Opinions on a Dogs Tail and What it means - Page 1

I was sent a picture by a friend of my dog heeling.........Nice pick - I have watched many dogs working and their tails are not positioned as my dog's tail is......when he works - it is always straight up......Just would like to get peoples opinions on what they think this means to them............ 


Regards.
Yogie

Yes - same dog.........he seems to have the same stance in both pictures - ... he does love to work!!!  Tail not so striaght - but still holding it erect.........

Yogie

Just looks like he's happy and enthusiastic and loves working for you! 

The FCI breed standard say this about tails:

Tail
The tail reaches at least to the hock joint, but not past the halfway point of the hock itself. The coat is slightly longer on the underside of the tail. The tail hangs in a soft, saber-like curve. When the dog is excited or in motion, the tail is somewhat raised, but should not reach past the horizontal line. Surgical corrections are not permitted.

Personally I've seen many GSD's with correct tail carriages at rest or when not excited rise above the horizontal when excited (including my own).

That's a confident tail!
You just don't want to see a Husky like tail on a Shepherd, that curls up and over the back....

Just like with people, some dogs have certain gestures and habits that they do in certain situations. A dog holding his tail this high means something for him, but another dog it may be holding it this way for another reason.  Its a matter of the owner/handler knowing how to read THEIR dog. 

Example. One dog chases its tail because it is bored. Another dog chases its tail because he is obsessed with it. Same actions done by two different dogs for different reason.  

 

The dog is showing a happy, confident, and willing dog.  A dog that enjoys his work and wants that reward.  Look at the ears, body carriage and focus.  Canine behavior and body language is fairly consistent through out dogs.  A tail carried high shows confidence or dominance.  However, many people incorrectly read only sign of a dogs body language, like the tail for example and get the wrong picture.  Some people still believe that a dog with a wagging tail is "happy" or if the ears are pinned then the dog is "scared" or "submissive."  I can tell you that those assumptions by themselves can be very wrong.  A wagging tail simply means "excited" either happy or angry but simply excited.  The height of the tail means something.  Ears pinned back can be submissive, it can also say I'm "ready to bite" and not afraid to do it.  Ears pinned back do not always show fear or submission, all dogs pin their ears back before they bite. It can be the sign of a strong dog ready to fight, especially if the dog is quiet.

Tail chasing is a behavior and not a true body language.  It is not the same thing.  When you look at dogs that have tails and erect ears, you can get a pretty universal read of the body language and state of mind by looking at the entire dog.  Stance, body posture, focus, ears, tail, mouth, facial expression, etc. must be read as one signal.  That is how you get a true read on the dog.  Taking out one piece and going just by that is often erroneous and can be dangerous.  Now dogs with cropped tails, cropped ears or floppy ears can be harder to read, but the signals are all there.  Dogs are masters at reading body language and it is a central means of communicating to us and other dogs.  The signs are fairly universal.  
 
One of my favorites is when my dog wags his tail in a big circle, it means "Hi friend, I'm happy to see you."  

Yogi,
I might add that he is probably ready for his reward and knows it's coming!  Nice dog and nice work.