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As cute as it would be, dogs can't talk, and their faces aren't as expressive as ours,
虽然狗狗不会说话，但还是很可爱，狗狗的脸不像人类表情那么多，
so it's sometimes hard to tell what they're thinking.
所以有时很难分辨它们在想什么。
But dogs do communicate in one way we can't: with their tails.
但是狗狗确实用一种人类不会的方式彼此交流：用它们的尾巴。
Those fluffy tails are constantly conveying your dog's mood,
那些毛茸茸的尾巴常常传递着狗狗的情绪，
but just because they're wagging it all over the place doesn't always mean your dog is excited to see you.
但是狗狗们乱摇尾巴并不总是意味着你的狗狗很开心见到你。
A tail wag doesn't always signal happiness and friendliness.
摇尾巴并不总意味着开心和友好。
It's way more complicated than that.
事实要比这些复杂得多。
The exact behavior can vary depending on the breed of dog, but the general pattern is the same.
具体的行为因狗的品种而各有不同，但一般模式是相同的。
If your dog lowers their tail between their legs, it probably means they're scared, anxious, or submissive.
如果你的狗狗将它们的尾巴降低到两腿之间，这可能就意味着它们害怕、焦虑或顺从。
If they hold it up, something has captured their interest -- like a squirrel!
如果它们将尾巴提起来，这意味着有什么东西引起了它们的兴趣。比如一只松鼠！
The higher the tail, the more excited the dog is feeling, although the relative height varies between breeds.
尾巴提的越高表明狗狗越兴奋，虽然尾巴的相对高度因品种而各有不同。
Some dogs just naturally hold their tails higher than others.
一些狗狗天生尾巴比其他狗狗提的高。
If their tail wags slowly, your dog is maybe a little uncertain about the situation.
如果它们慢慢地摇动尾巴，你的狗狗可能对现在的情况有些不确定。
But if it's waving energetically from side to side,
但如果尾巴来回很有活力地摇动，
it's probably exactly what you think -- a happy, enthusiastic hello.
这可能正如你所想——这是一种快乐热情的问好。
As strange as it sounds, a pair of studies by a group of Italian researchers showed that
虽然这听起来很奇怪，但意大利研究团队的两项研究发现
which direction a dog wags its tail is important, too.
狗狗尾巴摇动的方向也很重要。
In the first experiment, 30 dogs were exposed to four different stimuli:
在第一项实验中，将30只狗狗放在4种不同的刺激情况之中：
their owners, strange humans, a dominant unfamiliar dog, and a cat.
它们的主人、陌生人类、占支配地位的陌生狗狗以及一只猫。
The dogs wagged their tails much more on the right side of their bodies when they saw their owner,
当狗狗看到它们的主人时，它们的尾巴会偏向身体的右边，
and slightly more on the right when they saw a strange human.
当它们看见陌生人类时，会稍微向右偏。
They also tended to wag on the right when they saw a cat, but the movements were smaller and more insecure.
当它们看见猫时也会易于向右偏，但摇动的动作更小更不确定。
But when they saw a dominant, strange dog, they wagged more on the left side of their bodies.
但当它们看见占主导地位的陌生狗时，它们的尾巴会偏向身体左边。
According to the scientists, this means they wagged on the right when they saw things they'd like to approach,
科学家称，这表明当它们看见它们喜欢接近的事物时，它们的尾巴会朝右摇，
and on the left when they saw things they'd want to avoid.
当它们看见它们想要避开的东西时会向左偏。
See, the two sides of dogs' brains have different specialties.
狗狗们大脑的两边有着不同的特征。
The researchers suggested that one side handles approach responses, like when a dog greets its owner,
研究员认为大脑的一边处理接近反应，比如当狗狗和主人打招呼时，
and the other side handles withdraw responses.
另一边处理撤退反应。
And which way the tail waved seemed to depend on which half of the brain was being activated.
尾巴朝哪边摇似乎取决于大脑的哪一边被激活。
A follow-up study with about 40 dogs showed that other dogs could actually pick up on this.
后续也对40只狗狗进行研究，发现狗狗们也懂得这一点。
When they saw a video of another dog wagging its tail on the left, they got anxious, and their heart rates went up.
当它们看见视频里另一只狗朝左摇尾巴，就会变得焦虑，心跳加快。
But when they watched a video of a dog wagging its tail on the right, they stayed relaxed.
但当它们看就视频里的狗狗朝右摇尾巴，它们就会放松。
It's possible that this is a way dogs communicate with each other, since many of them have easily-visible tails.
可能这就是狗狗彼此交流的方式，因为很多狗狗都有着显而易见的尾巴。
So if you want to become an expert dog whisperer, keep a close eye on that tail.
因此如果你想成为狗语专家，就多注意它们的尾巴。
It could be telling you more than you've ever realized!
尾巴能够告诉你更多！
Thanks for asking, and thanks to all of our patrons on Patreon who keep these answers coming.
谢谢提问，谢谢Patreon上一直向我们提问的观众。
If you'd like to support the show and submit your questions, you can go to patreon.com/scishow.
如果你想支持科学秀并提交你的问题，请登录patreon.com/scishow。
