Dogs can use their wags to communicate with each other. A wag more to the right may mean the dog is interested in something. A wag more to the left could signal uncertainty. Photos by R A Kearton/Moment/Getty Images Other dogs can understand and react to these different wags.
For something so common, though, there’s a lot scientists don’t know. It’s not clear how much dogs control their own wags. Does the dog even know that its tail is wagging? Can it choose to wag more to the right or left? Several studies have also reported that dogs wag their tails more than other canines, such as wolves. But none have pointed to why this might be true.
