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Dog Tail Signs: What That Wagging Means
You can understand a lot about your canine companion from his dog tail signs. That wagging or thumping on the carpet? You know your pup is feeling great. That feeling of dread when you walk through the front door and that same tail is tucked low? That tail tells you something has been destroyed by a bored pup while you were away. Whether you consider yourself fluent in wag or you're still learning how to decode dog tail language, read on to learn more about how your pet communicates.
Spotting the Signs: A Guide to Dog Tail Language
A dog's tail originally evolved to help him stay balanced, like a tightrope walker's pole. It serves as a counterweight to the front part of his body when he's making a high-speed turn while hunting and helps keep him from falling off narrow walkways.
Now that a dog hunt generally involves finding the last piece of kibble that fell behind the bowl, that wagging tail is largely thought of as a communication device. Here are five key things the placement of a dog's tail can tell you, according to the Center for Shelter Dogs at Tufts University Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine.
- Circular swish: A dog whose tail is swishing back and forth or in a circular motion is one happy and relaxed pup.
- Lowered or tucked tail: A dog who is frightened or feeling submissive will often lower or tuck his tail between his hind legs.
- Tail wagging stiffly: A dog who is excited may wag his tail stiffly while jumping, spinning or sticking his rump in the air. His excitement may be from a positive source like an upcoming walk or a negative source like an intimidating stranger.
- Tail held horizontally: A tail held straight out indicates a dog who is attentive and alert or perhaps curious about something nearby. Traditional hunting dog breeds like pointers or setters also hold their tails out straight when they point at an animal or object.
- Sudden tail raise: When a dog moves his tail from a down position to a vertical or raised position, it could indicate he is feeling aggressive.
Reading Wag Speed
The speed of a dog's wagging tail might also give you an indication of his mood, Psychology Today reports.
- Quick wag: A short wag usually happens during greetings when a dog is feeling tentative.
- Big, broad wag: This indicates a friendly dog who is not threatening anyone.
- Slow, reluctant wag: This might indicate a dog who is feeling anxious. Other signs of anxiety include avoiding eye contact, refusing food or ignoring what's happening around him.
- Tiny, high-speed wag: A tail that moves in short, vibrating bursts can be a sign a dog is about to run or fight. Be careful!
Dog Tail Language Barriers
Some dogs wag with long, expressive tails, but what about dogs with small, stumpy tails or no tails at all? A truncated tail may make it more difficult for dogs to communicate with their pet parents and with other dogs, writes Psychology Today. An observational study of more than 400 dogs greeting each other off-leash in a dog park showed a higher number of aggressive incidents involving dogs with short tails. This doesn't mean that your corgi will inherently pick more fights than your shepherd mix, but it could be something to watch out for. Overall, the study found that only 12 percent of dog park incidents resulted in any kind of aggression. That's a sign that dog communication has a pretty high success rate.
The tale of the tail? Dog tail signs help pups communicate not only with us, but also with other dogs. Knowing the meaning of how a dog is using his tail can go a long way to showing you how your pet is feeling.
Contributor Bio
Kara Murphy
Kara Murphy is a freelance writer and pet parent who lives in Erie, Pa. She has a goldendoodle named Maddie.
How to Prepare Green Tripe for Your Dog
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Our dogs love green tripe! I'm not a fan of the smell, but it doesn't bother me. I've always believed the benefits outweigh the smell, so we have a freezer full of this super protein, and I feed it to our dogs a couple of days a week (when I can remember to thaw it out).
Benefits of Green Tripe for Dogs
I began feeding green tripe (not bleached tripe*) because the word on these raw feeding streets is that it's great for their digestive system, it's packed full of all the right Omegas, and it offers the perfect ratio of calcium to phosphorous (but not enough to replace bone). But over the years, I've learned a few new things about green tripe, and I no longer feed tripe to my dogs solely to support gut health. In fact, gut health is at the bottom of the list of reasons I feed my pups green tripe.
*Bleached Tripe Tripe that has been processed through a chlorine solution to eliminate impurities is referred to as dressed tripe. This results in a pale, nearly white appearance. The majority of tripe that is available in grocery stores has been through the bleaching process.
Green tripe is a great source of fatty acids, which
- promotes skin and coat health (including helping the body deal with skin allergies)
- promotes the body's natural anti-inflammatory response to help ease canine arthritis pain
- helps dogs with inflammatory bowel disease
- helps dogs with chronic yeast infections
- improves eye health
- slows the development of certain cancers
Because green tripe is rich for my dogs, feeding too much gives them diarrhea, but feeding the right amount cures constipation. The problem is that I won't thaw a one-pound chub only to feed a little for constipation. So I occasionally mix green tripe into a meal prep so the dogs get a small amount regularly.
Green tripe is fantastic for picky dogs
My dogs have never been picky for long, but I have noticed that as Rodrigo gets older, he's become more particular about what he eats. Adding a little green tripe to the bowl is a way to make sure he eats his meal.
Why I Feed Green Tripe to My Dogs
- Our dogs LOVE GREEN TRIPE.
- Green tripe is a great source of the nutrient Choline. Choline supports a healthy nervous system, and an inadequate amount of choline in the diet may result in increased fat around the liver which can be damaging.
- Green tripe helps stretch raw meals out (I mix it in with other proteins).
