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Title (eng)
Why do dogs wag their tails?
Author
Silvia Leonetti
Author
Giulia Cimarelli
Author
Taylor A. Hersh
Author
Andrea Ravignani
Abstract (eng)
Tail wagging is a conspicuous behaviour in domestic dogs (Canis familiaris). Despite how much meaning humans attribute to this display, its quantitative description and evolutionary history are rarely studied. We summarize what is known about the mechanism, ontogeny, function and evolution of this behaviour. We suggest two hypotheses to explain its increased occurrence and frequency in dogs compared to other canids. During the domestication process, enhanced rhythmic tail wagging behaviour could have (i) arisen as a by-product of selection for other traits, such as docility and tameness, or (ii) been directly selected by humans, due to our proclivity for rhythmic stimuli. We invite testing of these hypotheses through neurobiological and ethological experiments, which will shed light on one of the most readily observed yet understudied animal behaviours. Targeted tail wagging research can be a window into both canine ethology and the evolutionary history of characteristic human traits, such as our ability to perceive and produce rhythmic behaviours.
Keywords (eng)
DogsAnimalsHumansTailCanidaeBehavior, AnimalSocial BehaviorDomestication
Type (eng)
journal article
Language
[eng]
Persistent identifier
https://phaidra.vetmeduni.ac.at/o:4276
DOI
10.1098/rsbl.2023.0407
Is in series
Title (eng)
Biology Letters
Volume
20
Issue
1
ISSN
1744-957X
Issued
2024
Number of pages
7
Publication
Royal Society of London
Version type (eng)
version of record (published version)
Date issued
2024
Access rights (eng)
open access
License
CC BY 4.0 International
Rights statement (eng)
© 2024 The Authors