It turns out that there is a lot more to a dog's wagging tail than meets the eye. Read this fascinating article suggested by Mary F. from B block to learn more.
Dog's Tail Article from NPR
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Scientists believe that when a dog sees another dog wagging their tail to the left it makes them anxious, and when they see it wagging right than they are put at ease.
ReplyDeleteScientists conducted tests monitoring the heart rate of dogs based on what they were shown. They showed a robo-dog, and a couple videos with dogs doing different things.
There still needs to be more testing for us to understand what these feelings might lead to, or else there would be no practical reason for testing this.
In my opinion the hypothesis was correct and very well supported by the evidence. They have proven to me that dogs do begin to feel anxious when they see another dog wagging their tail left.
Danielle Cormier C Block
DeleteI disagree with you. I think that the hypothesis needs more evidence. The results point to the scientists being correct, but their way of testing the dogs wasn't very thorough. They should do more than just testing their heart rates and looking at their expressions.
Robert i thought you did a good job. Your response was sort of like mine we thought a lot the same. You had a lot of evidence.
DeleteSorry Robert but I disagree as well.... I think that you need more evidence to support your hypothesis. If they really want to find out why the dogs wag their tails, the scientists need to do more experiments on things like their brains. But terrific write up!!!
DeleteI thought that what you said was good, but what they did did need a little more work. they just did a couple of test which is what you said. they had to do deeper work meaning they had to do things that could really tell a dogs emotion not just looking at them while they react to things and taking notes.
DeleteIn a series of lab experiments, dogs got anxious when they saw an image of a dog wagging its tail to its left side. But when they saw a dog wagging its tail to its right side, they stayed relaxed.
ReplyDeleteThis isn't the first time scientists have shown that the direction of a wagging tail can be linked to doggy emotions. In a previous study, Giorgio Vallortigara of the University of Trento in Italy and his colleagues showed that dogs tended to wag to their right side when seeing something friendly, like their owners. Seeing something threatening, like a dominant unfamiliar dog, made them wag more to their left side.That study made the scientists wonder if other dogs might actually watch another dog's tail wagging and use its direction as a clue to figure out whether that dog might be a potential friend or foe.
"The question was at this point: Does asymmetric tail wagging convey meaning to other dogs?" says Vallortigara.
To find out, they had 43 dogs wear some little vests that would monitor their heart rates. Then they had the dogs watch some special images of dogs that were designed to remove all stimuli except the wagging tail.
This is the only clear conclusion that the scientists were able to come up with after the results of the experiment.
Hello Dylan
DeleteNow you need to write what you think. Do you think the scientists really proved their hypothesis?
Yes, I believe that the scientists have proved their original hypothesis to be correct.
DeleteThe main idea throughout this article explains how when dogs wag their tails either to the right or to the left, depending on the side they are wagging, it can lead to their emotional state. One experiment that they did to prove this is the scientists would test different things on the dogs like, when their owners would walk into the dogs house, their tail would wag on the right side stating that the dog is happy and relaxed. But, when the dog feels threatened or feels like they are in a bad situation, they will most likely wag on the left side. Another experiment is that scientists had 43 dogs wearing vests that monitored their heart rate. The scientists had videos playing on a screen for the dogs. The video either showed a normal dog or just a silhouette of a dog with the tail to the right or to the left. When the dogs on the video wagged to the left, the dogs who were watching got somewhat scared and their heart pace sped up. But, when the dogs on the video wagged their tails to the right, the watching dogs stayed calm. One uncertainty that people still have is that one time a scientist brought a robot dog that looks just like a real dog, to a park. Other dogs stopped more often when they were approaching the robo-dog, this is still a question that people have about why dogs would pause more when approaching a dog in a natural environment. I think that this prototype will work because they have a lot of solid data and just about all of their experiments have proved their point about why dogs wag their tail to one side rather than the other.
ReplyDeleteHi Ali,
DeleteThat's really interesting about the robot dog. I think that would be another factor to add in this experiment. I agree that their evidence seems well supported, I just think they might need some more.
Hi Alison!! I think your blog post was really interesting and there is a lot of detail. I agree with you that the prototype will work, and I agree with your reasoning. They have a lot of data and proven experiments.
DeleteIn this article scientists hypothesized that dogs observe the tail wagging of other dogs and decide based partially on the direction of the wag whether the dog is likely to be their friend. In order to test their hypothesis, the scientists had 43 dogs watch special videos of dogs wagging their tails in either direction while wearing a heart rate monitor vest. In the videos the only part of the dog moving was the tail, so there was no other factor that could affect the dog's wagging. The heart rate monitor vest was used so that the scientists could observe if the dog's heart rate increased substantially while watching one of the clips, indicating anxiety or fear. There isn't too much uncertainty left that the direction of the wagging reflects the dog's current emotions, but scientists think there might be a larger connection to the different sides of the body. Scientists believe that if you touch one side of a dog the dog may be more prone to aggression and on the other side more prone to amity. Personally, I think this data is definitely a strong start to a more in-depth study. On its own, this information is interesting but I don't think there are many practical uses. However if scientists look further into the possible connection with the sides of the brain, information reaped from that could be very useful for dog owners and vets everywhere.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with your opinion on the matter that this information isn’t very practical. Yes, you can tell how the dog reacts, but I think that many people won’t pay very much attention to a dogs’ tail the next time they encounter one. It’s not like you’ll go up to a dog and perform a detailed investigation on the patterned movement of a dogs’ tail. I also agree that this information is really interesting to think about and learning about these waving patterns of the tail will help to further understand the development of the dogs’ brain.
DeleteThis article is mainly about a scientist named Giorgio Vallortigara and his colleagues who were studying the sides that dogs wag their tails to and the emotions that it gives other dogs around them. They showed that when a dog sees something threatening, they tend to wag to the left. But when they see someone like their owned, it was more likely for them to wag to the right. They did some experiments like having dogs wear little vests that monitor their heart rates. They had the dogs in vests watch videos of other dogs wagging their tails in different directions. The results showed that when a tail is wagged to the left, it gives the other dogs a bad vibe, and gets them anxious. When the dogs wag to the right, it makes the other dogs fell more relaxed. A biologist named Tom Reimchen says this is an "elegant" study. He says that there is just one more thing to this study. It has not yet been shown if the other dogs can get info from the dog that is wagging it's tail, and sending a message that supposedly gets to the others around it. Reimchen did an experiment where he had a robotic dog with a remote control tail and had the real dogs approach it. He says that in terms of finding out if dogs communicate with their wagging of tails, there would be lots more questions. In my opinion, I think that the scientists in this article have a good idea about dogs and their tails. I think that Vallortigara did good when he put the little vests on the dogs, and monitored their heart rate. I also think that what Reimchen experimented with was good, too. Together, they both got good evidence of dogs responding differently depending on which way they wag their tails at each other, and I think that with a little more testing on Reimchen's theory, they can figure out what dog tail motions say about their emotions.
ReplyDeleteCaroline,
DeleteI mostly agree with you on this. The way the scientists tested the dogs was a great start and it could provide a lot of evidence. However I thought that they could include more evidence by explaining how the dogs felt relaxed or were anxious. How did they define the word anxious and how did the dogs portray it? I thought they could have included more evidence to support their theory.
