Nuffnang

Monday, August 24, 2009

Sad as a hound dog's eye

Some say, the eyes are the reflection of the soul. So, does this saying "Sad as a hound dog's eye" mean that beagles are sad souls? You would think so based on the two pictures below...





This saying is fairly self-explanatory and means "sad or pitiful". Apparently, this simile arose because the droopiness of the hound's eye. Whilst beagles belong to the hound family, you can see from my pictures that I don't have droopy eyes unlike my cousin, the bloodhound (also known as the St. Hubert hound).

There is another school of thought that the droopy structure of the hound dog's eyes does not actually reflect that the dog is in a state of emotional sadness. Hence, this saying is thought to imply a state of "pretend" sadness. Let me share with you a secret. Beagles are experts at giving our sad mournful looks to get our way, be it to beg for a treat or a tummy rub. So, maybe there is some truth to this version of the saying.

Whatever it is, dogs, like humans, possess a range of emotions which can be seen on our faces and our eyes. Maybe that's why dogs are man's best friend.




Sapphire tagged us to play this game:

This game has the following rules:
1) open the folder that has your pet pics in it
2) choose one you haven't posted before
3) tell its story
4) tag 5 friends

Man and his best friend

Having a friendly game of tug of war over an old t-shirt with dad. The best things in life are free!

I would like to tag:
1) Lorenzo
2) Thor
3) River
4) Martha & Bailey
5) Madison

11 comments:

Biggie-Z said...

Biggie is always good at looking mournful. Especially as in, "you NEVER feed me... I am SO STARVING..."

But when a dog is smiling, you know they're happy!

Martha said...

Thank you for tagging us Kess - we will do it soon - honestly!
We also have sad eyes but really we are very happy!
love
Martha & Bailey xxx

Martha said...

ps we liked your tug of war pic with your dad - we hope he was finished with the shirt!!!

Cinnamon and Mint said...

Cookie's eyes are a bit droopy, but Cinnamon's eyes aren't. While Cookie is a great actor good at making sad face expressions like the saying "Sad as a hound dog's eyes", Cinnamon is good at expressing with her tail how happy she is.

Agatha and Archie said...

Can you teach us those sad eyes? We think we could do things with it..Love A+A

Thor and Jack said...

Hi Kess!
Thanks for the tag! Hope mom help me to do it soon. She is so slow with my blog things!
I have sad eyes sometimes when the question is "I want that food now!"
;)

xoxo
Thor

Lorenza said...

Hi, Kess!
thanks for tagging me!
sad eyes work wonders... sometimes!
Kisses and hugs
Lorenza

Life With Dogs said...

Interesting observation. If only they could talk! :)

KEY WEST COLLIES said...

You have the sad eyes down. Looks like you are having fun playing with your Dad.

Essex & Deacon

i said...

That's quite a soulful look. But you always look very happy, Kess!

Yes, it's back to wet wet days again...

Unknown said...

Hi Kess,

We Danes are hounds too (we were originally Boar Hounds) and we know just how to use that "sad eye" to great effect! In our case, it's helped by a droopy mouth and lots of face wrinkles which give us an overall appearance of being sad and confused...very effective on soft-hearted humans! (Shame Hsin-Yi isn't one of those!)

Slobbers,
Honey the Great Dane

Thanks for signing my guest book.