A Wag of the Tail
I guess I just speak “dog”. I say this because dog body language seems so easy to read. And that is why elephants make me nervous—I just have a hard time reading them. When I was an animal welfare inspector I would have up close and personal contact with elephants and I dreaded it every time. Dogs, on the other hand are fun because they are so easy!
Take tail wagging for instance. Dogs wag their tail because they are happy. They move their tail up when anxious and/ are on guard, down when scared, but wag it when they are happy. And the energy put into the wag directly reflects how happy the dog is.
The thing to remember is this: just because the dog is happy doesn’t mean that he is not going to attack you. Pit bulls are a perfect example of this rule. Pit bulls that are trained to fight are happy to fight. So they wag their tail because they know they are going to do something fun. That is why they appear so happy when attacking someone or something. An unfamiliar dog vigorously wagging his entire rear quarters is truly happy to see you and is safe to approach.
Another thing to remember is that along with people, dogs display behavior related to left brain activity (pleasing and familiar thoughts) and right brain activity (fear and intimidation). A tail wag to the left (right brained controlled) will mean the dog sees you as a fun or happy thing. Wags to the right (left brained controlled) means the dog is happy, but scared of you so you need to be careful. This is a dog that may bite you due to fear.
Elephants are another story for another time.