Some informative comments

I just received some really great comments from Willie and Frankie's breeder on this article:
Is Spot Happy? Just Look At His Tail

Thought I'd post her comments below.

By the way, you know I can find anything on the web. so here's the link to the actual study paper. Ha!
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As someone who has worked with dog training, dog and pack behavior as well as spending a lot of time rehabilitating abused dogs the majority of my entire life, and professionally as a young adult up until now, (I'm 42, started at my grandfather's AKC CH Beagel Kennel when I was 8) that's 36 years of multiple breed training, redcue and rehabilitation, competition, and breeding Labrador Retrievers...always learning new thing along the way.

In addition to certifications acheieved, etc...now in my older years, I am still a very small-time breeder, having cut down on my kennel size, and I am ANAL when it comes to morals, ethics, education, and plain old common sense when it comes to any aspect of the canine species' world.

In all those years, I've had the opportuntiy to observe all kinds of breeds in training clases, and I have a house full of a Labrador Retriever Pack who teach me Mountains Of Information through observation.

In all the PROVEN studies, by people who are much more educated than I am, I've NEVER come across ANY study that can verify what this tail-wag study is saying, or what the point of it is, really. I'd be delighted to read this study in its entirety. If anyone can provide it, I'd love to see it!

Bottom line though really, and there's no getting away from this... dogs wag their tails BACK & FORTH, not just to one side or another. So this premise makes NO sense to me! Further, I've seen more dogs than I can count who wag their tails in CIRCLES...I wonder what these people figure THAT means! Betting that they didn't even TRY to figure that one out.

Seriously though, as I'm always interested in new and VALID studies, I'd like to read this one. It must be relatively new, since nobody I know or have heard of or respect has anything to do with is, which leads again to the question...is it VALID? At first (expereinced) blus, I judt don't believe so.

No offense Willa as you know...and give Franklie and Willie their Grandma's love!

LD

At 8:11 PM, LD IN NJ said...

BTW...did you know that dogs by and large, like humans with a dominant writing hand, have a dominant PAW. Somehow, I can't help but wonder if one is connected to the other.

I just did some experiments with my own pack, and guess what? Their tails seemed to go further to their dominant side than the other regardless of the stimluli.

SO, I still say it doesn't make a bit of difference in reading a dog as best you can...and I should know since the majority of readings I've undertaken were with aggressive dogs...beaten into feral state or beaten into a corner where they refuse to come out and are by and large fear-biters.

Their tails tell me ZERO!

LD IN NJ

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