0 Vote. Alegre in Spanish means happy. Between that and the Italian definition of allegro I have wondered why an allergy medication is named Allegra. Is it a coincidence, probably not.
This dog illustrates how hard it can be to read tails. He face looks happy, but his tail looks like he may be alert or aggressive. However, since he is a doxi/chi mix, that could be his natural tail set. We have all heard the common myth that a wagging tail means a happy, friendly dog. While it is true that dogs do wag their tails to express happiness at seeing a person (or dinner!), dogs also wag their tails to show other emotions. In fact, dog tails are more like human faces, showing their emotions through movement and position much like we do with smiles, frowns, pursed lips, etc.
A tail that is held very high is often a sign of a dominant dog. Watch dogs at the dog park or when interacting with other dogs, the dog with the highest tail is almost always the dominant dog. When you add to this dominant stance a vigorous wag it can also be a sign of danger and aggression.