Elmore bulletin. [volume] (Rocky Bar, Idaho) 1889-1906, 1893-03-04
THE TAIL OF THE DOG
HOW A CANINE EXPRESSES PLEAS.
uRE on HUMILIATION.

me I'm portant Fnrt InAt the TAN OF q
Hunting Dog Plays In the chas.-Au
Dogs Seem to waG Their Tails when
PIeased-why Dogs wag Their Tails.
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 |
and the contiguous parts are too much |
specialized for the serious business of |
seizing prey 10 be fitted for such pur-
poses as they are in man. With dogs
which hunt by scent the head is neces-
sarily carried low. and is therefore not
plainly visible except TO those close by.
But in The case of all hunting dogs, such
as foxhounds or wolves which pack to-
gether. the tail Is carried aloft and Is
very free in movement. II is also fire.
quently rendered more conspicuous by
the tip being white, and this is almost
invariably the case when the hounds are
of mixed color.
When ranging the long grass Of the
prairie or jungle, the raised tips of the
tails would often be all that an individ-
ual 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
the presence Of fox, but scarcely suffi-
cient to be sworn to vocally. the tail OF
ha EV1 - M - in, .x..l
the warmer the scent the quicker does it
wag. Others seeing the signal Instant
| join the first. and there is an assemblage
| Of waving tails before ever the least
| whimper is heard.
Should the drag prove a doubtful one
the hounds separate again and the way.
ing ceases; but if it grows stronger whei
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 line of scent.
The whole question Of tail wagging is
very interesting one. All dogs wag
their tails when pleased, and the move
ment is generally understood by their
human associates "a an intimation that
they are happy. But when we attempt
to discover the reason why pleasure
should be expressed in this way the ex.
PLANTATION appears at first very difficult
one. All physical attributes of living
beings are, upon the evolutionary
hypothesis. traceable TO some actual
need, past or present. The old and de
Ightfully conclusive dictum that things
/ n
so at the beginning no longer can be
put forward seriously outside the pulpit
or the nursery.
No doubt in many cases-as. for in
stance the origin of human laughter-the
mystery seems unfathOmable. But this
only 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.
~ anomalous phenomena which utterly
baffied our predecessors. Probably the
manner in which domestic dogs express
pleasure is owing to some interlocking
, OF the machinery Of cognate ideas. In
order TO understand this better ii may
be helpful 10 consider some analogou.
! instances with regard TO habits OF oul
own species.
There can be no question that the
: chief delight of wild dogs. rs with mod
: ern hounds and sporting dogs, is in tht
chase and its accompanying excitement
and consequences. One of the mos
! thrilling moments TO the human hunter
5 land doubtless TO the canine), and on,
e big with that most poignant of all de
G lights, anticipation Of pleasurable ex
citement combined with muscular actiy
4 ity, is when the presence of game is frs
!, detected. AZ we have seen in watchin,
: the behavior in pack Of foxhounds
] this is invariably the time when tail
: are wagged for the common good. TIL
: wagging Is an almost inyariable accom-
] paniment of this form Of pleasure, which
is one of the chiefest among the agree
( able emotions when in the wild state
Owing to some incubation of tn
nervous mechanism which Mt presen
we cannot unravel. the association 0
: pleasure and wagging has become so in
separable that the movement of the sai
: follows the emotion whatever may cal
1t forth.
J An explanation Of similar kind ca
be found for the fact that dogs depres
their tails when threatened or scolded
When running away the tail would b
the part nearest the pursuer, and there
fore most likely to be seized Il wa
Z therefore securely tucked away between
: the hind legs. The act of running ava
: is naturally closely associated with tn
: emotion of fear, and therefore this ges
:, ture of putting the tail between the leg
becomes an invariable concomitant of n
treat or submission in the presence O
superior force. When a puppy take
: out for an airing curves its tail down
= ward and scnds in circles and half Gil
, Giles at fullest speed around its master
q 1t is apparently trying to provoke ii
= pseudo-cynic playfellow TO pursue it i
a mock combat 1t may be observed tina
this running in sharp curves. with fir,
quent change Of direction. is a commo
. ruse with animals which are pursued b
!, larger enemies. The reason Of it is tina
the centrifugal impulse acts more pow
erfuily on the animal Of larger bull
;, and so gives the smaller an advantage
= DIR. Louia Robinson in Contemporary
Review.
IA A had Blunder.
% Magazine Office Boy-Oh, there's bee
r an awful time up in the editorial roor