The main hypothesis/function of this article was to figure out if dogs react differently when other dogs wag their tails in different directions. To test this, scientists gathered 43 dogs that would wear vests to monitor their heart beat. Then, they were shown images of dogs wagging their tail to the right or left. Results showed that when a dog wagged his tail to the right, the dogs remained relaxed but if he wagged it to the left, the dogs, they became anxious and their heart sped up. One question that remains is “if others can gain from this type of laterality”. Also scientists are continuing to wonder if there is a friendly way to approach a dog or a certain side to stand on, so the dog will be friendlier. I think that the evidence is weakly supported. They said that the dogs reacted in the ways that they did but there was no data to back it up. I think it could be further supported.
ReplyDeleteHi Mariam...
DeleteSo I like what you said about what the hypothesis was and how they experimented. The "one question that remains" part was good too. The only thing I would change about this is the last part. You could keep your opinion that there was no evidence to back their tests up, but meanwhile YOU need evidence to back up why you think there is no evidence. Also how do you think their data or tests could be further supported. And add your own opinion on do you think this will work? Or do you think the scientists are on to something?
Hi Mariam,
DeleteI agree that evidence to see if there's a friendlier way to approach a dog is weakly supported. I think scientists should play with the dogs, and see if there's a difference. Since scientists don't have this kind of data, by doing some fun experiments with dogs, maybe it will help dogs become more comfortable, friendlier, and happier with the participant playing with them.
Hey Caroline!
DeleteI mostly agree with your opinion whether the experiments were effective. I feel that the first tests were pretty effective considering that they showed them a video of a real dog making movements with its tail. This would most likely have some sort of effect on the dog watching it. I think that that test was a great one to do. However, the second test with a robotic dog wasn't the best idea. I think that if a dog were to see a robotic dog and physically went up to it, it would probably know that it isn't a real dog. Considering that a dog can decipher a cat from a dog, it can probably decipher a robot from a dog. All in all I think there was a nice idea behind this experiment but they should gone at it a different way.
Hey Caroline!
I mostly agree with your opinion whether the experiments were effective. I feel that the first tests were pretty effective considering that they showed them a video of a real dog making movements with its tail. This would most likely have some sort of effect on the dog watching it. I think that that test was a great one to do. However, the second test with a robotic dog wasn't the best idea. I think that if a dog were to see a robotic dog and physically went up to it, it would probably know that it isn't a real dog. Considering that a dog can decipher a cat from a dog, it can probably decipher a robot from a dog. All in all I think there was a nice idea behind this experiment but they should gone at it a different way.
Scientists think that when a dog sees another dog wagging their tail to the left it makes them anxious and when they see it wagging right than they think they are put to ease. They started to monitor the heart when they are wagging to see what makes them happy and calm. They are using this to tell the different ways they move their tail. I think that they should test theses dogs more and see if there is a big difference and i don't understand as good as i should. Otherwise, I thought this article was interesting and had supporting evidence. I learned alot as well. Now i know when my dog wags his tail to the left it means they are anxious.
ReplyDeleteScientists believe that when a dog sees another dog wagging their tail to the left it makes them anxious, and when they see it wagging right than they are put at ease.Scientists conducted tests monitoring the heart rate of dogs based on what they were shown. They showed a robo-dog, and a couple videos with dogs doing different things. The hypothesis in this story was correct and the evidence supported it
ReplyDeleteThere still needs to be more testing for us to understand what these feelings might lead to, or else there would be no practical reason for testing this.
I thought you put a lot of thought into your answer. I enjoyed reading your Blog post very much. I agree with your thought on there still needing to be more testing to understand what the feelings might lead to. Keep up the good work!
Delete1) Scientists wondered if the tail wagging of one dog to another displays a type of communication between the two animals.
ReplyDelete2) The scientists experimented with this idea by testing 43 dogs. They had them wear heart-monitoring vests and made them watch special images of dogs that were designed to remove all stimuli except for the wagging tail. When the dog witnessed the image of a dog wagging its tail to the right, they stayed relaxed. But when the tail was wagged to the left, their heart rates increased and they quickly became anxious.
3) A question that scientists still ponder is if there is information that others can gain from the type of laterality. They can tell if the dogs are anxious or relaxed, but can this tell us how exactly to approach a dog? Scientists still wonder about this and resort to experimenting with a robotic tail. The dog would approach the robot when the tail was wagging to the right because this action suggested relaxation and openness towards a new dog. Scientists also suggested that the wagging of the tail to the right showcases friendship to another dog.
4) These experiments all prove that you can tell a dogs emotion by their tail wagging and I think that all of these experiments were well conducted and thought out. This hypothesis was well-tested and the results were as expected.
Danielle Cormier C Block
ReplyDelete1. The scientists in this article believe that a dog wagging its tail to the right is interpreted as good by other dogs, and wagging its tail to the left is interpreted as bad.
2. The scientists showed dogs videos of other dogs or dog silhouettes wagging their tail mostly to the left/right and monitored their heart rates.
3. Scientists are uncertain, though, about how this may be useful to humans, as we can’t usually tell the difference between left and right tail-wagging. There is also much uncertainty about how much dogs notice on a more subtle level or if their attention to asymmetry applies only to this.
4. This hypothesis is relatively well supported. The scientists had consistent results, although they didn’t go very far with their testing. I think they need a little more evidence. The only evidence in this article is the dogs’ “hearts begin to race and they looked anxious”. What does “looking anxious” even mean? I think the evidence needs to be a little more concrete.
Hi Danielle!
DeleteI agree with what you said in your post because although the scientists had proved their hypothesis, and had evidence, I don't think the evidence was strong, or specific enough to entirely prove their point. I also agree what you said in response to number three. It isn't very relevent to humans, because most dog owners can tell whether their dog is happy or sad based on their dog's actions, not it's tail. Good job on your post!
The main function of the prototype that the scientists are making are little vests. The vests would monitor the heart rate of the dog wearing it. The scientists wanted to see if there would be a difference in the heart rate of the dogs when they wagged their tail different ways.
ReplyDeleteThe scientists had each dog, there were 43 test subjects, wear a little vest. They were testing to see if there was a difference in their heart rates when watching videos of other dogs wagging their tails. There were able to determine that when the dog’s tail wagged to the right, the dog watching would stay relaxed. When the dog’s tail wagged to the left, the dog watching would start to have their heart race and look anxious.
One question that is unanswered is whether or not there is more that can be analyzed from that type of laterality. The scientists might want to do more complex experiments to see if there is more to be known from what the dogs think after watching other dogs.
I think this prototype will work because in my opinion I think it is rather simple but can still serve its purpose. Although this prototype can allow the scientists to collect accurate data, there are still some variables that could affect the data. Each dog is different so that is one thing that can go wrong but that could happen in all types of experiments. In the prototype said in the article, it said that there is a heart rate monitor in the vest. I think that heart rate monitors are really reliable.
