How to determine the mood of a dog by wagging its tail. A dog's tail shows mood When a dog is in a good mood

People can talk, operate with different words, but sometimes we and our pets understand each other without words. But this is with experienced owners! How can inexperienced owners understand their pets?

If the shape of the dog's eyes narrowed, they became barely noticeable, this means that the pet is scared or very tense. When the dog looks a little askance or cross-eyes, then something hurts him.

Your pet's ears tilted back a little means that he welcomes you and is friendly to you. If tightly pressed to the back, then the dog is very scared. Well, being in the usual position of the ears means that the dog is relaxed and completely calm.

Of course, four-legged pets are different and their ears are different in shape, so it can be difficult to understand exactly how their ears are now located, but watch for a while and you will understand the mood of your pet.

If the dog wags its tail, then it is in a playful mood and great joy from your presence. A tail turned to the right indicates a good mood of the dog, nothing bothers her, and a tail turned to the left indicates anxiety and restlessness.

If the dog, as if repeating the habit of a cat, tries to become bigger - stretches its legs, ears and tail stand on end - this is a sign of aggression. If he clings to the ground, as if he wants to seem completely invisible, it means he is scared. When the dog suddenly froze in one position, it means that he felt some kind of danger. If the dog's breathing suddenly becomes quieter, then he is alert. If the dog wants to play, he takes the pose of the letter "C".

Bared teeth speak 100% of the dog's extreme aggression. Aggression can also be caused by sudden movements, especially by a person unfamiliar to the dog. If the dog began to growl, as if he wants to turn a person or other dogs into a threat, then he felt the danger.

If the dog began to bark, then she is happy with the owner. When the dog barks shortly and persistently, it means that he hears someone's steps at the door. If the dog howls low and for a long time, he is probably hungry or something hurts him.

In addition to the states associated with certain instincts and caused by their manifestation, the dog exhibits moods that are not directly related to instincts. An example is fear due to so-called "remorse". It is very reminiscent of real fear with its reaction of flight and expression of submissiveness. At the same time, the moods of a dog, which by analogy with a person can be called jealousy, disappointment, sadness, joy and love, are phenomena of a different order in many respects. Anyone who knows his dog well quickly notices how developed the world of feelings is in her - of course, in a certain sense. There is no doubt that such moods have the same basis as a person in similar situations, and their consequences are similar to human ones.

Jealousy and envy are common feelings in dogs. This was noticed by everyone who had to have several dogs at the same time, especially when it came to a not very sociable breed. But a dog can show similar feelings to a person. Both of my dachshund bitches showed daily vivid examples of envy and jealousy. Either they were jealous of each other, or their feelings were just as strongly directed at a person. If one of the members of our family somehow singled out one of the dogs, giving it any advantages, the other would certainly be offended (the younger dachshund reacted especially violently) and for a long time showed hostility towards the “guilty”. This was most clearly expressed by the dachshund daughter to me when I took only my mother on a long walk. Upon my return, she hardly greeted me at all, and showed real malice towards her mother - to the extent that she generally decided on malice towards a stronger individual. True, in relation to the mother, the daughter replaced “anger with mercy” for several minutes, but she did not show friendliness to me for hours: she did not respond to the call, almost did not wag her tail, and even refused her favorite dishes that I offered her. This mood of disappointment could continue until the next day. But then the dachshund suddenly seemed to forget about everything and again became friendly and cheerful, as if nothing had happened - the bad mood passed without casting a shadow on our relationship.

I have thought a lot about the role that feelings of disappointment, resentment, or jealousy can play in the lives of animals in the wild. One thing is probably indisputable: such moods are manifested in the wolf no less strongly than in the dog. It seems to me that, in principle, such states can arise during the period of maturation of puppies. One of the obvious explanations is as follows: an individual, which for some reason "disappoints" in another individual, becomes independent of it. Caught in the grip of "disillusionment", young wolves may leave the pack or be freed from dependence on their mother and be free to lead a life characteristic of an adult.

The dog is often sad. The disappearance of a friend - be it a human or another dog - from the animal's life circle triggers a search response. In this state, the dog at times begins to howl. Howl is a calling cry caused by a feeling of loneliness. But the hallmark of sadness is continued despondency. This condition can last for several days, a week, or even a longer period. A sad dog is inactive, it lies on its bed and hardly touches food. Information about how a dog perceives the death of a loved one is contradictory and indicates a significant individual diversity. Some animals are so "grieving" that their further maintenance becomes burdensome. Others are more likely to react to the depressed mood of the people around them than to the loss of a family member.

The reaction of one dog to the death of another is also ambiguous. Often death is preceded by illness, during which the sick dog seems to fall out of the life of a friend. Then the reaction is not violent. In addition, a sick dog sometimes causes a clearly negative attitude in a healthy dog. It seems that the specific smell from a dying dog repels fellow tribesmen; they go around the patient and do not sniff her, even if she comes very close to them. I have repeatedly observed a similar picture both in my own and in other people's dogs. If dogs begin to clearly ignore a sick friend, it means that her days are numbered.

