an essay on if I had a tail in 100 words
Answers
We actually begin life with a tail, but in almost all cases, it is absorbed by the body long before we are born. We’re left with nothing but a tail bone composed of a few vertebrae fused together, that primarily functions to hurt like hell if you fall on it. Trust me.
Tails have been on my mind lately not just because my nose has been cold and I’m jealous of Willie’s ability to let Jim know how happy he is to see him. (We humans do have other ways after all.) After reading Quaranta’s research on laterality in tail wagging, I’ve found myself watching Willie’s tail more than ever. A lot. You might recall the research: The dogs in the study wagged more to the right when facing their owners, and more to their left when facing a dog in a threatening posture. In addition, in 2013 Vallortigara and colleagues found that the heart rate of dogs was elevated when watching dogs whose tails wagged more to the left than right. All this suggests that a right-handed tail wag is a sign of a relaxed or happy dog, while a wag more to the left might suggest a certain amount of anxiety. Ever since then I’ve been watching Willie’s tail, and in summary: It is all over the place. This morning I walked down the stairs, while Willie stood at the bottom. As I began to descend, his tail clearly wagged more to his left. As I got closer to the bottom of the stairs, his tail wagged more to the right. Hummm. Clearly this is a complicated issue, but Vallortigara’s research is a fantastic start.