I agree with the heart rate monitors being useful. It is an accurate and efficient way to see how the dogs feel/ see their reaction. The only thing I disagree about is how the heart rate monitor CAN detect whether or not the dog feels anxious or calm. I would think that they would need to monitor their brain waves to detect that, so in conclusion I think the prototype is a great start, but can be improved. Great job Cindy! Very well written! :)
DeleteThe main hypothesis of this article was the reaction dogs have to each other when they see another dog wagging its tail in a certain way. To prove their theory scientist took 43 dogs and put heart rate monitoring vests on them. These dogs were then shown images of another dog wagging its tail in different ways. The scientists noticed that when a dog wagged its tail to the left the other dogs heart rate increased and they appeared to be more anxious, and when the dog wagged its tail to the right the dogs that were being tested hearts were normal and they seemed more at ease. Scientists are now wondering if this will impact how we approach dogs now for example if a veterinarian approaches a dog more toward the right side other than the left. I think this article was very interesting to read about however the evidence could have been more strongly supported. I think they could have done more experiments and have the dogs in different environments and then included that information. In all though I thought this was very interesting.
ReplyDeleteI agree with a lot of the points you made in this response! I didn't consider the fact that dogs could react differently depending on their environments, and I think that this could be a factor in how they view each other. I also think that scientists need to further test other things that dogs do in response to one another to contribute to this.
DeleteThe scientist’s hypothesis was that when a dog wags their tail to the left it makes other dogs anxious, but when a dog wags their tail to the right, they have more of a friendly response. Scientists put their hypothesis to the test by showing videos of both a silhouette and real video to the dogs of a dog wagging its tail in both directions. In both situations, the dogs became nervous during the left tail-wagging and calm during the right tail-wagging. Also, scientists tested this with the reaction of a real dog to the different tail-wagging of a robotic dog. The results were similar. There is still uncertainty about if people can gain more information about the asymmetries of animal’s bodies. Further experiments can be done on topics like which other signals from the dogs convey friendship/aggression in dogs besides wagging their tails. I think that the hypothesis is really well-supported. There were several tests done, like the test with the 43 dogs & the heart monitors and the robotic-dog, to support the differences in the dogs’ emotions based on tail-wagging of other dogs.
ReplyDeleteNice response! I agree with most of what you said but I just think that the hypothesis could use a little more support. I feel there are other factors that need to be considered about the dog's personality that may affect the testing. Otherwise your response is really clear and concise. Even though it is uncertain if humans can gain information about asymmetries, as you mentioned, I think it would be interesting if this was actually possible. Maybe we would end up learning a lot about each other.
DeleteThe main hypothesis of this article was determine whether dogs reacted differently to other dogs when they wag their tails in different directions. Scientists tested this with an experiment to figure out the solution.Scientists picked 43 different dogs that would wear vests to monitor their heart beat. These dogs were tested by being shown images of dogs wagging their tails in different directions. The results of the tests show that a dog is relaxed if they wag their tail to the right. The results also show that a dog is anxious if they wag their tail to the left. One question that remains, “if others can gain from this type of laterality”. Scientists are continuing to question if there is a friendly way to approach a dog or a certain side to stand on, so the dog will be friendlier and more comfortable with the person.
ReplyDeleteI think that your hypothesis is very well written and sums up the entire article. I do think also that a main question that people still have today is how to greet a dog and have the dog be friendly. I think that the next step that the scientists take is going to determine an answer to that question because then they will be able to prove their point more thoroughly.
DeleteScientests involved in this resaerch believe that if a dog waggs his tail slightly more to the right, he is seeing something or someone who is friendly and that thier comfortabe with, and if they wag thier tail slightly more to the left, they are seeing something threatening. To test thier theory, they first showed dogs different video clips of other dogs waving thier tails to one side, they also made a robotic dog and programmed it to move its tail certain ways. Some problems I find with this is that these things are not real dogs, they are either a video of one, or a robot. A dog can probably tell if its a real dog or not, so they might not act the way they would towards a normal dog. I think that even though there is some uncerainty, that the hypothesis was correct. This is because with personal experience dogs react to each others feelings, also it makes sense for them to have some form of communication since dogs are pretty smart animals, so I would think that they would have figured out some way to communicate.
ReplyDeleteI think that the main hypothesis in this article is how can we tell a dog's emotion( happy or scared ) through it wagging its tail? In this article these scientists tested 43 dogs and put vests on them to measure their heart beats. They then showed some of the dogs a video of a dog sitting in place, wagging its tail to the left, to the right, then not moving. Then they showed other dogs the same video, except the dog was a silhouette. The reason for making it a silhouette was to see if it was the other dog making the dog's tail was or if it was the dog being able to see the other dog's tail wag. The dogs got anxious when the tail moved to a certain side, but when on the other side, the dog was calmer, wanting to be "friends." Some questions or uncertainty that is still left could be things like, is it a certain type of dog having this behavior, a mutt, a purebred, etc., or is it the age of the dog, old or young? Those were some things I wondered when I read this article. Also, I am sure one factor of this experiment was where the dog lives, etc. For example is it a household pet, a herder, a stray? I personally think that scientists need to do more testing with more and a bigger variety of dogs, they should also figure out a way without causing any harm to the dog, how to see what is happening in the brain of the dog. This article was very interesting
ReplyDeleteHi Jensine,
DeleteI agree with you about other things that could affect the experiment. I think it is important to check if the breed or environment of the dog affects its response to the tail wag. They could try using more dogs of different varieties. I think that looking inside a dog's brain would be interesting, but dangerous and not very possible. Nice job on your post!
The hypothesis of the scientists, states that we are able to realize a dog's emotions from their body language. The way they wag their tales pays a key role in explaining how dogs feel. Forty-three dogs were tested by wearing vests that measured their heart beats. Then the dogs watched videos of other dogs, wagging their tails in different directions or not moving. After that, they made silhouettes to make their calculations more accurate. The heart beat changed depending on the reaction of the dogs when they saw the images. Scientists still need to experiment on the asymmetry of the wagging tails. This could also help people figure out the emotions of the dogs. Scientists could do the same experiment as before. The only difference would be that they would use videos of dogs wagging their tails to different angles. The reactions of the dogs could be found through the vest they would wear. This experiment is fine for now. However, they do need to do further testing because the asymmetry could definitely change the way the dogs read each others emotions. This could also change their results. They could also try testing different types of dogs. Maybe some dogs read emotions differently than others.
ReplyDeleteThe scientist involved in this article hypothesis that is a dog wags its tail to the left it makes other dogs anxious and if it wags to the right it makes other dogs think they are friendly. To prove their hypothesis, scientists put 43 dogs through a test in which they say videos of silhouettes and real videos of dogs wagging their tails in both directions. The dogs wore vests that had heart monitors so the scientists could tell if the dog was anxious or happy. The scientist also used robotic dogs to test the real dog’s reaction. I think that they could have tested this on humans. They could then tell who dogs thought were good friends. Also, they could have done it with real dogs to prove that the electronics are not making them act weird around others. I think that that hypothesis could have been supported more. They could have done a few more tests with humans or other animals. Also, they could have done it in different environments to see if rain or sunshine will affect the happiness of a dog. All together, the article defiantly could have been supported with a few more tests.
