#mongrel kin

parts of the body: [human → dog]

hair -> fur hair on head → mane hair drawn around front of neck → ruff nose + mouth + chin → muzzle / snout teeth → fangs upper lip → flews [rhymes with "crews"]

skin (overall) → hide skin on front of neck → dewlap skin on back of neck → scruff / nape hair on back of neck → hackles

shoulder blades → withers hands → (fore)paws palms of hands + balls of feet → (paw)pads thumbs → dewclaws fur on hairy hands → mops nails → claws

butt → rump / croup [rhymes with "group"] lower belly + genitals → loins ankles → hocks feet → (hind) paws

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fur colors: [term — description]

belton — intermingled white + other colored hairs bicolor(ed) — coat of 2 distinct colors brindle — even mix of dark + light, usu. like tiger/tabby stripes buff — light brownish yellow

fawn — pale brown / golden brown, like a fawn grizzled — roan pattern mixing black OR blue-gray OR iron-gray OR red w/ white harlequin — black or blue patches on white hound-colored — black, tan, white + black saddle

lion-colored — golden brown w/ a yellow-to-red undertone, like a lion [see: ibizan hound] merle — mottled + white fur (usu. red, black, or blue) [see: australian shepherd] mottled — irregular pattern of streaks, spots, speckles, or blotches particolor(ed) — patches of 2 different colors on 1 base color

piebald — black + white (or any other 2 colors) in patches roan — even blended mix of white + another color, not gray from age sable — black tips on silver, gray, gold, fawn, or brown hairs saddle — dark patches on the back

(be)spectacle(d) — markings around eyes ticked — distinct speckling of black / dark colors on light tricolor — coat of 3 distinct colors (usu. black, white + tan) wheaten — pale yellow or light fawn

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fur types: longhaired — long fur shorthaired — short fur smooth-coated — visibly + tactilely smooth wirehaired — very textured fur (usu. straight)

corded — tight curls to coils to locs [see: komondor + puli] feathered — long, thin, + wispy at the edges jacket — short + close to the body stand-off coat — fluffy coat billowing out from body instead of lying flat [see: norweigian elkhound] topknot — tuft on top of head

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life + events: [human → dog]

sleeping place → den, lair storage (esp. of food) → cache

being born, giving birth → whelping child, youth → whelp, pup family, comrades → pack / packmates moving out, starting out on your own → dispersal partner → mate course, legacy → track

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gender*: masculine / neutral gender → dog feminine gender → dogess, tife (plur. tifan) [pron. "TEE-fay", "TEE-fahn"]

*dogs don't really have "genders" genders, ofc, but i wanted to include this for those who DO choose gendered animal terms for themselves, and were looking for an alternative to "bitch". "tife" is an old english word also meaning female dog!

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sources!!!