The Durham daily globe. (Durham, N.C.) 1889-1894, 1892-12-02
THE TAIL OF THE DOG
HOW A CANINE EXPRESSES PLEAS
URE Or HUMILIATION.

Dogs Seem TO Wag Their Tails When
There are many reasons for the tail
being the chief organ of expression
among dogs. They have but little facial
expression beyond the lifting of the lip
to show the teeth and the dilation of the
pupil Of the eye when angry. The jaws
ana the contiguous parts are too much
specialized for the serious business of
seizins prey TO be fitted for such pur-
poses as they are III man. With dogs
winch hunt by scent the head is neces-
sarily carried low, and is therefore not
plainly visible except to those close bv.
But III the case Of all hunting dogs, such
IS foXhounds or wolves which pack to-
Eether, the tail is carried alOft and is
very free Ill movement. 1t is also fire.
quently rendered more conspicuous by
the tip being white, and this is almost
invariably the case when the hounds are
Il mixed color.
When ranging the long grass of the
prairie or jungle, the raised tips of the
tails would often be all that all individ-
val member Of the band would see Of his
fellows. There is no doubt that hounds
habItually watch the tails of those in
front Of them when drawing a covert.
If a faint drag is detected suggestive of
HE presence Of a fox, but scarcely suff-
Client 10 be sworn to vOcally, the tail Of
The finder is at once set in motion, and
the warmer the scent the quicker does it
wag. Others seeing the signal instantly
join the first, and there is an assemblage
Of waving tails before ever the least
whinper is heard.
Should the drag prove a doubtful one
the hOnnds separate again and the wav-
ing ceases; but if it grows stronger When
followed up the Wagging becomes more
and more emphatic until one after an
other the hounds begin to whine and
give tongue, and stream off in Indian
file along the lie Of scent.
Inc whole question of tail w~agging is
Il very interesting one. All dogs wag
tli"ir tails when pleased, and the move
meat Is generally understood by their
human associates "a an intimatiOn that
Gory are happy. Bat when we attempt
- discover the reasOn why pleasure
should be expressed III this way the ex-
PLANTATION appears at first a very difficult
one. All physical attributes of living
beings are, upon the evolutionary
hypothesis. traceable to some actual
need. or present. The old and de-
lighlfuIiy conclusive dictum that things
are as they are be~causOshey were made
50 at the beginning no longer can be
put forward seriously outside the pulpit
OF the nursery.
No doubt Ill many caseS-aS, for in
stance the origin of human laughter-the
mystery seems unfathOmable. But this
OILY results from our defective knowl-
edge Of data upon which to build the
bridge Of deductive argument. The rea-
SON is there all the time could we but
reach it, and almost daily we are able
to account for mysterious and apparent
T. anomalous phenomena which utterly
baflled our predecessors. Probably the
manner in which domestic dogs express
pleasure il owing to some interlocking
of the machinery of cOgnate ideas. II
order to understand this better it may
he helpful to consider some analogous
instances with regard TO habits of our
own species.
There q be no question that the
chief delight of wild dogs, as with mod
crn hounds and sporting dogs, is in the
chase and its accompanying excitement
and consequences. One of the most
thrilling moments to the human hunter
(and GOubtless to the c%anine), and one
big with that most poignant Of all de-
lights, anticipation Of pleasur&Dle ex-
citcment combined with muscular activ-
ity, is when the presence Of game is first
detected. As we have seen in watching
the behavior III a pack of foxhounds,
this is invariably the time when tails
are wagged for the common good. The
wagering is an almost invariable accom-
uauimtnto of this form Of pleasure, which
i one OF the chiefest among the agree
able emotions when In the wild state.
Owing 10 some incubation Of the
nervous mechanism. which at present
we cannot unraYcl. the association Ct
pleasure and wagging has become so i'll
scnarable that the movement of the tail
follows the emotion whatever may cal
it forth.
An exclamation Of Il similar kind ear
be found for the fact that dogs depre>s
their tails when threatened or scolded.
When running away the tail would be
the part nearest the pursuer. and there
fore most likely to be seized. 1t wa,
therefore securely tucked away betweel
the hind legs. The act of running away
is naturally closely associated with the
! emotion of fear. and therefore this ges
ture Of putting the tail between the leg
become an invariablc c~oncOlnltant of re
: treat or submission in the presence ot
superior force. When a puppy taker
, out for an airiug curves its tail down
I ward and sCuds in circles and half cir
cles at fullest speed around its master
il is apparently trying to provoke 1t
, p>tudo-cynic playfellow to pursue II II
mock combat. II may be observed tina
6 MS running in sharp curves, with FIRE
,ucut change Of direction, Is a common
ru,e with animals which are pursued /.
larLer enemies. The reason Of ii Is tha
= IN, centrifugal impulse acts more pCw