ReplyDeleteReally great response Jackie! And really great detail included. I also agree with you that the scientists could have done more to help support their hypothesis. I like the idea of running experiments that includes different environments, animals, and humans. If they had run these tests with these different aspects I am sure that they could have proved their theory more clearly and accurately.
DeleteHi Jackie!
DeleteI totally agree with you that they need to do more testing on the dogs. I do also think that they need to involve different things, such as weather and breeds, etc. Do you think that it might be a certain type of dog they tested on? I bet many people think that they need to involve more aspects when they test the dogs. When you talk about them testing on humans, what do you mean by that? I definitely also think that they need to test more and do a bigger variety of tests to prove their theory.
The main hypothesis of this article was seeing whether dogs react differently to other dogs when they wag their tails in different ways. Scientists tested this with an experiment to figure out why. The scientists picked 43 different dogs and put vest on them to monitor their heart beat. The dogs were tested by looking at other pictures of dogs wagging their tails in different directions. The experiment showed that a dog is more relaxed when they wag their tail to the right and when they wag their tail to the left they are more anxious or curious. Scientists are questioning if there is a more appropriate way to approach or stand near a dog. I think that the scientists did a very good job testing the dogs and they will soon find out more about the dogs.
ReplyDeleteI did enjoy reading your article Macklin and I also think that scientist should/will do more experiments on this topic. Your topic sentence showed that the article was about how dogs moods can be refelcted in their tail wagging and you did it in just one sentence. Finally like you I think this topic is a very interesting and that it could maybe lead to other animals tail wagging?
Delete1) Scientists hypothesized that depending on the direction of one dog wagging its tail, a second dog will have a different reaction. The scientists predicted that the different motions of the tail allow the dog to judge the emotion of the second dog.
ReplyDelete2) To test this hypothesis, scientists used 43 dogs. The dogs were shown videos of both silhouettes of dogs or normal videos of dogs wagging their tail to the right, to the left, or not at all. Scientists watched how the dogs reacted and also used heart rate monitors embedded in vests. The videos of the dogs wagging their tails were special because they removed all possible triggers of emotion besides the wagging tail. The scientists found that dogs that wagged their tail to the right side had a relaxing effect on other dogs. If dogs wagged their tail to the left side, this made other dogs nervous and uncomfortable. The heart rate of the dogs also rose and fell depending on the direction of the wagging.
3) Scientists are still uncertain about the effect of this tail wagging done by robotic dogs. This seemed to have a different effect on the dogs. Further testing could be done to figure out if there are other triggers in a dogs behavior, besides the tail wagging, that the robotic dog couldn’t display therefore changing the reaction in the dogs. There is also the question of humans noticing left and right motions. These are very subtle movements so the scientists aren’t sure if humans would notice anything or even react to them.
4) I think the hypothesis is reasonably well supported by data but not totally. The scientists tested the side of the sail wagging but I think there could be other things affecting the dogs’ reactions like from other movements of the tail. Also in the videos, even when the tail was mostly wagging on the right side of the dog sometimes it would briefly switch over to the left. I am wondering if the dogs would notice this difference and if it would affect them. I also think that the reaction of the dogs’ may depend on their own personalities. Some dogs are friendly and bold in general while others are skittish. This may make a difference in their results in this testing.
Hey Emma,
DeleteGreat detailed response! I completely agree with your #s 1-3. I mainly agree with your #4 answer, but I think the scientist's hypothesis was pretty well-supported overall. They had 43 dogs tested and all of them seemed to have the same results with the tail wagging. Even if the dogs' personalities differed, they still had the same results so I think that it didn't matter the personality they had.
In this article scientists hypothesized that dogs observe tail wagging directions to decide if the new dog is likely to be their friend. In order to test their hypothesis, the scientists had 43 dogs watch special videos of dogs wagging their tails in either direction while wearing a heart rate monitor vest. The videos of the dogs were edited so only the tail was moving so there was no other visual to affect the dog’s reaction to the image. The heart rate monitor vest was used so the scientists could observe if the dog's heart rate would changed based on what direction the tail was wagging. After executing this experiment, the scientists noticed that the dog’s heart rate increased (due to fear and anxiety) when they saw an image of a dog wagging its tail to the left. They also observed the opposite when the video showed a dog wagging its tail to the right; the dog viewing the video stayed calm and relaxed. Scientists think that these reactions can be further studied to reveal facts about the left vs. right sides of the brain, and what triggers the effects. Scientists believe that there is a connection with this experiment to how humans can approach dogs, for instance it might be more successful to pet a dog on the right side of its body vs. having dog show aggression if the stranger approaches the left side. I think this data is definitely a strong start to a more in-depth study because humans have been trying to decipher how dogs communicate/think for years. I also think that own its own, this information from this experiment is interesting but I don’t think there are many practical uses. However if scientists look further into the possible connection with the sides of the brain, new theories could expand our knowledge of the brains of animals, helping pet owners and vets everywhere.
ReplyDeletehmm really good job on this. the way you explain about the dogs brain is remarkable. the scientists had 43 dogs watch special videos of dogs wagging their tails in either direction while wearing a heart rate monitor vest. this is the best part of your article. This is the highlight of my whole day.
DeleteThe main idea of this article is that the way dogs wave their tails can help you tell if they are feeling welcomed or threatened. Scientists hypothesized that dogs can determine other dog’s emotions through the wagging of their tails. In an experiment to test their hypothesis, the scientists gathered 43 dogs and made them watch certain videos of dogs wagging their tails, either to the right or the left, and not doing anything but wagging so there couldn’t be anything that would affect the results, while wearing heart rate monitor vests. The vests were used so scientists could see if there was a change in heart rate when watching the two videos, and there was. When watching the clip of the dog wagging it’s tail to the left their heart rates sped up tremendously faster than they were while watching the video of the dog wagging to the right. I don’t think there is much uncertainty left about how the direction a dog wags it’s tail shows it’s emotions. Scientists think there might be a bigger piece to this experiment, like dogs might more sensitive to a certain side of the body. This is just a start to a very interesting topic and could really help dog owners and vets around the world.
ReplyDeleteHi Ashley!
DeleteI agree with the statement that there isn't enough evidence to prove that there is a direct connection between the direction that the dog's tail is wagging and the emotions that the dog is experiencing. I think that this is also a "very interesting topic and could help dog owners and vets around the world". If the dog's tail does in fact demonstrate the mood that the dog is in, then this would help dog owners to identify how the dog is feeling.
1) This article is about how dogs may react in certain ways depending on how another dog wags his/her tail.
ReplyDelete2) They tested their hypothesis by running an experiment on 43 different dogs. The scientist put a vest on each one of the dogs that monitored their heart rate. Then a dog was shown footage of when a dog wagged his/her. They found that when the dog in the footage wagged its tail to the left the dog watching would get anxious. And when the dog in the footage wagged his/her tail to the right the dog watching would be calm.
3) One question that scientists still have after running these tests is whether others can gain information based on this type of laterality. Through their series of experiments they have connected to why dogs might react in different ways depending on how another dog may wag his tail, because of the two different sides of a dogs brain. Scientists thought that this might affect the way you approach a dog, depending on what direction you approach it in.
