Superstitions about dogs?

Question

It's only us crazy cat ladies in the office today and we just had a laugh talking about superstitions and cats.

Are there any involving dogs? I can't think of a single one.

Answer 1

Dogs have always been credited with the power of sensing supernatural influences, and seeing ghosts, spirits, faeries or deities which are invisible to human eyes. In Wales only dogs could see the death-bringing hounds of Annwn; in ancient Greece the dogs were aware when Hecate was at a crossroads foretelling a death. Dogs are believed to be aware of the presence of ghosts, and their barking, whimpering or howling is often the first warning of supernatural occurrances.



There are many instances of black dog ghosts which are said to haunt lanes, bridges, crossroads, footpaths and gates, particularly in Suffolk, Norfolk and the Isle of Man. Some black dogs are said to be unquiet ghosts of wicked souls, but others are friendly guides and protectors to travellers; the Barguest of northern England could also appear as a pig or a goat, but was most commonly a huge black dog with large eyes and feet which left no prints. Packs of ghostly hounds have also been recorded all over Britain, often heard howling as they pass by on stormy nights rather than actually seen; these hounds generally foretell death, or at least disaster, if they are seen and the proper action is to drop face-down onto the ground to avoid spotting them.



When a dog howls in an otherwise silent night, it is said to be an omen of death, or at least of misfortune. A howling dog outside the house of a sick person was once thought to be an omen that they would die, especially if the dog was driven away and returned to howl again. A dog which gives a single howl, or three howls, and then falls silent is said to be marking a death that has just occurred nearby.



Dogs were feared as possible carriers of rabies; sometimes even a healthy dog was killed if it had bitten someone, because of the belief that if the dog later developed rabies, even many years afterwards, the bitten person would also be afflicted. Remedies for the bite of a mad dog often included the patient being forced to eat a part of the dog in question, such as its hairs or a piece of its cooked liver. Dogs were also used to cure other illnesses; one old charm which was often used for childrens' illnesses was to take some of the patient's hairs and feed them to a dog inbetween slices of bread and butter; the ailment was believed to transfer to the animal, healing the patient.



In Scotland, a strange dog coming to the house means a new friendship; in England, to meet a spotted or black and white dog on your way to a business appointment is lucky. Three white dogs seen together are considered lucky in some areas; black dogs are generally considered unlucky, especially if they cross a traveller's path or follow someone and refuse to be driven away. Fishermen traditionally regard dogs as unlucky and will not take one out in a boat, or mention the word 'dog' whilst at sea.



Happy Thanksgiving to you all!! :)

Answer 2

A howling dog at night meant bad luck.

I remember reading somewhere that evil demons stayed away from dogs that had brown spots over their eyes (like Rotties) because they were eyes that could see into souls.



I know there's such a thing as the "black dog syndrome" where black dogs are for some reason not as adoptable as other colored dogs....perhaps some strange superstition is the cause.

Answer 3

I don't really think there are "superstitions" like black cats, etc., but there is some unfair prejudice toward some breeds, colors, etc.



For example, my Chinese grandmother doesn't really like yellow toned dogs with erect ears, tails, etc. I think she associates them with the pariah dogs in the Asia, but I'm not really sure. She was a bit leery around my Golden Retriever at first.



And of course there are also the "pit bulls will maul you to death", "German Shepherds and Belgian Malinois are aggressive because they are police dogs", and "black dogs are more aggressive" myths.



Happy Thanksgiving!



EDIT: Never mind.

Here are some:



"Greeks thought dogs could foresee evil.



"Usually superstitions about dogs are somewhat ominous. But here's one my grandmother believed--if you have your new-born baby licked by a dog, your baby will be a quick healer. We all believe this because I was not licked, and I'm a slow healer and my brother, who was licked, is a quick healer--go figure."

Source: Dog Hause Visitor Lyn Taliaferro



Howling dogs mean the wind god has summoned death, and the spirits of the dead will be taken.



A dog eating grass - rain"



http://www.doghause.com/superstitions3.asp

Answer 4

if you want to training your dog on your own, I'd suggest you http://OnlineDogTraining.enle.info/?TR38



I would say that positive training is going to become even more popular than it is now!



For me, (in a perfect world) I would love to see a middle ground! I would like for dog training to become “settled” once and for all!



Purely positive training and dominance/alpha training are BOTH extremes. Neither side gets along well with the other. I can tell you right now that BOTH sides are not going to go away without a fight. There’ll ALWAYS be people standing by their chosen side no matter what.



Here is how I categorize dog training.



There are the alpha/dominance old school/traditional dog training people and the positive reinforcement dog training people.



I’ve found that the alpha/dominance old school/traditional dog training people are extremely close minded and set in their ways. They scoff at ANY and ALL positive reinforcement training. They believe that corrections all the time with a quick pat on the head as praise is the way to train a dog. They tend to be OBSESSED to the point of just borderline crazy (just my opinion) with corrections and being the pack leader. Now, I’m not saying ALL traditional trainers do this, but some of them use physical abuse as “training.” Some trainers, hit, slap, punch, spank, alpha roll, pinch, strangle, and the most popular hang their dogs as discipline. This is considered animal abuse to me and I WILL NEVER do that to my dog. To be blunt, these people are very hard to be around (I personally despise them) and I definitely would not want to associate myself with them. The end.



I much prefer the positive reinforcement people. These people really care about building a relationship with their dogs and training them in a humane way. Positive reinforcement includes training with clickers (clicker training) treats, praise and toys. The only thing that most positive reinforcement trainers DO NOT advocate are the use of tools like choke collars and prong collars. This bothers me a bit because I've seen with my own eyes that these tools do not cause pain or harm to the dog when used properly. Notice how I didn’t mention shock collars because in my opinion, this tool does NOT go under positive reinforcement. How can it? You can’t change the fact that you’re still issuing an electric current to your dog.



My dog has a prong collar and I do issue corrections when necessary but those corrections do not hurt her in any way. This is the only place where I differ from the positive reinforcement dog trainers.



I’ve found a middle ground between the two methods. I LOVE all aspects of positive reinforcement training and that’s how I mostly train by but I also use corrections.



I hope this all makes sense lol!



In order to find a middle ground or balance in the dog training world, PEOPLE will have to open their minds and change. People definitely don't take to change kindly, so it will take years for the perfect balance to be found. That's sad because I know a couple of people have already found it including me. We'll just have to wait for the other slow pokes to catch up and swallow their prides.

Answer 5

http://www.doghause.com/superstitions3.asp

http://ezinearticles.com/?Dogs-and-Superstitions&id=1211269

http://www.bestfriendspetcare.com/Pet_tips/dogsuperstitions2.cfm



Then of course there's that how a dog got it's wet nose legend.



ETA: Happy Turkey Day! :P

Answer 6

I don't know any either... Happy Turkey Day!!!!!!!!