DOG SUPERSTITIONS

Dogs don't have superstitions, but people do, and that is what I am going to tell you about today.  Most people have heard of the superstition that black cats bring bad luck, but not so many people know about the superstitions that have dogs in them.  Personally, I did not know about these superstitions, and Mom didn't either.  And some of them almost seem like they might be true, so maybe they are not totally superstitions.

Anyway, here they are, and I am also going to tell you what I think about them.

If you scratch a dog before you go job-hunting, you'll get a good job.

Actually, this seems like it might be true because if you scratch a dog, it will put you in a happy mood, and then you will have a good job interview, and you are more likely to get the job.

A strange dog walking into your house portends a new friendship.

This is another so-called superstition that could be true because you could end up keeping the dog, which means you would have a new best friend.  Or you might find the owner of the dog, and maybe get to be friends with that person.

Meeting a dog -- especially a Dalmation -- is considered good luck.

Who can argue with this?  Meeting with any kind of dog can be a happy, lucky thing.  So I'm not sure why they say it needs to be a Dalmation.  A basenji would do just as well.

A dog eating grass means it will rain.

Okay, I find this one hard to believe.  A better saying would be "A dog eating grass means the dog has an upset tummy and will soon puke."  Mom says that the superstition she heard was that if the cattle are lying down in the pasture, that means it will rain.

If you see three white dogs together at the same time, you will have good luck.

I find it hard to believe that this one is true.  I think it would be luckier to see three black-and-white basenjis together.  But that's just my opinion.  Anyway, if the thing about the 3 white dogs really is true, then the lady in the photo is going to have a ton of good luck!

If a newborn baby is licked by a dog, the baby will be a fast healer.

I think this one is not true at all, especially if the dog licks the baby where the baby has a boo-boo, because that could make germs grow in the boo-boo, and it would take longer to heal.  Some dogs are very good with babies and they like to guard them and keep them safe, but I am sad to tell you that a few dogs have actually killed babies.  I don't know why, but maybe they were jealous of the baby or they were afraid of the baby or they just thought it was some kind of yummy prey.  

A greyhound with a white spot on her forehead brings wealth.

Maybe people who race greyhounds believe this, but if somebody gets rich by racing dogs, it's usually not a happy life for the dogs.  A greyhound would think she was wealthy if she had a nice, warm house to live in and a soft bed to sleep on.  And it wouldn't really matter if she had a white spot on her forehead or not.

If a dog scratches herself and seems sleepy, there'll soon be a change in the weather.

Well, if you live in certain places, like for example in Missouri, the weather is always changing anyway, whether dogs scratch themselves or seem sleepy or not.  So this superstition isn't very true, if you ask me.  The only thing that might be true about it is that if a dog is scratching a lot, she might have allergies, and the weather might have made more mold or something, and that made her allergies worse.

A dog who growls for no apparent reason is growling at a spirit.
Well, this one is just dumb.  First of all, dogs always have a reason for growling, even if their humans can't figure out what it is.  And second, I personally have never seen a spirit, so I don't think they probably even exist, and there is no need to growl at something that doesn't exist.

A dog howling at night when someone in the house is sick is a bad omen.
A lot of dogs howl at night, especially if they are left outside in the yard all night.  And this is because a lot of stuff goes on outside at night that might be worth howling about, like possums or burglars running around.  Or there might be sirens.  Or dogs might have separation anxiety.  Wolves like to howl at night, and since we're all descended from wolves, it's in our genes to howl.  All of which has nothing to do with a person being sick and maybe dying.



So that's mostly all the doggy superstitions I found, and now I have told you what I think of them.  The main point is that meeting a dog and adopting a dog is lucky -- both for you and for the dog.  So any time you need a little luck and love in your life, just go get a dog.  And if you already have a dog, give your dog a good belly rub!