Doggone Etiquette —

Etiquette Of Yesteryear

By Bardi McLennan

A Word to the Dog:

There were a lot of things to do with good manners 200 years ago that most of you dogs knew all about. People were not so smart, so books were written to tell them how to behave nicely. As a matter of fact, plenty of those rules for people also applied to dogs then, and still do today! Some, of course, are a bit different. For example, in 1920 a person (not a dog) who was a loafer or a tramp (or a beggar) was impolitely called a “jazz hound.” It was also very bad manners to say that a person was “yappy.” Only dogs could be referred to as yappy. People were politely called “foolish.” Times change and today people might prefer to be called yappy. It’s almost a term of endearment for certain dogs.

A Word to the Dog’s Owner:

It’s amazing how many of those old etiquette rules that we now consider overly stiff and formal can be correctly applied to our dogs in this day and age. Take the duties of a chaperone in 1900, for example. The job should be “taken seriously, but discreetly” and said chaperone should know when to back off. Now isn’t that just how you want Rufus to conduct himself when watching out for your safety? And this one: “Your conduct in public should be a credit to your good manners.” (For Rufus, it’s that old rule on how to behave when out and about.) “Do not attract attention to yourself.” To which we could add: by barking, growling, scratching, etc. Here’s one that’s up to the dog’s owner to mind when out walking, but also applies to today’s kids: “Do not block the sidewalk, but step aside to let others pass.”

There are many bits of 19th and 20th century advice regarding children’s manners which today are more relevant to our dogs. “Children should never occupy the most desirable chairs, and never take their place until all others are seated.” Hmmm, not all dogs I know would go along with that one. How about this? “Children should not be brought into the drawing room to see visitors unless they are asked for.” No doubt those children were better controlled, or less anxious than our dogs today who mostly rush to meet-and-greet the visitors, whether “asked for” or not.

In an 1878 book about divorce, the sub-title is “A gallery of broken hearts” and oddly enough some of the reasoning would seem to apply to our human/canine connections. Here’s just one that is the fate of many a dog: “Those full of rich affections, but finding no congenial person on whom to bestow them, or from whom to obtain a return … suffer one of the cruelest of experiences in the world.” It could be a precise description of a lost or stray dog.

There’s some fun stuff, too. In “Twentieth Century Etiquette” published in 1900, we are told that blowing on your food to cool it is not done in good society, nor should you eat everything on your plate, or clean it up with a bit of bread (or dog biscuit?).

We all tend to admire our pets, letting them know how beautiful or handsome they are, so we might also bear in mind this admonition of etiquette from yesteryear: “Beauty is nothing without good manners.”

This is Labor Day weekend, so maybe it’s a good time to put a bit of work into making our overly friendly Fidos, and rambunctious Rovers, more mannerly.  

Until next time – BE GOOD!

- Bardi

Bardi McLennan bred, trained and showed Welsh Terriers for 30 years, during which time she wrote a monthly column on canine behavior in Dog Fancy Magazine. In addition to contributing to numerous dog publications, she has written 15 books on dogs, the latest being Rescue Me!, which received the ASPCA Humane Issues Award in 2008.