# Tail position in relation to happiness



## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Her tail looks relaxed + maybe she's a little tired. Her face looks happy though. 

The tail wag is a greeting or a message. It's not always indicative of happiness. I would only be concerned if her tail is tucked between her legs and she's exhibiting other signs of stress.


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## unaffected (Apr 13, 2011)

Megora said:


> Her tail looks relaxed + maybe she's a little tired. Her face looks happy though.
> 
> The tail wag is a greeting or a message. It's not always indicative of happiness. I would only be concerned if her tail is tucked between her legs and she's exhibiting other signs of stress.


Thank you for your reply! She did not show any signs of stress on the rail trail or in the woods. It was just a bit hard for me to tell if she was in fact having fun or not. I think you are spot-on with the comment about her maybe being tired. I'm trying to exercise her more than I had previously, so I think she is a bit more tired than normal.

And off topic, but I love the new pic in your siggy! So adorable!


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## Charliethree (Jul 18, 2010)

When her tail is straight down like that she is telling you she is not comfortable (confident) in that situation. The look on her face says she is a bit worried - the corners of her mouth pulled back and 'wrinkles' on her face, even her tongue held with just a little showing, indicate stress. More exposure and good experiences in those situations will help to build her confidence. As a rule of thumb, the lower the tail from natural position and tighter it is 'tucked' under the dog, the more 'uncomfortable' (unsure) the dog is.
It is great that you are aware that she is telling you something and that you are concerned enough to want to know what it is. Knowing what your dog looks like when she is happy and relaxed in a familiar environment can go a long ways to understanding how she is feeling when she is outside that familiar 'zone'.


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## unaffected (Apr 13, 2011)

Charliethree said:


> When her tail is straight down like that she is telling you she is not comfortable (confident) in that situation. The look on her face says she is a bit worried - the corners of her mouth pulled back and 'wrinkles' on her face, even her tongue held with just a little showing, indicate stress. More exposure and good experiences in those situations will help to build her confidence. As a rule of thumb, the lower the tail from natural position and tighter it is 'tucked' under the dog, the more 'uncomfortable' (unsure) the dog is.
> It is great that you are aware that she is telling you something and that you are concerned enough to want to know what it is. Knowing what your dog looks like when she is happy and relaxed in a familiar environment can go a long ways to understanding how she is feeling when she is outside that familiar 'zone'.


Thank you, Charliethree!

Perhaps I'm not quite as good at reading my dog as I like to think. I definitely do not think I'm an expert by any means. 

But I do think she is somewhat uncomfortable in the unfamiliar places. Because of this, should I continue on taking her? In hopes that she will feel at ease with time? Or will that be too much stress on her? 

Kelsey is my first dog, and I want to make sure I'm doing what I can to keep her happy and healthy.


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## GoldenCamper (Dec 21, 2009)

unaffected said:


> But I do think she is somewhat uncomfortable in the unfamiliar places. Because of this, should I continue on taking her? In hopes that she will feel at ease with time? Or will that be too much stress on her?


Get the girl out and about. By introducing new things to her you decrease any anxiety over time and they become a well rounded dog. Keep everything positive.


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## unaffected (Apr 13, 2011)

GoldenCamper said:


> Get the girl out and about. By introducing new things to her you decrease any anxiety over time and they become a well rounded dog. Keep everything positive.


Thank you GoldenCamper! I will continue on with my mission. I praise her a lot when we are out, especially after she is well behaved when meeting a child/dog/new person. She will not take/eat treats in public, and I suppose that is also another sign that she is out of her comfort zone. My goal is to successfully get her to eat a treat on a walk.

Thank you again for your thoughts!


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## unaffected (Apr 13, 2011)

I just wanted to give a quick update.

I took Kelsey for a hike yesterday evening. During the hike, her tail was down (as in the above picture). But I saw a lake, and we hiked to it. Kelsey had been swimming once, and loved it. So I thought we could try again.

Well, she loved it! As soon as I threw a stick in the water for her to get, her tail was up and wagging and stayed that way the whole time she was swimming. I wish I would have brought my camera, but I will next time. She had so much fun! She eyed up some ducks that swam by, and even jumped in like she was going to swim after them, but changed her mind and went after a stick instead. After about 30 minutes of swimming, we headed back on the trail. And her tail instantly went back down.

I will keep on trying, though!


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## Charliethree (Jul 18, 2010)

unaffected said:


> Thank you GoldenCamper! I will continue on with my mission. I praise her a lot when we are out, especially after she is well behaved when meeting a child/dog/new person. She will not take/eat treats in public, and I suppose that is also another sign that she is out of her comfort zone. My goal is to successfully get her to eat a treat on a walk.
> 
> Thank you again for your thoughts!


Refusing treats or taking them 'hard' is a good indication of 'stress levels' as well. Keep 'gently' exposing her to things she finds uncomfortable, and use a super 'high value' treat on walks, ones that you use only at that time. My shy guy will work for kibble at home, but out in the real world, he needs a little more 'motivation' to help distract him from what worries him and build that positive association- so I use -cheese, roast beef etc - stuff he loves but rarely gets. He still finds our walks a bit 'stressful', but when we get home (back to his 'safe zone'- he gets the 'zoomies'), we play 'tag' or ball, which helps him to release the stress and ends the walk on a high note.


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## baumgartml16 (Jun 19, 2011)

I am so glad you posted this. I never paid good enough attention to her tail and didn't really know what things meant. Overall she is pretty good and her tail is usually up high on walks but there are times she will refuse treats and I just figured she didn't want them or soemthign else was more interesting but to know it was stress makes a big difference.


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## unaffected (Apr 13, 2011)

Charliethree said:


> Refusing treats or taking them 'hard' is a good indication of 'stress levels' as well. Keep 'gently' exposing her to things she finds uncomfortable, and use a super 'high value' treat on walks, ones that you use only at that time. My shy guy will work for kibble at home, but out in the real world, he needs a little more 'motivation' to help distract him from what worries him and build that positive association- so I use -cheese, roast beef etc - stuff he loves but rarely gets. He still finds our walks a bit 'stressful', but when we get home (back to his 'safe zone'- he gets the 'zoomies'), we play 'tag' or ball, which helps him to release the stress and ends the walk on a high note.


Thank you for this info! I need to figure out a good high-value treat for Kelsey. She sometimes gets cheese at home, so I'm not sure that would work. I might try some liverwurst (as I've seen others mention it on this forum as a high-value treat).

And I will also try the ball playing when we get home from a walk as well. I just want her to associate walks with something good, and it's hard right now since she won't take a treat. But I have been praising her more when we are walking, so hopefully that helps a little.


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