In the Northern Hemisphere, the hot, lazy “dog days” of summer are at an end. In recent years, the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy and New Zealand have marked the occasion by celebrating “National Dog Day.” National Dog Day is a holiday to celebrate all things canine, as well as to bring attention to the many dogs waiting for homes in shelters and rescues.
In honor of National Dog Day, we’ve put together this collection of interesting translations and facts about mankind’s oldest and most loyal companion.
How to Say “Dog” in 15 Different Languages
Spanish: Perro
Portuguese: cão
Italian: cane
Irish: Madra
Welsh: Ci
Polish: Pies
German: Hund
Turkish: köpek
Russian: собака]
Czech: pes
French: chien
Catalan: gos
Basque: txakurra
Dutch: hond
Indonesian: anjing
With a Woof-Woof Here and a Bow-Wow There
Do dogs bark in different languages? Not really…but each language represents the sound of a dog barking differently (this is true for other onomatopoeia words as well.) Here’s what Fido sounds like across the globe:
English: Woof woof, bow wow
Spanish: guau-guau
Italian: bau-bau or arf-arf
French: wouaff-wouaff
German: wuff-wuff or vow-vow
Irish: amh-amh
Japanese: wan-wan
Mandarin: wang-wang
Romanian: ham-ham
For more, see this article from Psychology Today
Fun Facts About Dogs From Around the World
In Ancient Egypt, dogs were mummified and (if they were lucky) buried at the temple of Anubis at Saqqara. Some actual ancient Egyptian dog names include Blacky, Brave One, Reliable, Good Herdsman, North-Wind, Antelope and Useless. I’ll admit I’ve used “useless” as a term of endearment for my pups before- I guess some things never change!
As far as I can tell, the oldest living dog in the world was rescued in 1985, and is still living in Poland. His name is Minius.
Currently, the world’s smallest living dog is an American chihuahua named Boo Boo, who measures just 4 inches high. However, this tiny, 3.25 ounce Polish puppy named Meysi may dethrone her if she makes it to one year old!
The tallest dog is an American Great Dane named Zeus. He is almost 4 feet high (111.8 cm) at the shoulders!
Happy (belated) National Dog Day!