Do Dogs use their tail for balance?

[aceplace57]

I sometimes watch my Chihuahua use his tail. It curls up over his back when he’s really happy. Sometimes he holds it out straight. Or tucked between the legs when upset.

I swear it looks like he uses it for balance walking along the edge of our deck. Or on the edge of the bed.

Any research on dogs doing this?

What about dogs with docked tails? Or bulldogs, Bostons, and Frenchies born without them? I never see my Boston hold her stub tail out or to the side. Does she have less balance? She does wag it sometimes. Nothing cuter than that stub tail going a mile a minute.

[aceplace57]

Google finds ask.com, yahoo questions etc. on tails. Not really any legitimate sources. Seems pretty divided if tails are used for balance or not.

Found this article on docking. Not sure if this Wansborough guy is an animal rights activist or a legit researcher.

Robert Wansborough argued in a 1996 paper[4] that docking tails puts dogs at a disadvantage in several ways. First, dogs use their tails to communicate with other dogs (and with people); a dog without a tail might be significantly handicapped in conveying fear, caution, aggression, playfulness, and so on. Certain breeds use their tails as rudders when swimming, and possibly for balance when running, so active dogs with docked tails might be at a disadvantage compared to their tailed peers. In 2007, Stephen Leaver, a graduate student at the University of Victoria, published a paper on tail docking which found that tail length was important in the transmission of social cues. The study found that dogs with shorter tails (docked tails) would be approached with caution, as if the approaching dog was unsure of the emotional state of the docked dog. The study goes on to suggest that dogs with docked tails may grow up to be more aggressive. The reasoning postulated by Tom Reimchen, UVic Biologist and supervisor of the study, was that dogs who grew up without being able to efficiently transmit social cues would grow up to be more anti-social and thus more aggressive.[5]

Docking (dog)

[beowulff]

I remember seeing a video of a dog that had lost two legs - front right, and hind left. It learned to walk (and run) again, twirling it’s tail to act as a counterweight. The video was quite amazing in slow motion.

[ZipperJJ]

If my golden retriever trips or is in a precarious position, she appears to use her tail to help with balance in the exact same way a person would hold out and “twirl” their arms to right themselves.