((( FUZZING UP AT THE BASE OF THE TAIL: BAD SIGN OR GOOD? )))

[Officially Retired]

Pretty sure you are wrong.

Don't see how a dog is "under stress" when it's happy.

Did you even read how my bitch's tail fuzzes up when I get her food?

What "stress" is she under, running around in circles, happy as fuck, uber-excited about eating?

What about when I grab a toy and she does the same thing? She is EXCITED, nothing more.

Regarding the fuzzing issue, I can't possibly fathom how 1) anyone can conceive of this is always a "bad sign" ... nor 2) how in the world it "means nothing."

It may not mean GAMENESS ... but it sure as shit means SOMETHING.

They don't do this relaxed. They do it when they're amped-up, challenged, or excited.

It may simply be a reaction to a shot of adrenaline from the adrenal gland (fight or flight).

In a game dog it means "fight" ... in a cur dog it may mean "no more" ... but it damned sure means SOMETHING ... and that "something" may indeed vary, so there may well be no "one" answer.

To universally say it's a bad sign is simply wrong IMO ... and perhaps so too is it wrong to believe it's always a good sign.

It may simply be the body's response to a shot of adrenaline, over which the dog has no control, and how that dog handles the adrenaline shot may well be up in the air ... and individually dependent.

Jack

[gotap_d]

I dont think it means one thing one way or the other but based on the voting choices i wouldnt have voted that its ALWAYS bad nor would i have voted that it ALWAYS means the dog is geeked up. Its too much of an opinion/experienced based and an individualized dog situation for anyone to say it means one of those voting choices.

[Officially Retired]

I think it definitely means there is some sort of "adrenaline rush," in all dogs, and how the dog handles it is an individual reaction.

So I can see how people have mixed experiences ... because different dogs get adrenaline rushes based on different reasons ... and each handles it differently.

But I think every dog is "on alert" (in some kind of way) when they fuzz-up like that ...

Jack

[bulldoghistorian]

do you mean its like in the middle of the tail there is like the hair standing up

[Officially Retired]

Yes, there or at the base of the rump.

[bulldoghistorian]

all my dogs have it

[bulldoghistorian]

if that is what you mean , all mine have it down from Jackie Brown and yes definitely within my line that means a whole lot
during a show that's my main information how there feeling

[Officially Retired]

They've all gotta be curs then, lol, j/k

Yeah, I have seen a lot of my dogs with it too, many of them my best dogs, and never figured it was anything other than an indication they were "amped" about something.

Then I started noticing how my bitch Amazon does that every time she "sees something" now (cat, dog, movement in the bushes, etc.). She is maturing, and clearly "turning on," so much so that even when I grab her food dish, or a toy, she instantly is "on alert" fuzzed-up.

So I thought it would make an interesting topic, because I have heard many people say it's a "bad" sign, and I don't see how, really. At least not with my dogs and my experiences with them.

Interesting about yours too

[FrostyPaws]

I rarely see any of my dogs down from Frosty ever fuzz up. The one thing they do is just drop their tail about 20 minutes into any activity. It just hangs there, relaxed. Now, there are a couple of dogs here from different breedings that fuzz up at times like has been mentioned here. I've seen them fuzz when excited, and I've seen them fuzz when they get into serious trouble. I've seen some fuzz right before they pack it in. Whether it means anything to one person's chosen dogs or not is based on that person's personal experience. If my dogs from Frosty suddenly started having fuzzy tails, I don't know what that would mean as it's something they simply don't do.

[bulldoghistorian]

Frosty if that fuzz goes away in a show I am in deep shit LOL