Dog Park Dictionary

feathering: Refers to a long fringe of hair on the ears, legs, tail or body of a dog.

 

fillers: Chemical and other indigestable matter added to pet food to increase volume.

 

flag tail: Refers to a long tail carried high.

 

folded ears: Ears that stand erect at the base and fold forward.

 

foxtail: From the genus Alopecurus, foxtails refer to North American grasses with silky or bristly flowering spikes that, as a penetrating foreign body, cause trouble for dogs.

 

furnishings: Long hair on the head, ears and tail of some breeds.

 

gameness: A trait favored by certain dog breeders, in which a dog maintains a willingness to fight despite injury.

 

guard hairs: Long, smooth, stiff, outer hairs of a dog's coat.

 

gun dogs: Hunting dogs trained to find live game and pursue that game once shot.

 

hackles: Neck and back hairs that rise involuntarily when a dog is frightened or angry.

 

half-prick ear: Also known as a semi-prick ear, a half-prick ear refers to ears carried erect with the tips bending forward.

 

harlequin: Typically black or gray coloring on white patched or pied coats.

 

haw eyes: Refers to an unusually exposed conjuctival membrane, or third eyelid, resulting from a loose lower eyelid.

 

heartworm: A mosquito-borne filarial worm that infects the heart and blood vessels with parasites.

 

heat: Common term for estrus, or the recurring period of sexual receptivity for female dogs.

 

heterozygous: Circumstance whereby a gene pair comprises two different gene types, dominant and recessive, for a certain trait.

 

hip dysplasia: A genetic disorder that causes abnormal formation, crippling the hip socket.

 

hock: The hind leg joint, analogous to the human ankle, that is considered to be the dog's genuine heel.

 

hook tail: Refers to a tail carried down with the tip curling up.

 

inbreeding: The mating of closely related dogs to control offspring characteristics.

 

Jacobsen's organ: An organ found in the roof of a dog's mouth that provides a hybrid sense of taste and smell.

Japanese Tosa: See Tosa.