My dog, Churchill Graham, a Labrador Retriever Dalmatian mix, experiences frequent tail-wagging. Watching and listening to Churchill Graham's tail-wagging against a wall, on the carpet flooring, on the bed, against furniture and wherever he may be, fascinates me! He wags his tail in response to overhearing conversations, with his name mentioned; a pleasantry overheard about his adopted dog sister; and other daily excitement. For Churchill Graham, tail-wagging is a "pounding" thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud... against anything solid, with a natural forceful body wiggle notably known about the Labrador Retriever breed.
Often I've asked myself...why do dogs wag their tails? Why does Churchill Graham wag his tail so rapidly, and with so much body movement?
The popular tale is that dogs wag their tails out of friendliness. Another reason for tail-wagging is a behavior of submissive prelude particularly to a superior member of a dog pack.
However, I discovered the phenomenon of tail-wagging is due to the emotional condition dogs share. This condition is being in a "state of conflict." When this state is experienced, the dog feels pulled in two directions at the same time. It wants to advance and retreat simultaneously. Hence, a back-and-forth movement, or pulling and pushing the dog forward but at the same time is causing it to hold back. Strange that the urge to flee is automatic and caused by anxiety. But, the urge to stay, is more challenging for the dog. This emotional cross energy is built-up within the dogs' physical body.
The inherent rhythmic movement of pulling and pushing the dog forward and backward, as well as causing the dog to hold back, is a state of "attraction in conflict," and this is why dogs wag their tails.
But where is the conflict arising from? It's like Einstein's formula of E=MC2;. A shorthand of science that the energy contained in matter is equal in ergs to its mass in grams multiplied by the square of the velocity of light in centimeter per second. Thus explaining, how electrons weigh more when moving, than when at rest. Therefore, the vibrations within the dogs' body are interacting with so much energy in movement, more energy than the body at that moment can accommodate...that wagging of the tail is the body's physiological response for dissipating the excess energy!
Now, when I watch Churchill Graham, I observe not just the tail wagging, but I take note of his body moving with a definitive push and pull momentum.
This behavioral science seems like a confusing scrabbling of energized signals, but the pronounced feature of tail-wagging is a body language we all observe from our dogs daily, and now that reasons have unfolded, I want to share.
