This study focuses public attention on the (hitherto largely ignored) concept of wider angle of wag:
“Risk factors for tail injuries in dogs in Great Britain,” G. Diesel, D. Pfeiffer, S. Crispin and D. Brodbelt, Veterinary Record, vol. 166, no. 26, June 26, 2010, pp. 812-7. The authors report:
“Data were obtained from a stratified random sample of veterinary practices throughout Great Britain, and questionnaires were sent to owners of dogs with tail injuries and owners of a randomly selected sample of dogs without tail injuries…. Two hundred and eighty-one tail injuries were recorded from a population of 138,212 dogs attending 52 participating practices….. Dogs with a wide angle of wag and dogs kept in kennels were at significantly higher risk of sustaining a tail injury. Dogs with docked tails were significantly less likely to sustain a tail injury.”