Tail wagging is not necessarily a sign of joy
Even if raising a pet is a worry However, when we get home and the dog happily rushes towards us to show us how close we are, we will feel that it was worth it. When dogs greet their owners, they often appear very excited, and their tails may be wagging constantly. However, many times the dog may not be as excited as expected.
In the study of the human brain, a well-known conclusion is that the brain is divided into two hemispheres-the left brain and the right brain. And each of the two hemispheres has its own branch. The left brain controls the right half of the body, and the right brain controls the left half of the body. This way of independent operation of the brain is not exclusive to humans. This kind of working difference between "left brain" and "right brain" can also be created in most animals.
For animals, this independence might look like this: The left brain focuses on actions related to gaining energy and active actions, such as searching Food, worshiping the owner, etc.; the right brain focuses on behaviors related to energy consumption and negative behaviors, such as running away when feeling afraid. The dog's tail happens to be located in a special position - the center of the body, so the researchers hope to understand whether the dog's tail is wagging asymmetrically and whether it is more active than the emotional stimulation it experiences. Still optimistic about it.
In order to understand the relationship between dog tail wagging and emotions, researchers used 30 mixed-race pet dogs for experiments. Each dog was placed in a specially designed cage, and a camera was placed in the cage to thoroughly record the wagging angle of the dog's tail. Immediately, four different objects are presented to the dog in sequence: its owner, a stranger, a friendly cat, and a cruel dog. Each elephant will stay in front of the dog for one minute, and the camera will record the behavior of the dog facing various elephants during this minute.
Understand the behavior of dogs
When the person who appears in front of them is their owner, All 30 dogs moved their tails happily, and their tails swung significantly to the right. After meeting the owner, the dogs were allowed to rest for 90 seconds, and then a stranger was brought in front of them. , the dog's tail still swings to the right, but the deviation is smaller than when it saw the owner. When the dog sees the friendly cat, the tail swings slightly to the right, but this deviation is smaller than when it saw the friendly cat. Be even more cautious when seeing a stranger. Finally, when a big dog that seems to be a little unkind appears in front of it, the tail starts to swing to the left.
When a dog is in a positive mood or is curious about physical objects (such as that friendly cat), the tail will tilt to the right and hesitate; and if the dog experiences negative emotions or even fear, The tail will swing to the left. This behavior is the result of their brain stem: the left brain that controls "positive energy" controls the right side of the body, so the muscles on the right side of the tail will convey positive emotions. When a negative mood comes, the right brain that controls the "negative energy" action touches the muscles on the left side, making the tail swing to this side dominant.
Therefore, sometimes a dog wagging its tail does not necessarily show happy mood. Paying attention to the direction of deflection may help us understand the dog's mood.
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