Tails
 

Curious about how your yorkie holds his/her tail and what it means?
Most of the time, Johnny's tail is down. If he gets excited when he sees a bird or squirrel or rabbit in the yard, he holds it high. When he wags it, it's mostly half-mast but he sure can wag it fast!
In general, not excited mode, how does your furbaby hold the tail?

Mika has a full tail and it is held pointing upwards with lots of feathers hanging underneath. Its very cute.:D

Molly has a full tail,and when she is happy, it curls round over her back, like a pigs tail..if something scares her, she tucks it underneath her.

Sounds like Jackson! Most of the time, it's like this...

Interesting question. Thanks for posting.

I wish Eddie had a tail so I can tell what he's thinking sooner! Generally, his is straight out or mildly down. It goes up when he's curious or mad. It wags like a dickens when he's happy.

I just Googled hoping to find pictures of what dog's tail position means, and while I didn't find that I thought this explanation on wikianswers.com was interesting.

Most people have heard a dog wags his tail when he is happy. This is actually only partial correct. A dog wags their tail due to feeling conflicting emotions at the same time. An example of this would be feeling happy and nervous together. These conflicting emotions manifest into the body language of wagging their tail. Tail wagging starts from the time they are born and are nursing on their mother, they are content to be feeding but instinctively anxious to be feeding so close to another dog, in this case their litter mate. When a dog sees his master he is happy to see him but because he is submissive to his master he is wary not to upset. When a dog see a stranger walking up to him he can be excited to see some one but very nervous because he does not know them.

Chachi and Jewels' tails are usually straight out. It is down if they are frightened or in trouble

Pixie holds hers high over her back most of the time...she's very bold and confident despite her small size...and it wags constantly...she's very expressive with it..:)

Dogs' tail language is the same for all dogs. It's wired in, like how all humans smile when they are happy.

The tail conveys many things. The height indicates the dog's comfort level and and state of "arousal". A low tail means the dog does not feel confident, so I would be worried if my dog's tail was down all the time. I have noticed that Thor's is always down while he's eating, for some reason. I assume it's a protective gesture of some sort.

Half-mast should be the normal state of the tail.

Up means the dog is very interested in something.

If the tail is wagging, it's good to look at the rest of the body. If the body is loose, the dog is happy and excited. If the body is stiff and the tail is just moving a bit, it usually means the dog is thinking about attacking.

alaskayorkie, I've grown the hair out on Thor's tail extra long so I can see it move more easily.

Ziggy's docked tail is his barometer. If it is up, all is right with the world. If it is down, he is sick, tired or scared.

When Suzi's tail is down, she is scared, and not confident. Something is bothering her . When she is excited , she is wagging her tail back and forth . Her tail small naturally, and so cute. She carries her tail sometimes halfway up, and that is when I talk to her, and she's looking at me, then it is as if she understands , because I will get up and go towards the door, she then starts barking, running in circles, in sheer delight! Because she knows that she can go with me. Again her tail is halfway up. When someone is at the door she is wagging her tail straight up, excited, yet nervous, because she does not know who's here.

Suzi is very expressive with her tail , and i often watch her . I think it is a sure sign of dogs body language, and how they communicate.

I also think a dog's tail is part of the species body language but I'm still not sure why Johnny's tail is carried low most of the time.

It's interesting to read alaskayorkie's findings too...conflicted emotions:confused:
Inside that little head some pretty complicated stuff goes on.