# Dog Superstitions



## smokey_joe (Oct 14, 2005)

Greeks thought dogs could foresee evil. 
"Usually superstitions about dogs are somewhat ominous. But here's one my grandmother believed--if you have your new-born baby licked by a dog, your baby will be a quick healer. We all believe this because I was not licked, and I'm a slow healer and my brother, who was licked, is a quick healer--go figure." 
Source: Dog Hause Visitor Lyn Taliaferro 

Howling dogs mean the wind god has summoned death, and the spirits of the dead will be taken. 

A dog eating grass - rain 
Source: oldsuperstitions.com 

A howling dog at night means bad luck or somebody close to you will be very sick or worse. 

According to Matt Groening, a dog with seven toes can see ghosts. 

When a dog is staring intently, at nothing, for no apparent reason, look between the dog's ears and you'll see a ghost. 
Source: Dog Hause Visitor Martha Conolley (heard in West Virginia) 

Dogs have always been credited with the power of sensing supernatural influences, and seeing ghosts, spirits, faeries or deities which are invisible to human eyes. In Wales only dogs could see the death-bringing hounds of Annwn; in ancient Greece the dogs were aware when Hecate was at a crossroads foretelling a death. Dogs are believed to be aware of the presence of ghosts, and their barking, whimpering or howling is often the first warning of supernatural occurrances. 
Source: Vanessa's Pagan Place Folklore Page 

There are many instances of black dog ghosts which are said to haunt lanes, bridges, crossroads, footpaths and gates, particularly in Suffolk, Norfolk and the Isle of Man. Some black dogs are said to be unquiet ghosts of wicked souls, but others are friendly guides and protectors to travellers; the Barguest of northern England could also appear as a pig or a goat, but was most commonly a huge black dog with large eyes and feet which left no prints. Packs of ghostly hounds have also been recorded all over Britain, often heard howling as they pass by on stormy nights rather than actually seen; these hounds generally foretell death, or at least disaster, if they are seen and the proper action is to drop face-down onto the ground to avoid spotting them. 
Source: Vanessa's Pagan Place Folklore Page 

When a dog howls in an otherwise silent night, it is said to be an omen of death, or at least of misfortune. A howling dog outside the house of a sick person was once thought to be an omen that they would die, especially if the dog was driven away and returned to howl again. A dog which gives a single howl, or three howls, and then falls silent is said to be marking a death that has just occurred nearby. 
Source: Vanessa's Pagan Place Folklore Page 

Dogs were feared as possible carriers of rabies; sometimes even a healthy dog was killed if it had bitten someone, because of the belief that if the dog later developed rabies, even many years afterwards, the bitten person would also be afflicted. Remedies for the bite of a mad dog often included the patient being forced to eat a part of the dog in question, such as its hairs or a piece of its cooked liver. Dogs were also used to cure other illnesses; one old charm which was often used for childrens' illnesses was to take some of the patient's hairs and feed them to a dog inbetween slices of bread and butter; the ailment was believed to transfer to the animal, healing the patient. 
Source: Vanessa's Pagan Place Folklore Page 

In Scotland, a strange dog coming to the house means a new friendship; in England, to meet a spotted or black and white dog on your way to a business appointment is lucky. Three white dogs seen together are considered lucky in some areas; black dogs are generally considered unlucky, especially if they cross a traveller's path or follow someone and refuse to be driven away. Fishermen traditionally regard dogs as unlucky and will not take one out in a boat, or mention the word 'dog' whilst at sea. 
Source: Vanessa's Pagan Place Folklore Page 

Dog Hause visitor Tom (from Sioux Falls) says: "Just thought I would add to your animal superstitions with one I learned from a elder South Dakota Lakota Sioux Indian was that if a member of the tribe would get sick they would lay with a dog and the sickness would transfer from the tribal member into the dog. On some of the reservations, among the elders, this practice is still taking place." Thanks Tom!