4) Personally, I think this data is a very good start and will continue to help scientists develop more information and theories based on this topic. Because of their beginning data scientists have already started to test dogs with robotic dogs, and I am sure that more tests will be made to help support their idea even further.
Hi Megan, I definitely agree that the scientists have a solid start for their research. If further tests are conducted that show the same results, this information could be very useful to vets, pet owners, etc. I am slightly confused about your reference to robotic dogs though. Have scientists tested this with robotic dogs in the videos or in some other form?
DeleteThe scientists in this article are describing that the movements of the dog's tail matter on their opinion, such as when they wave it right they are calm, and when waved left they are anxious.
ReplyDeleteThey scientists have proved this by doing multiple experiments. One experiment they did was having 43 dogs watch a video of another dog wagging it's tail. When the dog in the video wagged it's tail to the right, they dog watching the video remained calm. When the dog in the video wagged it's tail to the left, the dog watching the video became uncomfortable (it's heart started racing). Another test they tried was having a robot dog wave it's tail in front of an actual dog. The same thing happened in this experiment as well. When the robo-dog waved it's tail to the left the real dog was frightened, and vice-versa.
Sadly they can not prove this, because as we know people can not talk to dogs. They say that the dog could have been confused by the robot dog, not displaying any emotion or movement. With the video, they are not certain if the dog knew what was going on or if it's behavior was like that before. There is just no way to tell what the dog is thinking at this point, so that is why they can not say this for sure.
I think that the prototype is a good idea, but I think it may have some mistakes. They stated in the article that the dog was a little might have been a little confused by the robot dog, because some of a real dog's emotions were not shown in the actual prototype. I think it was a well thought out attempt, but I think they can be more efficient with the robo-dog.
After reading your comment, I agree with most of what you say. I agree about your robo dog statement in regard to how it confused the dogs so the correct emotion might not have been shown. I also agree with how you say that the prototype does have some errors and room for improvement. However, as you said, we can not talk to dogs so I think that the vest is a step closer to understanding what/how dogs feel so it is understandable for there to be some errors. Overall this was really nicely written Kelby! Nice job!
DeleteThe main idea of this article is explaining the studies of canine emotions. based on recent test the average dog tends to wag their tail to the right when happy or pleased, but when they wag their tail to the left it is usually means that they feel threatened, uncomfortable or maybe even scared. Most scientists think that dogs also use this to communicate.
ReplyDeleteTo start to test the theories about dogs and their emotions they had the test subjects put on a vest in order to monitor their heart rate, they also videotaped the dog to watch the movement of their tail. They also constructed a robot dog in hope to match the reactions of a regular dog.
I do think that hypothesis of this article was correct, for this reading provided much evidence for the theory's, but I also think that more testing should be done until they confirm the ideas about the canines feelings. For there is more to a dog than just their heart rate and the wagging of their tails.
Great job Maggie! I think that you went into good detail about how scientists tested their theory. I like how you agreed with the article, but think they should continue working on their theory. I also liked your concluding sentence, it was very strong.
DeleteI think that the hypothesis of this article is that scientists think they have found a way to better observe dogs' feelings - by looking at the direction that they wag their tail. Scientists have done different kinds of experiments to try to prove this theory. One study observed 43 dogs, all of whom wore vests that monitored their heart rate. The dogs were shown manipulated images of dogs wagging just their tails, and the dogs reacted differently depending on how the dog in the image's tail was moving. When the dog's tail wagged to the right, the heart rates of the dogs being tested stayed the same, and they seemed relaxed. But when the dog's tail wagged to the left, the dogs' heart rates went up, and they seemed nervous. Though these tests were helpful to this study, there is still a lot more evidence to be discovered before this theory is confirmed. One question scientists have to answer is, what other actions contribute to how dogs view each other? The article stated that when the dogs being tested were put near mechanical dogs with only their tails wagging, they were slightly hesitant to approach the machine. Scientists suspect that this is because the real dogs were suspicious of the machine because its tail was the only thing moving, raising the question of whether or not there are other things that matter in how dogs respond to each other. I think that the tests already performed provided good evidence, but further research and testing still needs to be done to determine other factors in dogs' impressions of each other.
ReplyDeleteHey Lael! I think you made some very strong points in your blog. I especially agree with how they need more evidence to confirm the theory. I like how you mentioned that there could be other variables affecting the dogs' actions, and I think that that is a really good point. You used a lot of details and evidence from the article. Great job!
DeleteAwesome job Lael! I think you really went into some great detail about this article and the theories it proved. I also agree that there is still more evidence that could be gathered to better support this article and their theory. I think you did a great job on this!
DeleteIn this article, scientists hypothesized that the direction a dog wags its tail communicates its emotions, and that other dogs can sense how the dog is feeling by watching its tail movement. To test this hypothesis, scientists gathered evidence through a number of experiments. First, they put vests on 43 dogs that would monitor their heart rates. They then showed the dogs videos of a dog wagging its tail in different directions. Some videos were just silhouettes of a dog, and some were manipulated images.The videos were designed so that the dog’s tail was the only thing moving. When the dogs saw the video of the tail wagging to the right, they appeared calm and had a steady heart rate. When the dog wagged its tail to the left, the dogs’ heart rate increased and they appeared anxious. There isn’t much uncertainty about how the direction the tail wags links to the dogs’ emotions, but scientists now question how humans can use this information. It’s a lot more difficult for humans to detect the tail movements of dogs. Scientists are also wondering if this also occurs on a larger scale, like if approaching one side of a dog’s body will make them more friendly rather than aggressive. Overall, I thought that this information was very interesting, but not very useful. If scientists look deeper into the idea of moods being linked to the sides of a dog’s body, it think that information could be very useful in every day life.
ReplyDeleteKatie B. B Block
DeleteHi Grace, you did a really good job going into detail about how the scientists tested their theory. I agree with your thought that this article was not extremely useful. I liked your idea about how scientists should look deeper into the idea of moods being liked to the sides of a dog's body, I think that would make it even more interesting and also useful in everyday life.
“The Tail’s the Tell: Dog Wags Can Mean Friend or Foe” article shows that scientists under Giorgio Vallortigara hypothesized that a dog might feel differently when seeing another dog wag it’s tail to the right or left. To test this hypothesis, the scientists equipped forty-three testing dogs with small vests that would monitor their heart rates. They had the dogs watch video clips of a dog’s silhouette or a manipulated image of a real dog, where all other provocations were removed except for the wagging of the tail. The heart rate vests showed the scientists how the dogs reacted to specific tail wagging. Generally, when a dog saw the other dog wagging it’s tail to the right, they stayed calm. When the tail was wagged left, however, the dog seemed nervous. Scientists are still questioning whether this laterality will be helpful to humans, and if so, how would they use it? Scientists can observe whether the dog is feeling relaxed or anxious, but they wonder how this information can help dog owners know what a dog is feeling. Tom Reimchen, a biologist, constructed an experiment with robotic dogs with a remote-controlled tail. The real dogs that were tested with the robotic dog, whose tail was wagging to the right, were attracted to the seemingly-friendly “dog”. In my opinion, I think this hypothesis is a strong start to a more in-depth study of the asymmetrical tail-wagging that evokes emotions in dogs. To further the research on this topic, I think scientists should vary the breeds of dogs they test to prove that this theory works on multiple breeds. I also feel that scientists should give different stimuli to the dogs, not just tail wagging, to see if it evokes common or new emotions. This could include another dog’s bark, physical movement, ear placement, stance, and more. This will help further the idea “... that dogs have perceptual and attentional asymmetries”, stated by Vallortigara. These new experiments should be done in a manner that will not harm the dogs. I believe that the scientists did a satisfactory job of proving their hypothesis by using the heart monitor vests and the robotic tailed dog in their experiments.