Dead newborn puppies cause some concern in the mother. She can lick them, even squeal, but soon takes them away. The Doberman bitch who lived with me buried the dead puppy and then did not visit this place again and did not protect him. If a dog is deprived of all puppies at an early age, he will be very restless for several days, looking for them everywhere. In the natural environment, the loss of offspring occurs when the kids leave the den on their own. Some she-wolves do not react at all to the taking away of cubs, but there are those who become furious only because they have been touched.

Dogs are not usually characterized by a lasting feeling of love that persists outside the nature of the bitch's sexual arousal. But, having met a bitch in heat, the male often experiences a “love impulse” for several days; as the bitch's excitement wears off, the dog's feeling fades. Being in a love fever, the male shows an unusually strong desire to move. Every now and then he asks to go outside to get closer to the dwelling of his chosen one, loses his appetite. In this state, he is more than usual prone to aggressiveness. Anger sometimes takes out on a person. Some bitches show similar behavior in the heat of heat, but males are usually much more active.

Such manifestations of love feeling and sexual desire are observed, although in a slightly different form, in very many mammals; thanks to them, the likelihood of a meeting between a male and a female increases. Possibly due to the intense competition between males for the favor of a female, these feelings contribute to improved sexual selection.

Dogs whose relationships are not marked by sexual attraction may treat each other differently. We have already dwelled on the feeling of malice and manifestations of hegemony and submissiveness. But dogs can also be just good friends. Most of them have several friends: one is a hunting friend, the other is a playmate, some are simply welcomed, and some are avoided. Some dogs quickly acquire such acquaintances, varying in degree of expression of sympathy; for others, making friends is the result of a long and difficult adjustment. But most dogs have their enemies. Unfriendly relationships are marked by the seal of anger or fear. Most often, prolonged anger is caused by the fact that the angry dog, while she was a puppy, was not taught the correct treatment of other dogs. But sometimes this feeling is based on the character of the individual rather than upbringing.

In addition to the states associated with certain instincts and caused by their manifestation, the dog exhibits moods that are not directly related to instincts. An example is fear due to so-called "remorse". It is very reminiscent of real fear with its reaction of flight and expression of submissiveness. At the same time, the moods of a dog, which, by analogy with a person, may well be called jealousy, disappointment, sadness, joy and love, are in many respects phenomena of a different order. Anyone who knows his dog well quickly notices how developed the world of feelings is in her - of course, in a certain sense. There is no doubt that such moods have the same basis as a person in similar situations, and their consequences are similar to human ones.

Jealousy and envy are common feelings in dogs. This was noticed by everyone who had to have several dogs at the same time, especially when it came to a not very sociable breed. But a dog can show similar feelings to a person. It often happens that dogs living in the same family are jealous of each other, and such feelings also apply just as strongly to a person. If one of the family members somehow singles out one of the dogs, providing it with any advantages, the other may be offended and show hostility to the “guilty” for a long time. This mood of disappointment can continue until the next day. But then the dog often forgets about everything and again becomes friendly and cheerful, as if nothing had happened - the bad mood disappears without a trace.

The dog is often sad. The disappearance of a friend—whether a human or another dog—from the animal's life cycle triggers a search response. In this state, the dog at times begins to howl. Howl is a call to action caused by a feeling of loneliness. But the hallmark of sadness is continued despondency. This condition can last for several days, a week, or even a longer period. A sad dog is inactive, it lies on its bed and hardly touches food. Information about how a dog perceives the death of a loved one is contradictory and indicates a significant individual diversity. Some animals are so "grieving" that their further maintenance becomes burdensome. Others are more likely to react to the depressed mood of the people around them than to the loss of a family member.

The reaction of one dog to the death of another is also ambiguous. Often death is preceded by illness, during which the sick dog seems to fall out of the life of a friend. Then the reaction is not violent. In addition, a sick dog sometimes causes a clearly negative attitude in a healthy dog. It seems that the specific smell from a dying dog repels fellow tribesmen; they go around the patient and do not sniff her, even if she comes very close to them. If dogs begin to clearly ignore a sick friend, it means that her days are numbered.

Dead newborn puppies cause some concern in the mother. She can lick them, even squeal, but soon takes them away. If a dog is deprived of all puppies at an early age, he will be very restless for several days, looking for them everywhere. In the natural environment, the loss of offspring occurs when the kids leave the den on their own. Some she-wolves do not react at all to the taking away of cubs, but there are those who become furious only because they have been touched.

