Why do dogs wag their tail to express their happiness?

Question

Dogs wag their tail to show their happiness and love. But is there any specific reason why dogs wag its tail while no other animal like elephant, cat or cow etc wag their tail to express thier happiness?

Answer 1

think they do it because they cant say im happy right now. maybe dogs are unique and this was only given to them. other animals show their happiness different like cats purr when they are happy or showing love

Answer 2

I am giving you an excerpts from a link that I referred. A dog's tail speaks volumes about his mental state, his social position, and his intentions. How the tail came to be a communication device is an interesting story. The dog's tail was originally designed to assist the dog in its balance. When a dog is running and has to turn quickly, it throws the front part of its body in the direction it wants to go. Its back then bends, but its forward velocity is such that the hindquarters will tend to continue in the original direction. Left unchecked, this movement might result in the dog's rear swinging widely, which could greatly slow its rate of movement or even cause the dog to topple over as it tries to make a high-speed turn. The dog's tail helps to prevent this. Throwing the tail in the same direction that the body is turning serves as a sort of counterweight, which reduces the tendency to spin off course. Dogs will also use their tails when walking along narrow surfaces. By deliberately swinging the tail to one side or the other in the direction opposite to any tilt in the body, the dog helps maintain its balance, much the same way a circus tightrope walker uses a balance bar. Quite obviously, then, the tail has important uses associated with specific movements. However, the tail is not particularly important on flat surfaces, when a dog is simply standing around or walking at normal speeds. At these times, it becomes available for other uses. Evolution again seized an opportunity and now adapted the tail for communication purposes. It is something of a surprise to many people to learn that puppies don't wag their tails when they are very young. The youngest puppy I ever saw systematically wagging its tail was eighteen days old, and both the breeder and I agreed that this was quite unusual. Although there are some differences among the various breeds, the scientific data suggests that, on average, by thirty days of age, about half of all puppies are tail wagging, and the behavior is usually fully established by around forty nine days of age. Please refer to the link to read more

Answer 3

Dogs use their tails to express several emotions---not just happiness. Watch a dog long enough and you will see what I'm talking about. Some wags are about anger. These wags are communications wtih other dogs so learning them is hard for us.

Cows wag their tails to get flys off their butts.

Elephants do the same thing.

Cats use their tails to show emotion as well. They have a jerky little wag that means they're upset and a long sweeping wag that means they're anticipating something.

Answer 4

The other animals you mentioned don't live in packs like we do.Maybe herds, but they don't hunt as a team,or have the same degree of social interaction.All of dogs gestures are very obvious and can be recognized from afar-wagging,ear flattening,front legs down-thus alerting others very cleary to what we are saying.Miscommunication can get ugly fast with 30 sets of sharp teeth around!

Answer 5

Turid Rugaas wrote an article about dog body language, which is here:
http://www.canis.no/rugaas/onearticle.php?artid=1

She's really the #1 expert on the whys and hows of canine signals. Worth a read!

Answer 6

Nope theres no specific reason.. Its like when you smile or laugh to express your happiness..

Answer 7

because no way share his happiness