ReplyDeleteThe main idea of the article was that scientist think that when dogs wag their tale in a certain direction that it shows what mood they are in. The experiment the scientist conducted was that they got 43 dogs and put them all in little vests with heart rate monitors. Then the scientists put up a video of a dog wagging its tail to the left which made the other 43 dogs all anxious. When the dog in the video wagged its tail to the right all the 43 dogs were relaxed and calm. The scientist also put up the silhouette of the dog in the video and the 43 dogs and they got the same results. A couple questions I do have is would the dogs react differently if the dog in the video was actually there and not in the video? Also would the different types of breeds affect the outcome in the end? or just small dogs, medium sized dogs, and then large dogs? I think this experiment definitely opened up some doors because it could lead to further testing but like I said I would also try having the dog there in person then In a video. I would also wonder could there be any other ways of testing this new hypothesis?, because it says near the beginning that they did conduct a series of experiments.
ReplyDeleteThe main hypothesis of the article is that when dogs wag their tails in certain directions, it can project different feelings and that other dogs can read these feelings.
ReplyDeleteThe scientists tested their hypothesis by showing dogs something they are used to, like their owners, and something that is new to them, like another dog, and it showed that they tended to wag their tails to the left when they saw the new thing and to the right when they saw the familiar thing. They conducted other tests in which they observed the dogs’ reactions to videos of dogs wagging their tails to the left and right. They also used a robotic dog to mimic tail motions and observed the dogs reactions.
One uncertainty is that there are still not enough tests to really determine that this is true, and that maybe these tail movements mean something else. Also, with the robot dog, the dogs continued to pause while approaching it, and the scientists do not yet know why.
I think that there still needs to be more data about these emotions, and that they should not just read the dogs heart rates, but their body motions and physical reactions. The article explains that they mostly only tested heart rates.
The main idea of the article was that scientists think when dogs wag their tales in certain directions, it shows what mood they are feeling or how they feel. Then the scientists conducted an experiment consisting of 43 dogs, and put them all in vests that monitored their heart rate. Then the scientists put up a video of a dog wagging their tails, and tested to see how they dog would react. When the dog in the video wagged its tail to the right all the 43 dogs were relaxed and calm. The scientist also put up the silhouette of the dog in the video and the 43 dogs and they got the same results.
ReplyDeleteA question that scientists still wonder about is if there is information that others can gain from the type of laterality. They can tell if the dogs are anxious or relaxed, but can this tell us how exactly to approach a dog? Scientists still wonder about this and resort to experimenting with a robotic tail.
I think that the prototype is a great idea, but I think it may have a few mistakes in it. They said in the article that the dog was a little confused. That might have been a little confused by the robot dog, because some of a real dog's emotions were not shown in the actual prototype. I think it was a well thought out attempt, but I think they can be more efficient with the robo-dog.
Teddy I agree that there prototype had some flaws but would it really work. most dogs are colorblind and the tail wagging on the right could be seen as a tail wag shadow on the left. Otherwise you had a great analysis 100%
DeleteThrough many test scientist hypothesize that when dogs wag their tail to the right it means they see something friendly or pleasant, but when they wag their tails to the left it mean they are frightened or uneasy, and that other dogs can see warning signals by looking at the tail of the other dog. They tested 43 dogs by putting them in vest with heart rate monitors. When they saw a dog wagging its tail to the left the test dogs got anxious and their heart rate went up, but when they saw it wagging to the right their heart rates went down and they were relaxed. I wonder if this theory changes with different breeds of dogs. I also wonder if this is a born instinct or something developed with the age of the dog, and if age makes a difference. I think this is a good hypothesis but might need some more evidence. They should test many more dogs, and of varied breeds and ages. I also think they could test between two real dogs, or even multiple real dogs, as apposed to between a video and a real dog.
ReplyDeleteSarah,
DeleteI definitely agree with you that this hypothesis could use some more evidence, and that testing multiple breeds of dogs will surely help to make the study more reliable and realistic. I also wonder whether this theory of picking up emotional cues through the tail wagging of another dog is a born instinct or something that dogs develop as they mature. You made a good point on how they should test between two real dogs, instead of one real and one robotic dog. The only problem with this test is that one dog could pick up all sorts of stimuli from the other dog, not just the wagging of their tail, making the test not as focused on the specific research topic (directions of a dog's wagging tail creating different emotions in dogs) and not as strong.
Great thoughts in your response!
In this article, scientists wanted to find out if the direction that a dog’s tail is wagging can communicate how a dog is feeling to other dogs. The direction that the tail wags is thought to be linked to how the dog feels. Dogs are sensitive to the emotions around them and they show this through wagging their tails. If a dog wags their tail to the left, this reaction can mean that the dog is anxious or they feel threatened. If the tail goes to the right, this can be interpreted as a good sign because they don’t feel threatened. To prove this theory, they developed vests that were designed to monitor the dog’s heart rate. Then Giorgio Vallortigara and other members in the University of Trento attached these vests to 43 dogs. They then proceeded to see the reaction each dog had to various images of other dogs wagging their tails. When the projection of the dogs wagged their tails to the right, the dogs stayed relaxed. However, when the images wagged their tails to the left, the dogs that were being tested started to get nervous and anxious. I think that this is a good start on the project, but I think that scientists would need to conduct quite a few more experiments in order to say that this is a proven fact. I think that this hypothesis could have more supporting evidence to back the statement up and would require more research. But overall I think that this is a very interesting idea and I enjoyed reading this article.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with you Iona. I think that even though this specific experiment may have proved the scientists' theory, there is still not enough data. If the scientists had ran more tests and experiments with larger numbers of dogs however, their theory would've have been more plausible. Despite this, I still agree that this was a good way to begin the experiment and that now it just needs further evidence and back up.
