Animals, Plants & Seasons 2-minute video · ages 4-8 · free coloring page
Why do dogs wag their tails?
Swish, swish, swish! Look at that tail go! Why do dogs wag their tails?
2 min
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Free coloring page
The scene from the video as a coloring page, plus the three-sentence answer, the experiment, and a QR code back to this page. One sheet, US Letter, black and white.
The answer in three parts
Why?
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Dogs talk with their bodies.
Dogs cannot talk with words, like you. So they talk with their ears, their face, and most of all, with their tail.
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A wag does not always mean happy.
A wag means the dog is feeling something, and wants to tell you about it.
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Right for love, left for worry.
When dogs see someone they love, their tails wag a little more to the right. When they see something that worries them, a little more to the left!
For grown-ups: Before you pet a dog, always ask the owner first. Then look at the whole dog: a soft face, a wiggly body, and a big, loose wag. That's a dog saying: hello, friend!
What is the tail saying?
- Big, loose wagI'm happy to see you!
- Slow, low waghmm, I'm not sure
- Stiff, high tailcareful, I'm on guard
- Tucked tailI'm scared
A tiny experiment
Try it!
Read a dog's tail
You need: a dog to watch
- Next time you see a dog, watch its tail.
- Now look at its whole body.
- Can you guess how it feels?
What happened? Dogs talk with their bodies, and most of all, with their tail.
Did you know?
Cats talk with their tails too, but in a different way. A tail held straight up says hello! A tail swishing hard from side to side says: please leave me alone.
Your guide in this video
I'm Midnight, the little black cat. We cats talk with our tails too!
Midnight has green eyes and a white chest patch, and hosts all of our pet questions.
Keep asking
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