Mythological Dogs continued

Laelaps                          : was destined to catch whatever he chased, but he was put in pursuit of a vixen destined never to be caught...........

Maera                            : was Icarius's faithful dog who committed  suicide by jumping into a well to join his murdered master. Icarius became the constellation Bootes, his daughter Erigone became Virgo, and Maera became the star Procyon which rises in July just before the Dog star.


Xanthippus's Dog          : was so faithful that it swam alongside its master's ship all the way to the Greek island of Salamis when the Athenians fled there for safety in 480 A.D.http://dogalogueofraj.blogspot.com

Mythological Dogs

Actaeon's Hounds          :Actaeon the hunter accidentally glimpsed the goddess Diana bathing. She changed him into a stag and he was pursued and killed by his own 50 hounds.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Argos                           : was a very old dog who recognised Odysseus when he came home in disguise after 20 years.The dog died of joy!

 Cerberus                       : was the monstrous 50- headed watchdog of Hades.


Gargittios & Orthos      : were Greyon's monster dogs, killed by Hercules. Orthos was the brother of Cerberus.             

Ancient breeds

Assyria                          : Great Dane type for hunting lions, bull, wild ass.

Egypt                             : Hounds (Pharoah And Afghan type). Types like dachshund and greyhound. Creamy
                                         mastiff war dog.

Greece                           :Wolfdogs. Beagle type of scenting hound. Ferocious large guard dogs for livestock
                                         and home.

Rome                             : Three major categories: Canes villatici(house)
                                                                                   C.venatici (mastiff type)
                                                                                   BoarHound, Grey Hound, Italian GreyHound

Raj Prateek Verma

Man meets dog

The dog has been domesticated for some fourteen or fifteen thousand years. it was man's first true companion among the many creatures with whom he shared this earth. All over the world, men have tamed members of the dog family. Wolves, jackals and coyotes can still be bred with domestic dogs and they share many characteristics of physiology and behaviour.

Chance proximity led the North American Indians to tame the coyote, while the South American Indians tamed the fox-like Dusicyon genus, halfway between the true vulpine foxes and the canid wolves. The ancestors of most of today's domesticated dogs are wolf and jackal.


Raj Prateek Verma

About dogs as human's best friend

This site is dedicated to dogs- containing a delightful mixture of serious and zany facts and fancies about man's best friend. There are blushing dogs and singing dogs; war heroes and life savers; beasts and beauties; venerated and despised dogs; royal and presidential dogs.

Raj Prateek Verma