- I get a giggle when J walks downstairs and enters a tripe-y smelling kitchen. The look on his face gives me joy.
Does Green Tripe Support Gut Health in Dogs?
My thoughts on green tripe and gut health may surprise you, especially if you check out some of my older posts on the topic. I was told to feed Rodrigo green tripe for years because of his gut issues. Rodrigo has a history of loose stool and diarrhea, and there was a time I was concerned that he had EPI (Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency). I've tried multiple supplements over the years, and today, he gets a steady diet of fermented foods and a digestive supplement to support his gut health, and it's working.
Feeding Rodrigo green tripe did nothing but make him happy. It didn't improve his gut health at all. So while I think that green tripe does contribute to a healthier microbiome, I don't think that green tripe alone can heal a dog's unhealthy gut.
How to Prepare Green Tripe for Your Dog
If you're lucky enough to find a source for fresh green tripe (from a local farm, butcher, or meat supplier), then I'd love to know how you process it. If you're reading this and wondering what the heck I'm talking about, check out this video that shows us how to prepare green tripe safely:
If you're interested in going this route, you can contact a farmer, butcher, or meat supplier and ask them for the tripe. If they're unsure of what you mean, ask for the cow's stomach. It's important to know that in certain areas, you're unable to buy unbleached green tripe if a cut of meat isn't meant for human consumption, businesses may be unable to sell the meat to the public.
Sources of Frozen Green Tripe for Dogs
I am not yet brave enough to order fresh tripe from a local farm, but I know that I will someday because you can get grass-fed green tripe for free or very cheap because many people throw it out, not
Three Ways to Add Green Tripe to Your Dog's Diet
Method 1: I order fresh green tripe through our local raw food co-op. It arrives frozen, and preparation is super easy. I open a chub of green tripe with a knife and parcel it into each dog's dish. I use a scale to weigh out each dog's meal. And I serve.
Method 2: I add freeze-dried green tripe as a meal topper (sprinkle it on their food). It's great when one of the dogs is having a picky day. I also give it to the dogs as a treat. Brands that offer freeze-dried green tripe are:
Even my cat enjoys freeze-dried green tripe. He's nuts for it.
Method 3: I mix green tripe into our dogs' regular meals, which allows me to feed green tripe more often. And it's ideal for Rodrigo and Scout. They get soft stool after a full meal of green tripe. What I love about this method is that it stretches out the raw I mix together for our dogs, extending the amount of food from 3 days to 5 days.
Can Dogs with a Beef Sensitivity Eat Tripe?
If you pose this question in a raw feeding group, you'll receive mixed answers because every dog is different. One person told me that a beef sensitivity includes tripe, and I was told by someone else that dogs react differently to green tripe than when they eat other muscle meat. If you want to try it out, go easy at first to see if your dog has a reaction.
I thought Rodrigo had a beef sensitivity for years, but it turns out he does fine on grass-fed beef.
Is Green Tripe a Nutritionally Complete Diet?
Nope. Feeding a diet of green tripe alone will not meet all of my dogs' nutritional needs, as it slightly misses the mark on several vitamins and minerals. If I were to feed only or mainly green tripe, I would need to supplement for Vitamin A and D by also feeding salmon, sardines, liver, and eggs.
Does Green Tripe Cause Diarrhea?
Green tripe can be rich for some dogs. In my experience, my boys could only have a 1/4 cup of green tripe, while my girls could enjoy a full meal. Every dog is unique, and if green tripe doesn't work for a dog, then I would leave tripe off the menu.
If your dog has a beef sensitivity, you can still feed green tripe check out the following offered by Raw Paws Pet Food:
How to Feed Green Tripe WITHOUT the Diarrhea
With my dogs, I've found that I can feed more green tripe in a meal and even feed a full meal on occasion by doing the following:
Olewo Carrots
Olewo Carrots is a fresh food supplement that adds fiber, beta-carotene, and other nutrients to the diet to help prevent diarrhea and loose stool, soothe itchy skin, boost vision health, and boost digestive health. The carrots are sourced from an area in Germany where the soil is very nutrient-rich and dehydrated as soon as they're harvested to decrease the loss of nutrients.
I hydrate a couple of spoonfuls of the carrot pellets with hot water and oil (per the instructions) and mix it into each dog's green tripe. I've found this works for any food that is rich and causes diarrhea.
Try a Different Protein or Brand
As I shared above, you can feed green tripe from venison, bison, lamb, or goat. Try other proteins or a green tripe blend to see if your dog has the same issues.
beef tripe chubslamb tripegoat tripe
You can also try a different brand. Sourcing and processing have impacted how my dogs respond to a protein or a raw food blend.
Choose Green Tripe Treats Instead
If green tripe isn't for you it's too smelly, you can't find it, or it gives your dog diarrhea there is still another option that might work treats and chews.
Real Dog Box includes green tripe treats and meal toppers in some of their monthly subscription boxes, and I've purchased it in their Secret Shop. A few other green tripe treats I like for my dogs are:
Green tripe for everyone!
Don't Forget to Wash Your Hands
Always wash your hands multiple times, even if you don't think you touched the tripe. That smell tends to linger if you're not careful. If your dog is new to green tripe and has a sensitive stomach, work your way up to feeding a full meal of tripe. It can be rich for some dogs.
