but that may not be the case. I have always been intrigued on trying to figures out how my dog and is feeling and what she is thinking. There are places out there that will give you lessons and try to read your dogs mind but I don't know about all that. I just want to generally see what she is thinking/feeling. I mean lets face it...they only can be feeling and thinking so much...they are dogs!

Here is a great article that I thought was very interesting on the subject..

An old joke about wagging tails goes like this: A young boy is afraid to pet a dog. An adult says, "He's friendly – look, he's even wagging his tail." The boy responds, "Yeah, but he's barking and growling – I don't know which end to believe!" This poor excuse for a joke contains a lot of truth, because a wagging tail does not necessarily mean a dog is friendly. So, if a wagging tail does not always indicate friendliness, what does it mean?

A dog's tail position and motion is incorporated as a component of a complex system of body language that domestic dogs use, along with "verbal" cues such as barking, growling or whining, in order to communicate. A wagging tail indicates excitement or agitation. But whether the dog means it as an invitation to play, or to warn another dog or person to stay back, depends on other body language.

A slowly wagging tail that curves down and back up into a "U" usually indicates a relaxed, playful dog. Read More Here....