Why de Dogs Wag their Tails.

Te Aroha News, Volume XIV, Issue 2103, 12 May 1898, Page 2

Why de Dogs Wag their Tails .

The- evolutionist Has Been-, at work ; witli a view; to an elucidation. of the somewhat commonplace- question ‘ why dogs wag their-tails'.” The' inquiry must have proved a very inter- . esting. one in view o£‘ the fact tfiat quite a numberof theories have been evolved in favour of the practice.. One ] authority—Dr., Bonis Robinson—argues out the case with more than • usual ingenuity and advances several reasons for the fact that the tail is so important, an- organ, of expression among dogs.. Dogs, he- points out, have but little* facial; expression* beyond the lifting, of the lip. to show the teeth and the dilation, of the eye when angry. The-jaws and contiguous-parts ’■ are too much, specialised for the serious business of seizing prey- to be fitted for such purposes* as they are in man. With dogs who, hunt by scent the head is necessarily carried low, -and is therefore not plainly visible except to those dose by.. But in the case of all hunting dogs, such as; foxhounds, ,or wolves which; pack together,, the tail is carried aloft, and is very free in movement. It is also frequently 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 individual 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 a fox, but scarcely sufficient to be sworp 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 ‘of waving tails before ever the least whimper is heard’. Should the drag prove a doubtful one the hounds separate again, and the waving ceases ;• but ; if. it grows stronger when followed up, the wagging becomes more and more 'emphatic, until one after another the ! hounds begin to whine and give tongue j and stream off in- Indian file along the lino of scent; . When tb,© pack is at cry upon a strong scent the tails 'cease to wag, but are carried aloft in full view. All dogs wag their- tails ;when pleased, and the movement is generally understood by their human associates as an intimation that they are happy. But when we attempt to discover the reason, the explanation appears a very difficult one. f