You're just coming home after a long day of being away. Your pug greets you at the door excited to see you. You can tell that he loves you in the way that he shows his excitement. The way he kisses your hand as you reach down to pet him. Even the direction in which he wags his curly little tail is a telling sign.
A Puppy's Kiss
A pug puppy learns to lick others soon after birth. The act not only keeps litter-mates clean, it also helps the puppies form a social bond. It's a way of communicating a show of respect and a want to bond with you. Dogs will also lick the face of a more dominant dog as a show of submission. If your dog tries to lick as you are disciplining him or her, they are just trying to tell you that they recognize that you're "the boss."
A Telling Tail
Not only does your pug show you affection by licking you, they communicate their feelings by favoring a particular side while wagging their tail. A study published in the March 20th, 2007 issue of Current Biology seems to indicate that dogs tend to wag their tails more to the right side of their bodies when they are experiencing positive emotions like love and excitement. Tail-wagging occurs mostly on the left side when they are experiencing negative emotions such as fear.
The dogs used in the study were exposed to their owner, a stranger, a cat, and a dominant dog at different times. Researchers used a special camera that tracked the dogs' tails. The dog's tail-wagging was more prominent on the right side when they were shown their owner. The tail wagged to the right when they were shown the stranger and the cat, but not as much as when they were exposed to their owner. The dominant dog, however, caused the dogs' tails to wag towards the left.
For those of us that have dogs to come home to, it's easy to tell that they love you. But if you're at all curious, check to see which side of their body the tail wags on most -- just keep in mind that when you're facing them, their right is your left!
Showing Your Pug The Love
How does your pug know that you love him or her? If you're like us, you probably love tospoil your pug. We've found some unique gourmet dog treats that will definitely make your dog's tail wag... to the right. |
