OK, first of all What exactly is a proverb?
A proverb is a simple saying that expresses a perceived truth based on common sense or experience. Proverbs are often metaphorical and use formulaic language.
walking the dog – @denisse_dss via Twenty20
Anyway we sent one of our staff out and they came out with this huge list of dog related proverbs from various cultures, we put the source of the proverb beside it.
List of proverbs
Dogs have teeth in all countries. (Dutch proverb)
Better to have a dog welcome you than bark at you. (Irish proverb)
Even dogs eat. (Japanese proverb)
There is danger when a dog has once tasted flesh. (Roman proverb)
Snarling curs never want for sore ears. (French proverb)
Out of a dog’s mouth will never come ivory tusks. (Chinese proverb)
Dog does not eat dog. (Italian proverb)
The lean dog is all fleas. (Spanish proverb)
An ill dog is not worth the whistle. (Irish proverb)
If the dog is not at home, it barks not. (West African proverb)
A good dog deserves a good bone. (Roman proverb)
A barking dog was never a good hunter. (Portuguese proverb)
The dog that licks ashes is not to be trusted with flour. (Italian proverb)
A man who wants to drown his dog says it is mad. (French proverb)
A biting dog does not bark. (Korean proverb)
No one ever kicks a dead dog. (Italian proverb)
An old dog does not grow used to the collar. (Italian proverb)
Wash a dog, comb a dog, still a dog remains a dog. (French proverb)
A dog that has once tasted the flesh cannot be kept from the skin. (Roman proverb)
Dogs bark at those they don’t know. (Italian proverb)
He that would beat his dog can easily find a stick. (Italian proverb)
He who would buy sausage from a dog must give it bacon in exchange. (Danish proverb)
Dogs that bark at a distance bite not at hand. (Dutch proverb)
The dog does not get bread every time it wags its tail. (German proverb)
A dog’s tail never stands straight. (Egyptian proverb)
When a dog sees a leopard’s face, it will be silent. (Yoruban proverb)
The dog that kills wolves, is killed by wolves. (Spanish proverb)
A good dog does not block the road. (Chinese proverb)
An old dog will learn no tricks. (Italian proverb)
When the dog is down, everyone is ready to bite him. (Dutch proverb)
The dog that means to bite doesn’t bark. (Italian proverb)
As the hound, so the pup. (Irish proverb)
Beat the dog; wait for its master. (Haitian proverb)
Even the dog gets bread by wagging its tail. (Italian proverb)
A dog with a bone knows no friend. (Dutch proverb)
A good dog never gets a good bone. (French proverb)
Timid dogs bark the loudest. (English proverb)
A dog is a man’s best friend. (American proverb)
A barking dog does not bite. (Egyptian proverb)
A dog is never offended at being pelted with bones. (Italian proverb)
He painted a tiger, but it turned out a dog. (Chinese proverb)
A dog is worthy of its food. (Roman proverb)
A mad dog cannot live long. (French proverb)
Dogs snap at flies. (German proverb)
One dog growls to see another go into the kitchen. (German proverb)
If you would have the dog follow you, give it bread. (Spanish proverb)
Every dog has its day. (English proverb)
Even a wandering dog will find something to eat. (Japanese proverb)
Better to have a dog for your friend than your enemy. (Dutch proverb)
By what servant is his master better loved than by his dog? (Roman proverb)
One dog bays at nothing, a hundred relay it as truth. (Chinese proverb)
Caress your dog and he will spoil your clothes. (Dutch proverb)
The black dog gets the food; the white dog gets the blame. (Chinese proverb)
He who wants to kill his dog only has to say it is mad. (Spanish proverb)
Better a living dog than a dead lion. (the Bible proverb)
He that wants to hang a dog, is sure to find a rope. (Danish proverb)
A dog is a dog whatever its color. (Danish proverb)
Let sleeping dogs lie. (English proverb)
Beware of the dog that does not bark. (Portuguese proverb)
Better to be the head of a dog than the tail of a lion. (French proverb)
Stones or bread, one must have something in hand for the dogs. (Italian proverb)
Dead dogs no longer bark. (German proverb)
If you can’t run with the big dogs, stay under the porch. (American proverb)
The dog laps the river as if to finish it all. (Yoruban proverb)
A cur’s tail grows fast. (Italian proverb)
When the old dog barks, it gives counsel. (Spanish proverb)
He that wants to hang a dog, says that it bites the sheep. (Danish proverb)
An ill-tempered dog has a scarred nose. (Danish proverb)
