Dog myths broken!!!
Watch the tail!!!
Many of us have certain things that we have heard or read over the years about dogs and their bahavior and have determined that to be the truth. However, that isn’t always the case. Recently Tamar Geller, an animal behaviorist, gave some great information about common myths and the actual truth, if any, behind them.
The first myth identified by Geller states, “You must have a yard for your dog.” Geller says that this is a complete fallacy. Dogs are pack animals and their favorite place is to be is with their human companions. Most dogs only want to be outside in the yard if you are out there with them, otherwise dogs will spend a great deal of time barking at the back door to get back in the house with the family they love.
Another myth to which Geller refers is about the tail wagging of dogs. The myth being: “A wagging tail means a dog is friendly.” Wrong!!!! According to Geller, a dog’s tail can have three different positions. The first position is low between the dog’s legs. This infers that the dog is fearful and vulnerable and should be avoided as any approach to the dog could appear as threatening and the dog may react aggressively. Another position of the dog’s tail could be straight up in the air with short wags. Geller says, “if the tail is about 90 degrees high, with small wags — avoid the dog, as this is a dominant, threatening position.” The dog whose tail ” is in the middle wagging very loosely, with a “smile” on his face, that’s an inviting dog.” Those are the happy dogs who are waiting for you to pat their head or play with them!!! These are just a couple of dog myths. We’ll catch up on some more in a later entry!! Enjoy the weekend.
June 14th, 2010 at 12:04 am
I like your blog very much!