Any dog lover will be familiar with those special moments when their pet comes up to them and enthusiastically wags its tail in greeting. If we have noticed a preference for the way the tail wags, we may be right.
Owners may miss the movement and the direction in which the dog's tail is wagging, but it can be an interesting indicator to get to know our pet better.
The right indicates happiness
A study has found that they tend to go to the right when a dog is settled and with someone familiar. Researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing observed dogs meeting a stranger over the course of three days. They found that as the dogs got to know the person, they began to wag their tails more frequently to the right and less frequently to the left.
Lead researcher Dr. Yong Q Zhang suggests that movement on the right side is linked to the left side of the brain, where positive emotions are processed. This suggests that it is a sign that the dog is feeling happy or comfortable, while the opposite could mean that the dog is feeling scared or nervous. The change to wagging the tail to the right side suggests that dogs perceive the stranger in a more positive way taken the step
The study, published in the journal iScience, used a 3D motion tracking system to study how ten beagles wagged their tails when they were with humans during a five-minute session a day for three days. In all, they analyzed 21.000 segments of movement, including the speed and distance their tails moved.
They also found that each pet had a distinct pattern of movement, similar to the way each of us has a unique way of walking.
The lead researcher said: "positive and negative emotional states have been associated with activation of the left and right sides of the prefrontal cortex in humans. We speculate that tail wagging to the left might be accompanied by right brain activation, while tail wagging to the right side might be accompanied by left brain activation in the prefrontal cortex.«.
A study of 18,000 dogs published last year also found that dogs tend to be right-handed. The research, conducted by the University of Lincoln, found that nearly 75 percent of dogs showed a preference for paws when foraging. Of these, just under 60 percent preferred to make use of their right.
Having a preferred limb, known as lateralization, is thought to be beneficial because it makes animals more efficient at tasks.