#10 is from The Devil’s Dictionary. The full definition reads:
DOG, n. A kind of additional or subsidiary Deity designed to catch the overflow and surplus of the world’s worship. This Divine Being in some of his smaller and silkier incarnations takes, in the affection of Woman, the place to which there is no human male aspirant. The Dog is a survival—an anachronism. He toils not, neither does he spin, yet Solomon in all his glory never lay upon a door-mat all day long, sun-soaked and fly-fed and fat, while his master worked for the means wherewith to purchase the idle wag of the Solomonic tail, seasoned with a look of tolerant recognition.
While we’re on the subject of words and such, there is a fabulous French expression:
The book does say that. It also mentions other circumstances apart from pictures to view the colours. I omitted these for the sake of brevity, thus it is my error alone.
Dogs got their own language, too. I take them out, and one will bark now and then while sniffing around the holes under brush, thinking they got something. But when one ‘really’ finds something (mouse, rat or whatever), they make a bark that means ‘Serious Shit Here, Crew’ and they all come running.
It’s really quite amazing. They know. They are so much smarter than we give them credit for. They tell time, and ‘time passed’, too. Eerie. They know when I’m out of beer and it’s time to load up in the Jeep and head for home. Maybe its the crying…
Dogs are very smart. While the risk of anthropomorphism is real, it seems foolish that people really recently questioned whether dogs have things like feelings or ability to reason.
I found out last night that The Dachshund Crew will eat Bok Choy, and actually seem to enjoy it. I looked it up, and its safe. But I’m wondering how this will play out later today…
I’ll tell you what, it’s a hell of a lot cheaper than Dog Treats!
I find the cheapest treat my dog loves are (factory cooked) chicken hot dogs at $1.50 a pound. Even cheaper if cut up into small chunks. My dog enjoys a surprising number of vegetables but haven’t tried that.
My wife makes a salad and/or vegetable side dish every day, so she is perpetually chopping vegetables. And whatever she’s chopping she shares with the corgi. He will eat everything, happily. Except tomatoes. Not a fan. But arugula, celery, mushrooms, bell peppers, broccoli…nom nom nom. And if I’m eating an apple he will gladly kill me for a bite.
Note: grapes and raisins are on the Toxic For Dogs list (along with chocolate).
The best piece of advice a vet ever gave me: dogs have no sense of volume – if you give them a puppy treat the size of a chick pea, in their mind you just gave them a steak the size of a manhole cover (sadly, the converse applies as well sometimes). This not only helps stretch the treat supply but contributes to keeping their weight down (No joke, when we took our first dog off Milkbone large biscuits and started using Iams puppy treats cut in half, she lost 16 pounds – one fifth her body weight at the time. The vet was impressed and I was dumbfounded).
Dogs average 5 to 10 pups per litter, which varies according to breed. Big litters: Pekingese (10), Dachschund (8.7), Saint Bernard (8.5), Golden retrievers (8.1), German shepherd (8.0); small: Blue or Manchester terrier (4.7), Cocket spaniel (4.8), Elkhound (4.8), Scottie (4.9).
21 Dog known breeds have become extinct. The Alaunt was a short haired working dog in Russia c.400 AD
“A dog reaches a boy fidelity, perseverance and to turn around thrice before lying down.” - Robert Benchley
Ludwig Dobermann was a tax collector in Apolda, Thuringia in the mid 1800s. He wanted an elegant but menacing guard dog, which took him twenty years of experimentation.
Two dogs survived the sinking of the Titanic, a Pekingese and a Pomeranian. They were among very few lifeboats that left the shop early.
Genetic research claims all dogs can be traced to five different breeds.
Pups are born unable to see or hear. Social investigation appears before attempts at play. Barking may begin as young as 18 days.
Dogs appreciate pitch, tone and volume to recognize voices, whistles, even familiar tunes.
Skijoring is a sport where skiers are pulled by dogs. It was a demo sport at the 1928 Olympics in St. Moritz.
Dogs are thought to have a maximum of ten vocal sounds available,
“My Dog is worried since food now costs 99 cents a can. That’s nearly seven dollars in dog money.” - Joe Weinstein
Unfortunately, Tubby the cocker spaniel did not survive the collapse of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge in 1940. He was in a car abandoned by his owner and an attempt to save him backfired when he panicked and bit his rescuer.
Our previous pair of rescued dachshunds had only been with us for a week or two when a fire engine passed us while I was walking them. Sirens wailing! They both began to howl. Luc actually adjusted his howl – I could hear him do it — until he was perfectly on pitch with the siren. It was so cool.
