NEW YORK (October 31, 2013) The same Italian researchers who discovered a subtle difference in how dogs wag their tails a few years ago have new findings.
They first discovered that when a dog sees something positive, such as its owner, it tends to wags its tail more to its right while the wags tend to go left when it sees something negative, such as an unfamiliar dominant dog.
Now, the researchers report that other dogs pick up on that difference, and it's reflected in their behavior and even their heart rates.
Experts say this tail-wagging difference appears to be one way that dogs gauge how other dogs will respond to them.
The study was reported Thursday in the journal Current Biology.