Dogs are not usually characterized by a lasting feeling of love that persists outside the nature of the bitch's sexual arousal. But, having become acquainted with a bitch in heat, the male often experiences a “love impulse” for several days; as the bitch's excitement wears off, the dog's feeling fades. Being in a love fever, the male shows an unusually strong desire to move. Every now and then he asks to go outside to get closer to the dwelling of his chosen one, loses his appetite. In this state, he is more than usual prone to aggressiveness. Anger sometimes takes out on a person. Some bitches show similar behavior in the heat of heat, but males are usually much more active.

Such manifestations of love feeling and sexual desire are observed, although in a slightly different form, in very many mammals; thanks to them, the probability of meeting a male and a female increases. Possibly due to the intense competition between males for the favor of a female, these feelings contribute to improved sexual selection.

Dogs whose relationships are not marked by sexual attraction may treat each other differently. In addition to feeling angry and showing hegemony and submissiveness, dogs can just be good friends. Most of them have several friends: one is a hunting friend, the other is a playmate, some are simply welcomed, and some are avoided. Some dogs quickly acquire such acquaintances, varying in degree of expression of sympathy; for others, making friends is the result of a long and difficult adjustment. But most dogs have their enemies. Unfriendly relationships are marked by the seal of anger or fear. Most often, prolonged anger is caused by the fact that the angry dog, while she was a puppy, was not taught the correct treatment of other dogs. But sometimes this feeling is based on the character of the individual rather than upbringing.

Observations of dog behavior can be used as a first warning sign that the health of their elderly owners is deteriorating.

Experts at Newcastle University in England are using motion sensors to determine the normal behavior of dogs when the animals are in or out of the house.

Shedding light on hitherto unknown aspects of the lives of man's best friends, the sensors show not only when a dog moves, but also when it barks, sits, digs and makes other dog-like movements.

By studying the normal behavior of a healthy and happy dog, Dr. Kas Lada, Dr. Nils Hammerla and student Emma Hughes were able to determine the norms against which the behavior of dogs was further evaluated. This made it possible to track the slightest changes in their behavior, which could indicate illness or fatigue.

Presenting their findings at the UbiComp conference in Zurich in 2013, a project led by Lada, the scientists said the next step would be to use dog behavior as an early signaling system that lets older people know ahead of time changes in their health.

"A lot of our research is focused on developing 'smart systems' that can help older people live longer independent lives," explains Lada, who works at the Newcastle University lab.

“But the development of a system that will alert the family and those who care for an elderly person is impossible without introducing it into the private life of a person. Right now we are only taking the first steps, but the idea behind our research is to help people without invading their privacy or using cameras.”

Behavior expert Niels Hammerla adds: “People and dogs have lived together for thousands of years, which has allowed them to achieve a strong emotional and social bond. The physical and emotional dependence of a dog on its owner means that it is able to recognize any change in the owner's behavior, especially when it is no longer regularly walked, fed regularly, or simply shows displeased behavior - all of which can be a signal to the family of an elderly person that that he needs help."

How the technology works

In England, approximately 30% of families have at least one dog, for a total of approximately 10.5 million animals in the country.

Today, the development of an animal welfare indicator is very relevant, because these days animals are more likely to stay at home alone for a long time. So a team of scientists created a high-tech, waterproof collar for dogs, equipped with an accelerometer, a device for tracking movement, with data on different breeds of dogs.

“In order to determine the limit of the norm, we needed to determine what movements are habitual for dogs, for this, at the beginning of the research, in addition to collars, we also used cameras,” explains Lada.

Analyzing two sets of data, the team identified 17 dog behaviors such as barking, chewing, drinking, lying down, shaking, sneezing, and so on. the team of scientists also looked at these movements in dogs of different breeds.

"It works with all dogs," explains Lada, "we found that the meaning of a dog's behavior doesn't change whether it's a bulldog or a chihuahua."

Hammerla adds: “This is the first system of its kind that allows us to monitor a dog's behavior without our direct presence. But it also gives us a great opportunity to use our four-legged friends as "health barometers". It is already well known that animals are good for human health, and this new technology means that dogs can also help their elderly owners live independent lives in a different way than they usually do.”

It happens that the tail wags the dog, but in most cases, however, the opposite is true. It was the moving back and forth of the dog's tail that the researchers of our four-legged friends turned their attention to understand the manifestation of emotions in dogs and the connection of these emotions with the cerebral hemispheres. The dogs were examined from nose to tail, and a curious picture emerged.

Every owner and just a dog lover knows how they let you know about their mood. If the ears are pressed to the head, the whole body is in tension and the tail is extended, this means "It is better not to mess with me." Your pet's ears stand upright, and he, without ceasing, curls at your feet and at the same time waves his tail so much that it looks like it will come off? Everyone should understand what it means "I'm so glad to see you!".

And recently, scientists have discovered one very interesting feature of dog behavior, which not only the best dog breeders (with their recommendations), but even expert cynologists did not know about.