Delete“The Tail’s the Tell: Dog Wags Can Mean Friend or Foe” article shows that scientists under Giorgio Vallortigara hypothesized that a dog might feel differently when seeing another dog wag it’s tail to the right or left. To test this hypothesis, the scientists equipped forty-three testing dogs with small vests that would monitor their heart rates. They had the dogs watch video clips of a dog’s silhouette or a manipulated image of a real dog, where all other provocations were removed except for the wagging of the tail. The heart rate vests showed the scientists how the dogs reacted to specific tail wagging. Generally, when a dog saw the other dog wagging it’s tail to the right, they stayed calm. When the tail was wagged left, however, the dog seemed nervous. Scientists are still questioning whether this laterality will be helpful to humans, and if so, how would they use it? Scientists can observe whether the dog is feeling relaxed or anxious, but they wonder how this information can help dog owners know what a dog is feeling. Tom Reimchen, a biologist, constructed an experiment with robotic dogs with a remote-controlled tail. The real dogs that were tested with the robotic dog, whose tail was wagging to the right, were attracted to the seemingly-friendly “dog”. In my opinion, I think this hypothesis is a strong start to a more in-depth study of the asymmetrical tail-wagging that evokes emotions in dogs. To further the research on this topic, I think scientists should vary the breeds of dogs they test to prove that this theory works on multiple breeds. I also feel that scientists should give different stimuli to the dogs, not just tail wagging, to see if it evokes common or new emotions. This could include another dog’s bark, physical movement, ear placement, stance, and more. This will help further the idea “... that dogs have perceptual and attentional asymmetries”, stated by Vallortigara. These new experiments should be done in a manner that will not harm the dogs. I believe that the scientists did a satisfactory job of proving their hypothesis by using the heart monitor vests and the robotic tailed dog in their experiments.
ReplyDelete1.) The main hypotheses behind this article on dog’s wagging their tails based on emotions suggest many things. When a dog is wagging it’s tail to the right it was found to be more relaxed, when a dog wags it’s tail to the left it seems to be much more anxious than before.
ReplyDelete2.) To test their theory the scientists gathered 43 dogs and conducted some safe experiments in which no dogs were harmed. What they did was put vests on each of the dogs and showed them a video. The vests measured their heart rate and the video showed a dog wagging it’s tail to the right and then a dog wagging it’s tail to the left. Most of dog’s heart rate increased when seeing the video of the dog wagging it’s tail to the left. But when seeing the tail wag to the right their heart rate relaxed.
3.) Well we still really can’t get into a dogs mind and comprehend their ideas. Scientists today still don’t know to what extent a dog’s brain has. But really there are ways in which we may be able to support this idea more rather than just heart rate monitors and different physical reactions.
4.) I think that this hypotheses about dog’s tails and the different ways they wag it depend on their mood is a bit on edge. I don’t think that there isn’t enough evidence, but it would be nice to see more examples of how this is a solid fact about all dogs. If this does come to be a true fact about dogs, I couldn’t wait to some in what ways in which soothing effects of a right wagging tail could be implemented. In other words I think this to be a very interesting and amusing hypotheses about dogs.
Hey Chris,
DeleteI really enjoyed reading your response it was well executed and summarized the article really well. I do agree with you about how the scientists hypothesis is hard to believe for though they did back up their evidence with test there is much more to a dog then just what they experimented on. You also defiantly explained the acts of the experiment and what they had the canines do in clear detail.
1) The main hypothesis of the article was that dogs can communicate their feelings by wagging their tails. According to the article, when a dog wags it's tail from left to right, it is anxious. When a dog wags it's tail from right to left however, it is believed to be in a more relaxed state.
ReplyDelete2) Scientists reached this theory by doing an experiment on 43 dogs that wore vests with heart monitors equipped inside of them. The dogs were then shown videos of other dogs doing noting but wagging their tails. Dogs that were shown videos of other dogs wagging their tails to the right appeared more relaxed compared to dogs that were shown videos of other dogs wagging their tails to the left.
3) Although the experiment provided interesting and helpful information, there are still many questions left to answer. For example, how can the scientists be sure that the dog tail wagging to the left or right wasn't coincidental. The test was fairly small, so there should most likely be more dogs tested to help back up and prove this theory.
4) Even though the testing may have shown the theory to be correct, I still believe that there was not enough evidence and testing. The number of dogs tested was fairly small compared to the number of dogs everywhere, which means that any little mistake could've swayed the outcome of the experiment greatly. It could possibly have been just those dogs that reacted that way, and it is almost too close to tell whether or not this was coincidental or not.
Hi Seika,
DeleteI agree with many of your statements. I also think that there needs to be more evidence and testing, but I don't think it was a coincidence because all the dogs acted the same way, more dogs would've helped to further prove their hypothesis but I think they would've gotten the same result as they did with only 43. Also it wasn't that the dogs wagged from right to left or left to right, but it was that the tails were only either visible on either the left side or right side, as shown in the videos. Overall I thought your comment was very strong and had a lot of important details!
The scientists hypothesized that the direction in which a dog wags it’s tail is connected with their moods and feelings. They also wondered if it can be used as a type of communication. The scientists made 43 dogs wear heart monitoring vests while watching videos of other dogs or silhouettes of dogs wagging their tails. To be more precise and accurate, they designed the pictures to have no stimuli except for the direction of the tail’s motion. They saw that when the image of the dog wagged its tail to the right, the heart beats of the dogs remained at their constant speed and the dog remained calm. But, when the tail wagged to the right their heart rates increased and they became nervous. I think that the scientists weren’t very thorough with their testing. I think that they should've made more observations of the dogs and explain how they looked in more detail, like how they knew that they were relaxed or anxious based on their appearance. I also think that even though their tests had constant outcomes or results,they still needed to test more than 43 dogs. I think that this prototype may work based on their results so far, if they carry their research further. I also think that even if the scientists improve their hypothesis, the results won't be very effective to humans like said in the article. I dont think that humans will be able to tell what direction their dogs wag their tails in, nor will it be very significantly helpful. Maybe the scientists should broaden their research to other species to possibly find a more useful meaning to their studies.
ReplyDeleteI think your hypothesis was correct, but another aspect to the article was that dogs' reactions to movement of other dogs can either make them feel threatened or calm. I agree that by itself, the information drawn form the experiment isn't that much of a help to humans, but I think that if they widen the experiment and do more testing, maybe with real dogs, scientists could gather more details on this subject. You provided a lot of supporting details from the article and also had well thought-out opinions on the future of discoveries in this area of science.
DeleteBased on the article, it can be concluded that the direction of a dogs wagging tail can indicate a dogs emotions. This hypothesis was proved by multiple scientific experiments. Dogs with tails wagging to the right appeared calm; they also had a steady heart rate. On the other hand, when a dog’s tail wagged to the left, they seemed to be anxious with increased heart rates. Now that scientists have discovered the movements of a dog’s tail and its emotions are related, they are wondering how it will affect humans. They also wonder if inputs such as size and weight will affect their emotions. Although this information isn't very useful, I did find it interesting and will be looking for this information with my dog. I wonder if there are any other connections with any animal of emotion and body movements.
ReplyDeleteHi Hannah,
DeleteI completely agree with you. I think that you could have used a little more detail about how they tested the dogs. The way you described which way meant what emotion was very detailed. I think that they need to have more aspects of testing the dogs such as breed or environment. Overall, very good job.
Hi Hannah,
DeleteI agree with you when you were saying this information wasn't completely useful when supporting the articles hypothesis. I also wondered if there are any other connections with any animal of emotion and body movements. I do think however that you could elaborate on what they did to test the dogs and the dogs reaction. But, all in all, very nice job.
ReplyDelete1. The main hypothesis the scientists have in this article is that dog’s use tail wagging to portray their emotions to other dogs, left side tail wagging gets the other dogs nervous, and right side tail wagging makes the other dog relax.
