Word Nerd Day

January 9.  Today is National Word Nerd Day.  A day to celebrate vocabulary, grammar and all things that have to do with words.

So to celebrate this day – let’s do a little 10-question quiz on canine vocabulary terms!

1.     Which of these words to describe coat color, refers to an even mixture of dark colors with lighter colors, which usually appears as a striped, tiger-like coat:

a.    piebald

b.    ticked

c.     brindle

d.    tonytigerous

2.     Which word is used to describe the profuse growth of hair on the front of the neck, or surrounding the entire neck:

a.    ruff

b.    mane

c.     plume

d.    beard

3.     A collie head is a narrow head with long muzzle.  What is the term for this?

a.    Mesatacephalic

b.    Brachycephalic

c.     Narrowific

d.    Dolichocephalic

4.     Large erect ears, like those seen on a French Bulldog are called:

a.    Bat ears

b.    Bear ears

c.     Prick ears

d.    Rose ears

5.     What is the term for the chest or sternum area of a dog’s body?

a.    hock

b.    cape

c.     brisket

d.    loin

6.     If a dog’s front feet point toward each other, the term is:

a.    east-west front

b.    north-south front

c.     pigeon toed

d.    toed-in front

7.     A short, round foot is called:

a.    cat foot

b.    hare foot

c.     elephant foot

d.    splay foot

8.     Crabbing refers to:

a.    the digging in the sand that dogs do at the beach

b.    the cranky behavior of some dogs when they have to get up in the morning

c.     a sidewinding movement of a dog

d.    tiny backward steps seen when a grooming tool is displayed

9.     The word typey refers to:

a.    having good body conformation which meets the breed standard

b.    the ability of some dogs to use a computer keyboard

c.     the ability of some dogs to understand spelling. (eg; w-a-l-k)

d.    the resemblance of one breed to another

10. The term for the fear of dogs is:

a.    caninophobia

b.    dogophobia

c.     cynophobia

d.    puppiphobia

So here are your answers:  1-c; 2-a; 3-d; 4-a; 5-c; 6–c or d; 7- a; 8-c; 9-a; 10-c

I actually have some issues with some of these terms.  I mean humans could NOT come up with another term for short–rounded feet?  What’s up with that?  Dog feet are called cat feet?  And calling my chest the “brisket” reminds me a bit too much of going to a Barbecue.  No thanks.

Anyway, if you knew all of these terms already, you are a Canine Word Nerd.  And if you learned a few, you are a Canine-Word-Nerd-in-training.

My human has actually been testing Frodo’s ability to LISTEN to the words she is saying.  She has begun to realize that he relies a lot on her body movements, which she sometimes doesn’t even realize she is doing.  Every morning at breakfast, he has to LISTEN to an instruction and demonstrate it before he can have his food.  She doesn’t try this with Paxton as the floor would be COVERED in a pool of drool while he was waiting.  And me?  Just SITTING is hard enough.  I would NEVER be able to hear the words and follow the instructions.  But she will instruct Frodo to listen and do something – spin, twist, flat, stand….She has come to realize the that twist and spin words are 50-50 with the word alone.  He relies on her finger movement to show him if he should go clockwise or counter-clockwise.  So he needs more work of definitions.  And listening.  Kind of difficult if you are barking your OWN words at the same time…

Have a definitively, word-sharing wonderful day!

©  Linda Wozniak