A friendly dog standing in a sunny open space with its tail wagging happily.

Big question

为什么狗会摇尾巴？

Wèishénme gǒu huì yáo wěiba?

Why do dogs wag their tails?

狗会摇尾巴，是在用身体告诉我们它很开心、很兴奋，或者很想靠近。

Gǒu huì yáo wěiba, shì zài yòng shēntǐ gàosu wǒmen tā hěn kāixīn, hěn xīngfèn, huòzhě hěn xiǎng kàojìn.

狗的尾巴可以帮它表达心情。狗开心、兴奋，或者看到喜欢的人时，尾巴常常会左右摇来摇去。有些狗觉得很好奇的时候也会摇尾巴。摇来摇去的尾巴，常常是在说：“我现在有好多感觉，想让你知道。”

Gǒu de wěiba kěyǐ bāng tā biǎodá xīnqíng. Gǒu kāixīn, xīngfèn, huòzhě kàndào xǐhuan de rén shí, wěiba chángcháng huì zuǒyòu yáo lái yáo qù. Yǒuxiē gǒu juéde hěn hǎoqí de shíhou yě huì yáo wěiba. Yáo lái yáo qù de wěiba, chángcháng shì zài shuō: "Wǒ xiànzài yǒu hǎo duō gǎnjué, xiǎng ràng nǐ zhīdào."

如果一只狗摇着大大的尾巴走过来，你觉得它最先想让你知道的是什么心情呢？

Rúguǒ yì zhī gǒu yáozhe dàdà de wěiba zǒu guòlái, nǐ juéde tā zuì xiān xiǎng ràng nǐ zhīdào de shì shénme xīnqíng ne?

Dogs wag their tails to show feelings like excitement, friendliness, or strong interest.

A dog's tail can help show how it feels. When a dog is happy, excited, or glad to see someone, its tail may swish back and forth. Some dogs also wag when they are curious. A wagging tail often means the dog has big feelings it is trying to share with its whole body.

If a dog came up to you with a big waggy tail, what feeling do you think it might be showing first?