Tail Above Spine Or Below?

[angelsun]

My manchesters always worked with their tail out and sweeping down, but then this was the correct tail carriage for the breed. Only puppies carried tails high and over their backs (a severe fault) In the case of the dominant dog, it showed as tail straight off the back and quivering.

[SkySoaringMagpie]

They mostly carry their tails per the breed standard. Afghans - up on the move. Salukis - down on the move.

It's not just carriage imo, but what the dog is doing with it. There's a difference between a tail held up stiffly, one wagging very slowly, and one wagging excitedly.

[corvus]

Very true, SSM, and I don't doubt that this trainer was reading the whole dog, not just whether the tail was above the spine or below. It's a bit frustrating to me, though. When she's telling all her clients that it's that easy and that dogs with tails up are dominant, she's perpetuating the massive oversimplification of dog behaviour.

I dunno what you do, though. Is it unreasonable to want people to at least understand that there are a lot of contextual aspects to interpreting dog behaviour?

[Sayreovi]

Both my dog's natural tail carriage is raised above the spine, the standard calls for their tail to curved into a C when gaiting and excited.

The only time the tail is dropped is when they have a fright.