how to describe a dog
DESCRIPTION
On my blog, WordDreams, I have a series on descriptions of common items that writers cover in their novels. I cull them from books I read and originally collected them to spark my imagination when I got stuck. I’d read through what other writers said on a topic and it would kick start my brain.TRANSCRIPT
How to Describe a Dog
By Jacqui Murray
On my blog, WordDreams, I have a series on
descriptions of common items that writers cover
in their novels. I cull them from books I read and
originally collected them to spark my
imagination when I got stuck. I’d read through
what other writers said on a topic and it would
kick start my brain.
I’ve shared topics like nature, landscape,
emotions (how do you show someone is irritated
or pensive?), but the most popular by far is the
collection I have on dogs. I get hundreds of
people a day who read that article even though I wrote it months ago. I love dogs so every time
there’s a dog in a story, I take notice. I like to see how authors describe their actions, emotions,
movements, thoughts. I decided to share it here, for my Scribd friends. I hope you enjoy it!
Greeting
The dog snorted happily and bounded forward
Tail-wagging Labrador bravado
Feet like saucepans, took a cheerful rush at the American, leapt up and planted his muddy
paws
When a dog approaches a strange dog or man in a
savage or hostile frame of mind he walks upright and
stiffly; his head slightly raised; the tail is held erect,
and rigid; the hairs bristle, especially along the neck
and back; the pricked ears are directed forwards, and
the eyes have a fixed stare
Came in the room, sat quietly until I stopped what I
was doing and said hi, then he turned and left.
Exploring
Max heard Susan moving around in the kitchen and
hustled out of the bathroom to investigate. You could never be certain someone wouldn’t
give you a second breakfast.
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The dog got worried, crawled up on the bed, raced around chasing a ball, finally chased it
out of the room. From her roommates room, she heard her barking, growling at the dog,
slapping and playing, tossing the ball and the dog returned. She wondered who thought
who was whose pack.
happy woofing sounds of a dog discovering
hidden treasures
Abby greeted me with an exuberant lunge
and when I went into the hall, I squatted
and endured her exuberance until it abated
I heard Spot return to the closed door and
snuffle a little, and sigh and lie down
against it. She seemed to have figure out
that there were times when we had to be
alone.
Sylvester forged ahead again, keeping the leash taut.
Angry
flopped onto the floor in full doggy snit
Characteristics
Dogs after voiding their excrement often make with all four feet a few scratches
backwards, even on a bare stone pavement,
Wolves and jackals behave in the same
manner, yet, as I am assured by the keepers,
neither wolves, jackals, nor foxes, when they
have the means of doing so, ever cover up
their excrement, any more than do dogs. All
these animals, however, bury superfluous
food.
Dogs and jackals take much pleasure in rolling
and rubbing their necks and backs on carrion.
The odor seems delightful to them. wolves
don’t roll in the odor
Nothing but bone and bark
Miscellaneous
It’s take your dog to work day
J. Murray/3
the one which first sees the other, lowers its bead, crouches a little, or even lies down;
takes the proper attitude for concealing himself
trotting gravely with high steps, head much raised, moderately erected ears, and tail
carried aloft but not stiffly.
Dog crawling up the back of the chair
Paying Attention
With pricked ears, he watched for a
moment and then yawned
Roaming the backyard, engaged in dog
intrigue
Defending
Dog’s eyes wide, ears flat, a vibrating
growl deep in his chest
As he prepares to spring with a savage
growl, canine teeth are uncovered, and the ears pressed close backwards on the head
dogs when intently watching and slowly approaching prey, keep one of their fore-legs
doubled up for a long time, ready for the next cautious step. they behave in exactly the
same manner whenever their attention is aroused. I have seen a dog at the foot of a high
wall, listening attentively to a sound on the opposite side, with one leg doubled up;
dogs wandered off to rest their noses in their paws
roughed them up the way Labs expect to be treated
Playing
Ran to the couch and got a pillow and shook it violently until it was dead, and came back
to show us.
she lay down with a headache. The dog got worried, crawled up on the bed, raced around
chasing a ball, finally chased it out of
the room. From her roommates room,
she heard her barking, growling at the
dog, slapping and playing, tossing the
ball and the dog returned. She wondered
who thought who was whose pack.
Dogs scratch themselves with one of
their hind-feet; and when their backs are
rubbed, they rapidly scratch the air or
the ground in a useless and ludicrous
J. Murray/4
manner. by licking the air as if it were a hand.
young dogs in play growling and biting each other’s faces and legs
One of them ran around for a while with a pine cone in its mouth
Took a silk cushion from the chair and carried it around wagging her tail.
Exulting in whatever it is that dogs exult in
a real dog’s dog
doggy yo-yo
Dogess
Sleeping
Shifted in his sleep and licked his muzzle with one slow sweep of his tongue
I think she’d bark and snuffle and paw at us
Casey stood up, turned around three times, and settled back down with a large sigh.
Clearly it was enough chitchat for the night.
Stoney was draped diagonally across her feet
the dog slept with one eye open all night because he didn’t trust her to feed him in the
morning
An aging cocker spaniel came around the corner and gave me a token bark before she sat
with her tongue out, waiting for me to pat her.
Sandy loped around my apartment, alert for something to chew
April picked up her squeaky toy and shook it and looked at me, and made a decision, and
jumped up on the couch with her squeaky toy and lay down with it underneath her.
The dog curled into a wet lump and lay
shivering on the ground
Dog was doing impression of a corpse
He stretched, shook himself and circled
several times before dropping to the
ground
paws up, aerial
The dog was sprawled across her lap,
his sides rising and falling, his nose
mashed against the ground in a most
uncomfortable-looking manner. Dogs
were funny. They could sleep in
peculiar positions.
She shifted on to her back with her feet up and her head lolling over the edge of the
couch
Eating
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Dan got off the bed and went purposefully to the kitchen where I could hear her lapping
water from the dish.
He gave a dog biscuit to Dog. She ate the biscuit and resumed her scone watch.
The dogs finished eating and settled in on the sofa, overlapping each other in ways that
no human would find comfortable.
shifting his attention from Mary Lou to me. Food can come from any direction
Ben was an efficient and focused eater. By 4:13 her dish was empty and she topped it off
with a long lap at her water dish.
Explored where the kids had been sitting in case they had left edible refuse
Swam one more circle and gave up and came back into shore and began rummaging in
the waterweeds again
Begging
Pacey coiled in and around our feet, ever
hopeful
Ned hopped up onto the picnic table and
stared at my sandwich from very close
range. I broke off a piece and gave it to
her. It disappeared at once, and she
resumed the stare.
wag its tale and watch with hopeful eyes
Vick rested her chin on my knee and rolled her eyes up to look at me. I gave her the
remainder of my sandwich.
dog watched him, ears up, head slightly cocked.
Jacqui Murray is the editor of a technology curriculum for K-fifth grade and
creator of two technology training books for middle school. She is the author of
Building a Midshipman, the story of her daughter’s journey from high school
to United States Naval Academy midshipman. She is webmaster for five blogs,
an Amazon Vine Voice book reviewer, a columnist for Examiner.com, and a weekly contributor
to Write Anything and Technology in Education. Currently, she’s working on a techno-thriller
that should be ready this summer. Contact Jacqui at her writing office or her tech lab, Ask a
Tech Teacher.
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