There’s nothing better than the sight of your dog wagging their tail after coming home after a long day. You can’t help but smile when you are greeted with such happiness and excitement, right?
Dogs are visual communicators when it comes to broad cues, and tail wagging is one of the ways they can “speak” to others. Their vision is movement oriented, so the tail can play a big role in how they communicate with other pets and their owners. Some dog tails have even adapted over time to be fluffier or feature brighter colors to enhance tail wagging communication.
Learning to brush up on dog tail facts will help you better understand your dog’s body language and ultimately help you communicate better with your canine companion. Let’s cover everything you need to know about your pup’s tail.
Dog Tail Anatomy: Understanding the Basics
Besides conveying happiness or other visual cues, dogs use their tails for balancing purposes and other athletic movements. The tail is essentially a continuation of the spine, with many of the same features.
What is a Dog’s Tail Made Of?
Dog tails are made of vertebrae, muscles, cartilage, and nerves. There are anywhere between 6 and 23 caudal vertebrae in a dog’s tail, with an average number of 20 vertebrae.
A dog’s tail also consists of muscles that attach to the vertebrae that help to control the conscious movement of the tail. It is also innervated by nerves to help control the movement of the tail, ranging from 4 to 7 paired nerves.
Do Dogs Have Bones in Their Tails?
Yes, dogs do have bones in their tails. The vertebrae mentioned above is what we refer to as the bones in a dog’s tail. The tail has between 6 and 23 vertebrae composing it, but each dog breed can have many different variations.
Between the vertebral bodies is cartilage, a flexible connective tissue, which helps cushion moving surfaces of joints, such as between the tail bones. This helps with the fluid movement when a dog wags their tail or curls it between their legs when they are scared.
Why Do Dogs Wag Their Tails?
Dogs generally wag their tails to communicate with other dogs on how they’re feeling as they approach one another. The wag of a dog’s tail may signal that they are:
- Happy
- Aggressive or agitated
- Curious
- Submissive or scared
You can tell when a dog is happy or excited to see you! It’s all in the tail. A study has shown that a very subtle and slight wag to the left means negative emotions, but a tail wag to the right was associated with positive emotions [1]. Dogs can decipher this, even if humans can’t! Generally, a dog is also considered relaxed and happy if they approach you with a relaxed, wagging tail that moves loosely from side to side.
Aggression can be represented by dogs raising their tails to an upward or a curved position.