Every dog is valiant at its own door. (Irish proverb)
A good dog hunts by instinct. (French proverb)
Let a dog get at a dish of honey, and it will jump in with both legs. (Danish proverb)
If you want the dog, accept the fleas. (Spanish proverb)
Do not call to a dog with a whip in your hand. (African proverb)
Young dogs have sharp teeth. (Danish proverb)
A scalded dog thinks cold water hot. (Italian proverb)
Beware of the dog himself, his shadow does not bite. (Danish proverb)
Not every dog that barks bites. (French proverb)
Dead dogs don’t bite. (Dutch proverb)
A kitchen dog never was good for the chase. (Italian proverb)
A dog that will fetch a bone will carry a bone. (Roman proverb)
Even a dog knows the difference between being stumbled over and being kicked. (American proverb)
Show a dog a finger, and he wants the whole hand. (Yiddish proverb)
He who awakens a sleeping dog sells peace and buys noise. (Spanish proverb)
A good man indeed, but his vicious dog won’t let you near him. (Yiddish proverb)
If a sane dog fights a mad dog, it’s the sane dog that loses an ear. (Burmese proverb)
‘I will not bite any dog’, says the shepherd’s dog, ‘for I must save my teeth for the wolf’. (German proverb)
Fast as the hare runs, the greyhound outruns and catches it. (Spanish proverb)
He that has not bread to spare should not keep a dog. (Chinese proverb)
Every dog is a lion at home. (Italian proverb)
Barking dogs do not bite. (Thai proverb)
By gnawing skin a dog learns to eat leather. (Danish proverb)
A dog without teeth will also attack a bone. (Yiddish proverb)
Dogs that bark much don’t bite. (German proverb)
Who wants to beat a dog, soon finds a stick. (Dutch proverb)
Before beating a dog, first find out its owner. (Chinese proverb)
A dog with two homes is never any good. (Irish proverb)
Modest dogs miss much meat. (German proverb)
A vicious dog must be tied short. (French proverb)
The dog that has been beaten with a stick is afraid of its shadow. (Italian proverb)
When a dog wags its tail, it is thinking of the meat not the master. (German proverb)
Many dogs kill a hare, no matter how many turns it makes. (Indian proverb)
Even a dog wags its tail before its owner. (Korean proverb)
Cut off a dog’s tail, it remains a dog. (Italian proverb)
Brag is a good dog, but Hold-fast is better. (Roman proverb)
He that pelts every barking dog, must pick up a great many stones. (German proverb)
Buy your greyhound, don’t rear him. (Portuguese proverb)
If a dog shows its teeth, show it a stick. (Albanian proverb)
When the dog is awake, the shepherd may sleep. (German proverb)
The dog that is forced into the woods will not hunt many deer. (Danish proverb)
Every dog is allowed one bite. (Italian proverb)
Do not give the dog bread every time it wags its tail. (Italian proverb)
Hunting dogs have scratched faces. (Egyptian proverb)
Better the head of a dog than the tail of a lion. (German proverb)
It is hard to catch hares with unwilling hounds. (Dutch proverb)
The hindmost dog may catch the hare. (Roman proverb)
Corner a dog in a dead-end street and it will turn and bite. (Chinese proverb)
A dog does not flee from a bone. (Irish proverb)
He who gives bread to others’ dogs is often barked at by his own. (Italian proverb)
One must talk soothingly to the dog until one has passed it. (French proverb)
When the dog is drowning everyone brings it water. (French proverb)
How can you expect to find ivory in a dog’s mouth? (Chinese proverb)
Into the mouth of a bad dog falls many a good bone. (Roman proverb)
Wake not a sleeping dog. (German proverb)
If you’re out to beat a dog, you’re sure to find a stick. (Yiddish proverb)
A living dog is better than a dead lion. (Italian proverb)
Dogs bark, but the caravan goes on. (Italian proverb)
An old dog does not bark in vain. (Spanish proverb)
Better a dog fawn on you than bite you. (Dutch proverb)
The mad dog bites its master. (Portuguese proverb)
If the bitch were not in haste, she would not litter blind puppies. (German proverb)
A dog in a kennel barks at his fleas; a dog hunting does not notice them. (Roman proverb)
A slow-footed hound often has good qualities. (Irish proverb)
Throw a dog a bone and it will return. (German proverb)
A kitchen dog is never a good rabbit hunter. (Spanish proverb)
The dog gets into the mill under cover of the ass. (French proverb)
The dog returns to its vomit. (German, after the Bible proverb)
Barking dogs seldom bite. (English proverb)