2. The scientists in this article took 43 dogs and dressed them in vests that monitored their heart rate and showed them simulated clips of a dog wagging its tail to the left side, right side, or not at all. The scientists took the heart rate of the dogs and looked at their reactions and used that to back up their conclusion.
3. I personally think that this experiment was conducted very well and left barely any room for error, but one thing thing that could have affected the results is the breed of the dog or if the dog could tell that the clips shown to them where robotic dogs. Also this experiment was conducted on a rather small scale so the scientists might want to expand their experiment to maybe 100 dogs.
4. I personally thought that this experiment worked very well. The scientists might not have conducted the experiment on a lot of dogs but I feel as though testing it on 43 dogs is enough to base a hypothesis on. Also the clips shown to the dogs were showing just a dog wagging its tail, no other movements, so this makes the results more precise and eliminates room for error.
The main idea of the “Dog’s Tail” article was that the way that a dog wags it’s tail depends on how it is feeling. This idea was first tested by showing dogs pictures and noting which direction it waged. They saw that dogs tended to wag their tail to the right when they felt at ease and to the left when they felt threatened. In addition to that they used a robotic dog wagging it’s tail left or right and they had a heart monitor seeing what it’s heart rate was when they came in contact with the dog. What it still uncertain about the experiments is that scientists don’t know why the dogs wag their tails in such a way. I think that the experiment is well proven and supported. However I think it is a waste of time, money and is childish nonsense. Still several people conducted different experiments and they all came up with the same answer. If ten labs run ten experiments get one answer it can not be a coincidence.
ReplyDeleteHello Sebastien,
DeleteI agree with all of your thoughts except for one. I do not think that this experiment was a waste of time. I think that knowing how dogs are feeling is important to owners and veterinarians. It can help humans be more considerate to their dogs.
In the article scientist did test on on dogs and when they wagged there tail to the left they where anxious and when they wagged it to the right they were at rest.
ReplyDeleteThe test they did where put heart rate monitors to see what they where feeling. In the videos it showed what the dogs were doing when the dogs tail was wagging.
There is not enough information and questions answered, meaning they need to do more test to find the exact answer to a dogs tail wagging. They should try to use object that really attracted a dog.
I think that the experiment was ok because they showed results, but not enough results to completely answer the questions.
Scientists were testing if a dog tail wag to the left is different than a tail wag to the right. They tested it with dogs that looked at videos.
ReplyDeleteThey gathered evidence by testing dogs
They are uncertain because dogs are different
I think the prototype will work
The scientists hypothesize that dogs can sense other dogs’ emotions simply by the direction of their wagging tail. Wagging to the right generally conveys a relaxed, happy, and friendly mood to the other dog, while to the left means anxious and threatened.
ReplyDeleteTo gather evidence for the hypothesis, a number of experiments have been carried out. In one, 43 dogs wore vests that monitored heart rate and showed the dogs special images of dogs that focused solely on the wagging tail. When the dogs saw the dog in the image wag its tail to the right, they stayed calm, but seeing the tail wagging to the left made them distressed. Another test involved dogs approaching a robotic dog with a remote control tail that could wag in each direction. The results were largely the same, tail-wagging on the right attracted the dogs and even seemed to convey friendship.
There are still many questions about this hypothesis. Mainly, dogs are animals, so we will never be able to fully understand them. It is much more difficult for us to perceive the dog’s behavior and communications. The article also says that scientists thought that when the dogs saw a dog with its tail wagging to the left, the dog looked anxious. I think this could be evidence, but it is not the sort of hard fact or statistic that someone needs to prove a theory.
The tests have not been incredibly extensive, so it is possible that all of the conclusions made by scientists, that wagging to the right is positive and to the left is negative, are just coincidences. The scientists used 43 dogs, which is a large amount, but not enough to prove this theory definitely, I think. In order to really prove this theory, the scientists should do more research and get more evidence.
In the experiment described in the article "The Tail's The Tell: Dog Wags Can Mean Friend Or Foe," Giorgio Vallortigara and other scientists hypothesized that dogs develop different emotions from the direction in which another dog's tail is moving. In the test, results showed dogs getting anxious when the other dog moved its tail to the left, and relaxed when the other dog moved its tail to the right. These results also lined up with a previous experiment used to answer this same question. In that experiment, dogs would wag their tail to the right and act relaxed when given an image of something peaceful like their owners. However, when given an image of something threatening like a dominant dog, the dogs’ tails moved to the left as they were anxious. This led to the next question which asked- "Does asymmetric wagging convey meaning to other dogs?" To find out the answer to this, the scientists put vests on 43 dogs to measure their heart rates and showed them images of a dog wagging its tail to the right, and a dog wagging its tail to the left. When showed the image with the right direction of the tail, dogs were relaxed, had reasonably slow heart rates, and seemed at ease. When showed the image with the left direction of the tail, dogs were anxious and had racing heart rates. One question that hasn’t been answered is if there is information that can be picked up from this test. A way you could test that is by seeing if a human can tell which direction a tail is going. If they can tell most of the time, then the information gained from this experiment would be useful. However, if humans can’t tell which direction the tail is going, then the information would be rendered useless. I think that the hypothesis given in the article was well supported by the information in the test. However, the hypothesis could have been more specific. It could have predicted the direction that the tail goes for different emotions.
ReplyDelete1. The main hypothesis of the article was about how scientists experimented on what a dog means when they wag their tail to the left or the right.
ReplyDelete2. Evidence was gathered by testing 42 dogs by showing them a video and a picture of a dog with their tails in a different direction. The dogs reactions to the video, and picture were recorded.
3. Why and who even decided this was a worth while experiment on dogs wagging their tails? Does the evidence greatly affect anything?
4. It seemed like a good project to be doing. Although I wonder how long it took to figure out weather a dog is happy or threatened by how it wags it's tail.
Hey Johnny.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all great job with this blog but there were a few things I was a little confused about. Your quote describes how the cocoa gloms together and how they can't get into the blood stream. But your explanation of the quote says that your quote was an experiment. This was one of the parts that confused me. Also in section four I think your idea for an experiment was excellent because just eating normal chocolate isn't very good for you and eating cocoa powder may actually be healthy. Good job!
1. The main idea of this article is that the direction in which a dog wags its tail determines the mood they are in. If the tail wags right the dogs mood stays the same. If the tail wags left, the dog becomes more anxious.
ReplyDelete2. In this article scientists gathered evidence by testing 42 dogs. During the testing the dogs wore vests that could record their heart rate. The dogs were seated and watched a video of other dogs wagging their tails. When the dog in the videos tail started wagging towards the right, the heart rate of the dogs did not change meaning there emotion stayed the same. However when the tail wagged left, the dogs heart rates went up and they became anxious. These results helped support the hyposis that the direction of the wag determines the dogs emotional state.
3. In my opinion there should be more testing on what hte emotions will lead too. Also it would be a good idea to test what makes the dog sad and if there is connection with the wag of the tail when addressing the sad emotion.
4. I feel that I am not completely persuaed into beleiving that this hyposis is correct. I would like to see more evidence backing up this idea.