A Waggy Dog's Tail
Since you responded to our recent survey on your dog's favourite time of day to eat a bonio© biscuit,
boffins have been hard at work analysing the findings and working out just how much energy is generated by the wagging tails
of Britain's excited dogs as they await their favourite branded dog biscuit!
It's bonio time!
The nation's 'waggiest' moment is at breakfast time, between 8 and 9am, which we've termed
bonio time! If harnessed, the power surge generated by the wagging tails of all of Britain's 8 million dogs
during that time would be enough to1:
- Light a football stadium for 2 matches including extra time!2
- Make 710 cups of tea!
- Lift a jumbo jet two metres off the ground!
- Run four households for a day!
- Provide three years of continuous laptop use!
The research
The study3, undertaken by independent research consultancy Mindlab International, analysed 500 dogs of various
breeds and calculated their average 'waggage'. The calculation is based on simple harmonic motion - the same movement as a
clock pendulum - and includes factors such as tail length, diameter, mass and the speed and duration of each wag.
Positive energy
Of course, we can't yet harness this energy directly (which is a shame, as we're sure that biscuit-powered electricity
generation would be cheap and environmentally friendly!) but as every dog-owner knows, the real power of a dog's wagging tail
is emotional power. Our survey found that dog owners find a wag from their dog's tail more than twice as uplifting as their
sports team winning a game. And in interesting news for friendships everywhere, a hug from a friend is only a sixth as
uplifting as an enthusiastic tail wag - dog's really are an owner's best friend.4
Treat me nice
The study also looked at what gets dogs' tails wagging, and suggests that when it comes to likes and dislikes, dogs and
their owners have lots in common. Dogs demonstrate a higher level of excitement on receiving a treat (56%) than they do
receiving their main meal (31%). And when it comes to who gets our dogs' tails wagging, the poor mother-in-law comes bottom
of the list, even below the postman!
Want to get your dog's tail wagging?
There's a bonio to suit every dog's taste buds. See the full range! »
1 Based on owners rewarding their dog with one treat a day, the average dog using 25 Joules of energy
wagging their tails when fed a treat, multiplied to represent the UK's 8 million dogs. The total daily waggage created by treating is a
massive 55.9 kWh
2 Based on an FA standard competition sized stadium
3 Data collected from 540 readers of Your Dog magazine, April - May 2011
4 Additional data collected from One Poll survey of 2,000 dog owners. May 2011:
Which of the following is most uplifting for you?
- A wag from your dog's tail - 18.28%
- Chocolate - 8.09%
- Your favourite sports team winning - 6.99%
- A hug from a friend - 3.2%