Concerning Dogs

One of the lesser problems of writing fantasy involves how to describe dogs without using contemporary, earth-based terminology. For instance, in a 2nd world fantasy, you can’t write about “German Shepherds” or “French Bulldogs” because those countries don’t exist. An author also can’t use dog breeds with names based on foreign languages, e.g.—bichon frisé, affenpinscher, or shiba inus.

In The Nine Realms, I tried to get around this problem by using basic classifications, such as a “herder” or hunters of certain prey.

Here is a list of the major dogs in the series. Not that any of these are pure-bred or candidates for AKC registration, but can you tell which contemporary breeds I had in mind?

Gili, Wren’s companion in Wyndton

Baki, the stray who offers himself as a guard dog

Maki, the fighting dog with the Raiders

Didi, one of the dogs that follows Kestrel out of Tar’s Basin

Jaki   “

Laki   “

Whaki, the dog Phénix rescues from the man with the axe

Puffy, the dog she gives to Hope

The Queen’s Canine Corps:

Vaki

Mimi

Nini

Haki

Cici

Which of the dogs appealed to you the most? Which did I manage to bring to life, in all his or her precious dogginess?

Apparently, most dogs learn about 165 words of human language. Cerúlia is completely fluent in dog-speech. Do you know any “Lupus?” Some of us understand a few phrases, but we don’t speak it.