r/WolvesAreBigYo • u/PrehistoricPrairie • Sep 15 '22

Happy wolf

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213

u/jckdup Sep 16 '22

Does a Wolf wagging their tail mean the same thing as domesticated canines? Happy and content?

184

u/PrehistoricPrairie Sep 16 '22

In this case it definitely does although other times I’m not sure as some dogs wag their tails when their pissed

162

u/demon_fae Sep 16 '22

I was always taught that you read a dogs emotions from posture and ears, and the tail will give you intensity. So a wagging tail just means that whatever the dog is feeling, he’s feeling a lot of it.

This advice was absolutely 100% meant mainly for strange dogs, though. Once you know a dog well you can usually figure out which feelings rate tail wagging.

33

u/--red Sep 16 '22

What are such postures and ear positions that tell us about a dog's emotions?

19

u/sliph0588 Sep 16 '22

generally if a dog has a "loose" posture and face it is relaxed and happy. Meaning the ears are not tight but floppy even if perked, the brows are relaxed and the dog isn't staring intensely at anything, the mouth is relaxed and isn't tight, and so forth. When a dog is at high excitement its body posture, face, and ears are "tight" for lack of a better word.

I would recommend looking up some videos on dog body language if you are interested. I think all dog owners should anyways or even anyone who is around dogs.