dog tails

While the world watched with baited breath as Great Britain’s Prince William said his vows to long-time love Catherine Middleton today, we here at DogWatch Hidden Fences find we’re a bit more intrigued by the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel than all the Royal Wedding hoopla. While today will certainly go down in royal history, we’d like to bring the focus to some dog breeds that have made royal history of their own! Introducing . . . the Royal Dogs!

The Saluki: Perhaps the oldest pure dog breed still in existence, the sleek and elegant Saluki has been discovered in carvings in Sumerian tombs dating as far back as 7000 B.C., and Egyptian tombs dating back to 2100 B.C. Thought to be named after the ancient town of Suluk, Libya, the Saluki was considered the royal dog of Egypt. So beloved by the Egyptian royals, they were frequently mummified along with their owners, and several depictions exist of King Tutankhamen with his favorite Salukis. The Saluki is thought to have been brought to Europe during the Crusades in the 12^th Century, and arrived in England in the mid-1800s, and America in the early 1900s.

The Lhasa Apso: One of the most ancient dog breeds, the lion-like, black-lipped Lhasa Apso is thought to have existed as far back as 800 B.C. Lhasas originated in the sacred city of Lhasa in the Himalayan Mountains of Tibet, and were bred by holy men called Lamas. Referred to in Tibet as “Apso Seng Kyi,” or “Bearded Lion Dog,” the Lhasa was primarily used as a watchdog in temples and monasteries, as well as in religious ceremonies. It was believed that the souls of deceased Lamas could enter the bodies of Lhasa Apsos, where they remained as they awaited reincarnation. A highly-prized dog, Lhasas could neither be bought nor sold; they could only be given as a gift. Lhasa Apsos made their way to Great Britain and the United States in the early 1900s.

The Pekingese: The royal dog of China, these little dogs with a lion’s mane took their name from the ancient city of Peking (now Beijing) over 2,000 years ago. In ancient China, Pekingese were considered sacred and believed to drive away evil spirits. Bred and guarded in the Imperial Palace, so prized were these little “lion dogs” that only royalty was permitted to own them, and the theft of a Pekingese was punishable by death! In 1860, the British overtook the Imperial Palace of China; during the seizure, five Pekingese were captured and brought back to Great Britain. They were given to British royalty, including Queen Victoria, as spoils of war, and were then interbred, thus beginning the British line of Pekingese. In the early 1900s, the Chinese Dowager Empress Cixi began gifting the dogs to influential Americans, beginning the line of the modern American Pekingese.

The Pug: An old breed of Chinese descent, dating as far back as 400 B.C., the snub-nosed, smush-faced Pug is believed to be a relative of the Pekingese. Imported to Holland by the Dutch East India Company in the 16^th century, the Pug rose to Dutch popularity under William, Prince of Orange, after one saved his life in 1572 by sounding the alarm that the Spanish were approaching, thus allowing him time to successfully flee their assassination attempt. So the intrepid little Pug became the official dog of the House of Orange, and one hundred years later, when William II ascended the throne in England, he brought his beloved Pugs with him, establishing their following in Great Britain. This following grew to include the likes of the ill-fated Queen Marie-Antoinette, as well as another less-than-fortunate Parisian, the Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte.

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In case you couldn’t already tell—we’re interested in Dog tails and tales. We’re curious about the tails which Anna Swir so perfectly describes in her poem, “Happy as a Dog’s Tail.” And of course, we’re also intrigued by dog tales; classic and popular fiction and non-fiction dog stories, and the priceless ones our DogWatch Dealers and clients share with us.

What do dogs communicate with their tails?

As Dr. Stanley Coren author of How to Speak Dog writes , “In some ways, tail-wagging serves the same functions as our human smile, polite greeting, or nod of recognition…For dogs, the tail wag seems to have the same properties. A dog will wag its tail for a person or another dog. It may wag its tail for a cat, horse, mouse, or perhaps even a butterfly. But when the dog is by itself, it will not wag its tail to any lifeless thing. If you put a bowl of food down, the dog will wag its tail to express its gratitude to you. In contrast, when the dog walks into a room and finds its bowl full, it will approach and eat the food just as happily, but with no tail-wagging other than perhaps a slight excitement tremor.”

Dr. Coren suggests says this is an indication that tail-wagging is meant as communication or language and that the dog’s tail “speaks volumes about his mental state, his social position, and his intentions.” It’s interesting to note that puppies don’t wag their tails when they’re very young.

Dr. Coren says there are differences among the various breeds and that on the average, “By thirty days of age, about half of all puppies are tail wagging, and the behavior is usually fully established by around forty nine days of age…Pups learn to connect their own signals and the signals provided by their mother and their siblings with the behaviors that come next. They also begin to learn that they can use signals to indicate their intentions and to circumvent any conflicts. This is where and when the tail-wagging behavior begins.”

It’s believed that young puppies don’t wag their tails because they need to send appeasement signals to other dogs but when communication between dogs is needed, they rapidly learn the appropriate tail signals. Tail language uses three different channels of information: position, shape, and movement.

Virginia Wells explains position and movement further; “By looking at the position and movement of the tail, you can often tell what dogs are thinking. When a dog wags his tail high and wags it back and forth, he’s usually feeling pretty good. When he is interested in something, his tail is usually horizontal to the ground. A tucked tail indicates the dog is frightened or submissive. When the tail goes from horizontal to upright and becomes rigid, he is feeling threatened or challenged. A tail that is low and wagging indicates the dog is worried or insecure.”

The tail also has another vital role in communicating. Virginia Wells writes, “Every time your dog moves his tail, it acts like a fan and spreads his natural scent around him…A dominant dog that carries his tail high will release much more scent than a dog that holds his tail lower. A frightened dog holds his tail between his legs to keep others from sniffing him, and in that way does not draw attention to himself.”

Take a look at your dog’s tail in different situations: when they greet you after you’ve returned home, as another dog approaches when you’re out walking, during a thunder storm.

What have you noticed about your dog’s tail? What tales could you tell us here?