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Does anyone know why calling someone a dog is an insult in so many cultures?

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Gyrre:
The question has been bugging me recently.

Is it cold in here?:
Hmm. Dogs are considered dirty nuisances in many cultures. Comparing a human to a non-human animal is likely to be an insult in general.

Akima:
The above, as far as Asia is concerned. Pretty much everywhere, feral dogs (sometimes called pi-dogs, or pariah-dogs, or 野狗 (yěgǒu or "yee-go") in Chinese) roam about, feeding on scraps and rubbish, infested with parasites, and this has been so for centuries.

Chinese culture has very mixed feelings about dogs. There are the above negative feelings about dogs, but equally some dogs have been held in high regard, at least by the upper-classes, for hunting and as pets, and famously Chinese people eat dogs (though the degree to which this happens is much exaggerated, and in decline). There is no shame in being born in a Year of the Dog (I am a Water Dog), though it is not one of the top "auspicious" years, and Dogs are believed to have many sterling characteristics in Chinese astrology.

pwhodges:

--- Quote from: Akima on 22 Jan 2018, 17:03 ---Chinese culture has very mixed feelings about dogs.
--- End quote ---

Feral dogs are not something I have experience with; but pest-ridden animals can still be loved - I submit the humble hedgehog as an example.

In any case, dogs - as bred by humans - are so varied that it's hard to have a single view of them.  Consider, say, a Pekingese, a Bull Terrier, a Greyhound, a Border Collie, and a back-street mutt.

The co-dependant relationship between dogs and people  from our earliest history is a fascinating study in itself.


--- Quote ---I am a Water Dog
--- End quote ---

And I'm a Fire Dog.

Akima:
Well, it is an Earth Dog year coming up on February 16th.

I'm embarrassed to say that President Trump is a Dog, the fourth PoTUS to be born in a Dog year, but the first Dog to be in office in a Dog year, apparently, and he's a Fire Dog too. Fire Dogs are supposed to be intelligent, hardworking, and sincere, so at least in the case of PWH, Chinese astrology gets it right. Perhaps Mr. Trump's birth certificate was forged? :P

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