Real World Dog Lore

[Ramnesis]

Considering that the Dogs of Pugmire take their inspiration from what scraps they can find from the Time of Man, it seems fitting that pieces of dog folklore from our world (both the true and the false) would show up. So what stories and legends are out there.

Here's are two, one true one rumored:

The German Shepherd Dog originates from a region on the border between France and Germany known as the Alsace. After the first World War breeders worried that anti-German sentiment would wipe out the entire line and so the UK Kennel Club renamed the breed as Alsatian Wolfhounds. You can see the name in use in writings and depictions of the time, such as All Creatures Great and Small.

I have no idea if this is true, but a friend of mine insists that Poodles are descended from dogs bred to protect unhorsed knights. After being knocked down, knights would often be slow to stand up and a loyal companion could easily be the difference between life and death.

[The young man in the cafe]

I read a welsh folktale that claimed that corgis were breed as mounts for fairy knights.

also Salukis are the one type of dog considered clean by Muslims and have been around since ancient Egypt.

All currently living Shiba Inus are descended from three bloodlines that survived WW2, these are the Shinshu Shiba, Mino-shiba and San'in Shiba. The current breed is a combination of their distinct traits.

At one point the king of Norway got so pissed off at his people that he made his dog Suening king in his place for three years.

[Lyrics Of War]

I'd bring in human canid gods. Anubis and wepawet (sp?) come to mind. To a lesser extent fenrir, but coyote is up there as well. I had an idea for a group of adventuring dogs stumbling across a crumbling old ruin with a statue of baphomet in it (imagine that mind cluster! Humans worshipping an alien looking goat monster!)

[Ramnesis]

In the late middle ages, Spaniels were also known as hawk-dogs or hawking dogs, as their role was to flush birds out of the underbrush so the hunting hawks could catch them.

This one isn't dog related, but a philosopher from the 13th century called Albertus Magnus wrote a treatise on pet care which included the advice that cutting off a cat's whiskers takes away its boldness*. I'm now imagining what the dogs of pugmire might do as a minor to moderate punishment for convicted cats.

*It shouldn't need saying but: Do not do this! Until they grow back the cat effectively loses one of its senses.

[Zeldafan42]

Vizslas were the prized hunting dogs of the Hungarian nobility, their roots tracing back to ancient Magyar tribes from the 10th century. Ancient art show vizslas being used to hunt alongside falcons.

My plans for my first character is to make a Vizsla (Pointer) Hunter who eventually gets a falcon companion as a nod to this bit of history.

[The young man in the cafe]

Before they invented machines to do the job, there used to be a breed of dog that would run on wheels to rotate meat on a spit, called turnspit dogs. They were also used as foot warmers in church.