Left-right asymmetry and attractor-like dynamics of dog’s tail wagging in dog–human interactions

However, the effects of social cues on tail wagging and the intrinsic organization of wagging behavior remain largely unknown. Here, we developed a platform using a deep-learning-based motion-tracking technique to extract and analyze the movement trajectory of a dog’s tail tip during dog-human interactions.

Individual dogs exhibited unique and stable wagging characteristics. We further found that tail wagging developed asymmetry towards the right side over three days of dog-human interactions, suggesting that it is a time-sensitive indicator of social familiarity. In addition, wagging appeared to follow an attractor-like dynamic process consisting of stable states and unstable, transitional states.