Why does my dog randomly wag his tail?

If your dog has been randomly wagging its tail, you might be wondering why and what you can do about it. This post will show you five common reasons why dogs do it and what you can do to get it to stop.

So, why does my dog randomly wag its tail? Possible reasons why your dog randomly wags its tail are wanting attention, boredom, thinking you’re giving it something, hearing something, or rewarding the behavior.

Your dog might actually be doing it for a number of different reasons and it might be due to a combination of them. However, there are some things you can consider when figuring out the main causes and there are many things you can do about them.

Reasons why your dog randomly wags its tail

Below are a number of possible causes and what would make each of them more likely to be the main reason.

It wants attention

The reason why it does it might be because it wants attention from you. This would be more likely if it does it more when you have not been giving it much attention and if you normally give it more attention when it does it.

Boredom

Another possible cause is that it is bored and hoping to get you to give it exercise. This would be more likely if it wags its tail and comes towards you before getting exercise and it does not do it after getting exercise.

It thinks it’s getting something

It might also be the case that it does it because it thinks that you might be about to give it something. This would be more likely if it wags its tail more at times such as when you stand up, are in the kitchen or when you are eating.

Encouraging it

The cause might also be that it has learned that the behavior gets encouraged. If you tend to give it things such as extra attention, toys or treats, when it randomly wags its tail, it will likely do it more in order to get more rewards.

It hears something

The cause might also be that it hears something that you do not. This would be more likely if it does it more at a certain time such as when there are likely to be people outside.

Consider what is different when your dog wags its tail

When trying to figure out why your dog has been doing it, it would help to consider the timing of when it does it. If it seems to do it more at a certain time, it might be the case that the timing has something to do with it.

For example, if it wags its tail when you stand up, it could be because it thinks you might be about to feed it or walk it.

What to do about your dog randomly wagging its tail

Below are some options you have when dealing with the behavior.

Give it attention throughout the day

If it seems like it has been doing it in order to get extra attention from you, it would help to give it attention throughout the day. Ways to do so would be to train it, play with it and to exercise it.

Give it sufficient exercise

It would also help to ensure that it is able to get the daily amount of recommended exercise for its age and breed.

Ensure it’s getting the right diet

It might also have been doing it because of being hungry especially if it does it a lot more before being fed. It would help to ensure that it is able to get the daily amount of recommended exercise for its age and breed.