After a series of experiments on 30 dogs of various breeds, it turned out that if the dog is generally positive, then he waves his tail more to the right. If he is upset or angry with something, then the movements are shifted to the left side of the sacrum (Current Biology).

If the dog sees the owner, then its tail waves to the right, which means that it is safe to approach. If she sees a dominant dog, then the movements shifted to the left signal “I might go” (photo by Marcello Siniscalchi / University of Trieste).

Many researchers are still arguing whether the emotional asymmetry of the brain can manifest itself in any of the animals except for humans, in which the left side of the brain began to evolve along with the development of speech.

Previous work by various scientists has shown that in most animals, including birds, fish and frogs, the left hemisphere of the brain is responsible for positive emotions and so-called energy enrichment. For example, in humans, the left hemisphere is associated with feelings such as love, affection, calmness and security, when they appear, the heart rate slows down, and the body experiences a feeling of peace and satisfaction.

The right hemisphere, on the contrary, is responsible for the behavior associated with the expenditure, output of energy. For people, this is: fear, depression, flight, physiologically expressed by a rapid heartbeat and a stop in the digestive system.

Since the right hemisphere controls the left side of the body, and the left hemisphere controls the right side, the asymmetry of body movements is opposite to the activity of the cerebral hemispheres.

Apparently, for this reason, many birds look for food using the right eye to a greater extent (the left hemisphere, saturation of the body), and the presence of predators around is controlled by the left.

The right side of the human face tends to express happiness, while the muscles of the left side show all sorrows and sorrows. For lefties, however, the opposite is true.

Top view - the video camera captures the angle of deviation (photo by The Center for Neuroscience / University of Trieste).

"But the dog's tail is in the midline of the body, neither on the left nor on the right half of it. Can it show emotional asymmetry?" asks Dr. Richard J. Davidson, director of the Emotional Neurophysiology Laboratory at the University of Wisconsin.

Italians Giorgio Vallortigara, a neurophysiologist from the University of Trieste (Università degli Studi di Trieste) and his fellow veterinarians from the University of Bari (Università degli Studi di Bari) Angelo Quaranta and Marcello Siniscalchi answered the question Davidson and showed that - can.

To do this, they placed pets in cages equipped with cameras that accurately recorded the angle of deviation of the tail from the midline of the body. They were then presented with 4 different stimuli: their owner, a stranger, a cat, and an unfamiliar "dominant" dog.

In each case, the dog observed the person or animal for one minute. Then the experimenters took a break for a minute and a half, and then the next picture followed. The experiments lasted 25 days, 10 sessions daily.

At the sight of the owners, the dogs strenuously waved their tails with a shift to the right side; at the sight of a stranger, the movements also shifted to the right, but were not so frequent. The sight of the cat evoked movements of the tail shifted to the right, but with a smaller amplitude. If an aggressive unfamiliar dog (large Belgian Shepherd) appeared nearby, the tails immediately reacted by moving to the left.

Thus, it can be assumed that the musculature of the right side of the tail is responsible for the expression of positive emotions, and the left - negative ones.

Australian neurophysiologist Lesley Rogers of the University of New England adds that brain asymmetry is seen not only in mammals, but also in many of the lower animals from which life evolved to higher forms.

For example, bees learn better when they use their right antennae, Leslie says, and male chameleons become aggressive by changing body color when they look at another chameleon with their left eye. The toad is more likely to try to hide from a predator if it appears from the left (right hemisphere - fear), while it prefers to throw out its tongue to the right when catching insects (left hemisphere - saturation).

Chickens use their left eye to search for food, and their right eye to look around and control dangerous situations. However, if chickens are raised in the dark, Rogers notes, they don't develop normal brain asymmetries.

Sheep are very good at recognizing faces, and to tell Dolly from Molly, they use the right hemisphere of the brain.

"Chimpanzees have the same emotional brain asymmetries as humans," says William D. Hopkins, a researcher at the Yerkes National Primate Center. According to him, when the monkeys are excited, they often seem to scratch the left side of their body, thereby giving out strong negative emotions. Moreover, left-handed chimpanzees are more shy than right-handed ones. Their dominant right brain makes them more circumspect.

Brain asymmetry seems to be an ancient characteristic, Rogers concludes. This asymmetry gives the organism a certain advantage for the survival of the species. After all, animals that can do two important things at the same time (for example, eat and watch for predators) survive easier than those that are absorbed in only one thing. In addition, in animals with two hemispheres of the brain, functions are not duplicated, and nerve tissues are used to the maximum benefit.

As you can see, the study, which at first glance claimed the maximum for the Ig Nobel Prize, revealed some secrets of the evolution of the animal world. And in this case, the dog's tail not only showed scientists what kind of dog mood it is, but also, perhaps, prompted new research, because no one has yet proven that dogs do not have their own language.