I was watching some DVDs of “Man About The House,” (the American series “Three’s Company” was based on this)
And in a few times, characters in the show seem to say a male dog is a “dog” while a female dog is a “bitch.”
Now I was wondering do British people use those phrases that way?
Or is it just for comedic effect, the way Mrs Mrs. Slocombe’s From “Are You Being Served” says pussy, to refer to her pet cat, but it’s really for comic effect.
By the way that show “Man About The House,” was first aired in the mid 1970s, so it’d be usage at that time period in the UK
I’m from the UK and i would consider dog to mean male and female dogs, while bitch is only a female dog.
I am American and have always thought ‘dog’ and ‘bitch’ for male and female dogs… I am more hesitant to say it out loud since most people still consider ‘bitch’ an off-color word. Those are the technical terms.
I think the point of the joke is that the character is being disingenuously pedantic in using “dog” to mean a male dog only. In general usage, animals of either sex are referred to as dogs. Dog breeders and the like will sometimes make the distcinction when necessary.
Those are the correct terms for a male and female dog, in Britain and in America as far as I know, but I suspect that lots of people (in both countries) don’t know, and even most of those who do know (apart from people in the dog business, like breeders and vets) rarely use the words that way. I would not generally be confident that people would understand me if I used “dog” to specifically mean male dog.
I should think Ximenean is probably right about what is going on in the show.
Bad idea from experience, although I did it to make a point: Don’t have your seven-year-old daughter tell her first grade teacher on Monday morning that her family got a new bitch over the weekend.
Correct usage? Yes. School admins had a fit. Note: don’t try it with the word gay either.
USA: boy dog and girl dog.
Yeah, that’s how it goes here. When you meet someone’s canine pet for the first time, you don’t ask, “is it a bitch or a dog?” You ask, “is it a girl or a boy?”
If I can’t get a discreet, but clear view of the back end, I have no qualms about asking an owner if it is a dog or a bitch.
It’s technically correct, common knowledge, but not commonly used. I’m fairly sure the usage in the UK and the US is exactly the same.
In normal usage “dog” does not specify gender. However I do know of a sign (at the entrance of a popular walk in the mountains) that specifies that dogs and bitches are prohibited from entering. This is very unusual because usually “dogs” would suffice.
Other languages are different - I remember once being asked by a Spanish speaker, in reference to my own dog, “¿Es perro?” - “is it a dog?” I was confused for a few moments; I thought “of course it’s a dog - what a strange question”. But then I realised she was asking if he was male.
Not sure if it was the same episode of “Man About the House” but I also recall some dialogue between Robin and Jo, something along the lines of:
Robin: Mrs Roper won’t let you keep that dog in here.
Jo: She’s a bitch.
Robin: Maybe, but she still won’t let you keep that dog.
Good memory, I checked and that is it word for word 
Well, technically, a bitch is a female, unspayed, dog. And if you think about it, the sign then makes more sense. They don’t want unfixed animals in the park.
That bitch is the English word for female dogs caused also some awkwardness in my Spanish class. My professor’s native language is Spanish and his English, though very good, was not perfect; therefore Spanish class sometimes became English class as I brought up things about English to him (something he wanted and encouraged). I don’t remember how it came up but once I pointed out that there was a word for female dogs in English and upon being asked to supply it I paused a moment and said “female dogs are call bitch.” This caused him to simply stare at me horrified as he only knew it as the vulgar insult and was quite stunned to hear me say it. To him it was like I’d pointed out that male rabbits were called fucks. The other student (who also was ESL) had the same reaction.
I’ve watched a few British dog shows and many American dog shows on tv. The announcers on the British shows do refer to “dogs” and “bitches.” The American announcers always say “male” or “female.”
It can be really jarring to hear “this is a 2-year old bitch” when you’re not used to hearing the word used in polite company.
Probably the American announcers do so because the majority of people watching(who are probably not dog show people) only get the vulgar meaning of bitch. In the UK, it is likely they think the people watching the shows know the term as a nonvulgar, descriptive technical term (female unspayed dog). Knowing their audience and all that.
I think this is correct but I would be surprised to to hear people in the UK referring to a female dog as a bitch outside breeding/showing situations. Just too much chance of being misunderstood and causing offense.
I’ve heard them used only correctly at dog shows and among breeders, and only incorrectly everywhere else. Including breeders talking to prospective adopters - they will always avoid using bitch for fear of being misunderstood.
Personally I think the word bitch is a great one, and take it as a great compliment when it’s applied to me. 
Oh, certainly. I was just thinking that maybe in the UK, the audience watching those shows is more likely to be composed of people who already use and know that term, or at least, those are the ones they cater to. While in the US, they want/cater/have a wider audience, so they avoid the term to cause confusion.
FTR, I have a female dog that I won’t call bitch. Mostly because I was taught it was referring more to unspayed female adult dogs. My dog’s fixed. And I question her adulthood.