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## rusbell (Dec 28, 2008)

hmm...interesting. I love reading about this kind of stuff.


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## Nizmo (Jan 15, 2009)

anyone got more? these are pretty interesting.


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## smokey_joe (Oct 14, 2005)

Llewellyn Security - Old Wives' Dog Tales

Here's a little quiz I found.

I love this kind of stuff, I don't know why.


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## Nizmo (Jan 15, 2009)

that was fun


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## mygirlmaile (Mar 26, 2009)

VERY interesting. Now I'm intrigued and want to find more. However I don't want any howling happening around me!! Eek!!


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## bluefamily (Aug 8, 2007)

Well _of course _dogs sense things we can't. I trust my dogs more than people. As far as dogs seeing ghosts and stuff, who am I to say they can't?


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## PitBullSwagga (Jun 1, 2009)

a dog eating grass= upset stomach= barf


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## chic4pits (Aug 25, 2008)

hey i believe that dogs and horses heck, animals in general can see and sense stuff we can't . just the same concept as children, they can see things that we can't see b/c they haven't yet learned to block that part of their mind. i use to see things as a kid, but as i got older they stopped. i can still sense things..i dream things, but can't see them as i see you and i anymore. so i believe my kids when they say something they have seen. after all ghost are real. 
but it's like i tell my kids, it's not the dead you need to worry about it, it's the living that'll get ya.

very good post by the way!


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## razors_edge (Jun 2, 2009)

do yall believe n those?


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## PitBullSwagga (Jun 1, 2009)

i believe my horse saw a ghost once.

i firmly believe my cat sees grimlins.

sure animals are hypersensative, they haven't all the B/S to deal with we do. people are taught to dull their senses and we are so distracted by the daily routine...


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## chic4pits (Aug 25, 2008)

PitBullSwagga said:


> i believe my horse saw a ghost once.
> 
> i firmly believe my cat sees grimlins.
> 
> sure animals are hypersensative, they haven't all the B/S to deal with we do. people are taught to dull their senses and we are so distracted by the daily routine...


agree 100 %. !! just cuz you dont see something doesn't mean it dosen't exist. there is a whole bigger world around us, our eyes are just not yet pure enough to see correctly thru them.


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## PitBullSwagga (Jun 1, 2009)

i have had weird experiences, nothing really negative....but then again nothing that could be proved beyond reonable doubt either.

the experience i had with my horse Jack, one of my retired mounted patrol horses (emphasizing his even temperment), was just kinda creepy. 

i had moved out to BFE for college and every day after school i would grab a horse and take off down a dirt road just to see where it went and learn the area, work my horse etc...

well i am crusin' down this road and i see a dirt trail, clear enough for me and a large horse...and we take it. Jack becomes suddenly alert (he never gets suddenly anything) and slowing down....

so i am encouraging him forward, and he is steady slowing...and i am like WTF man?! and i whooped up on him a little and he flat rerfused, spun around and sped outta the opening onto the road just completely wigged out...

so i had to tie him up and walk down the trail to see what the hell just spooked that horse...i get to the place where he balked and nothing....followed the trail around a bend and there was this freaky cemetary...

and like i said, he was an ex mounty- so it's not a like a twig snap, a turtle jumping into a creek or anything like that would set him off- these horses are desensatized to the point of being zombie like....i would be the first and only to jump at a sound 

and once i had a friend tell me he was dead in a dream i had the night he died, three days before i found out he had committed suicide.


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## chic4pits (Aug 25, 2008)

yea i had my friend whom killed himself come to me in a dream when i was preg. with my first son, he told me it was gonna be a boy and that everything was going to be fine and he was with the baby...sure enough, all my prbs. during preg. had cleared up at 9 mths. and well it was a boy!! 
i've also seen my great uncle and both my great g'ma and g'ma.


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## PitBullSwagga (Jun 1, 2009)

thats cool, i've never had any negative experiences either


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