Vocabulary Lesson #3: Dogs, N through Z

In my last post, I introduced some dog vocabulary; these are words that aren’t included in Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, but perhaps should be. Or maybe not.

Inspired by my dogs, my family has created words to describe them, their activities and their personalities.

After the last entry, I realized I had left a few words out. I’ll have to add them in a future post. I’m sure I’ll have more dog–and cat–terms by then.

Below are the N through Z in the dog lexicon. Enjoy.

nyng  (nyng) verb
For dogs, the act of chewing an itch, usually on a foot, sometimes on another dog. Features small bites with the front teeth.
Usage: Lilah must have itchy feet; she’s nyning her paws.

Lilah nyngs her foot. I just love that crinkly nose that goes along with nynging.

pelt  (pelt) noun
What’s left of a stuffed animal after a dog has disemboweled or defuzzicated it; one of the Best Toys. The smaller, the better.
Usage: Tucker and Jasper, why are you playing Tug with that tiny pelt when there are two larger pelts right here?

Lilah and Jasper play tug with a pelt. It’s all that’s left from what once was a plush emu.

puff muzzle  (puf / muz / ul) noun
The expression a dog makes when his or her cheeks are puffed up a little above the teeth, kind a like a smile. Usually seen when the dog is really interested in something.
Usage: You heard me say the word “outside,” didn’t you Lilah? That’s why you’re giving me puff muzzle.

Lilah Lilah demonstrates puff muzzle.

pupster (pup / stur) noun
A cute smallish dog: Rosie; she was a pupster her whole life. She was the original–and only–pupster.
Usage: The pupster is requesting that you play ball with her.

Rosie, the one and only pupster; she was only about 4 months old here.

pupstrating (pup / strayt / ing) verb
The act of hanging around and looking cute, probably planning some kind of mischief. Can only be done by a pupster.
Usage: Rosie is pupstrating under the desk.

Rosie pupstrating at the top of the stairs. Possibly she is pondering the problem of a ball that went bouncy bouncy down the stairs. Or maybe she’s contemplating mayhem. You never knew with Rosie.

run mucks (run / muks) or run some mucks (run / sum / muks) verb
Playing exuberantly outside.
Etymology: From “to run amuck”
Usage: Rosie, do you want to go outside and run some mucks?

Rosie loved to go outside and Run Some Mucks.

shlorb (shlorb) noun or verb
That particular type of slobber that gets all over a dog toy after serious playing, usually seen on a ball, and generously shared by pups who want to give you doggy kisses.
Usage (noun): Oh yuck, this ball is covered with shlorb!
Usage (verb): Rosie shlorbed the rubber ducky so much that it lost its squeak.

You can just make out the glimmer of shlorb on Rosie’s Ball.

shlorby (shlor / bee) adjective
The condition of an object after it has been shlorbed.
Usage: Rosie could always tell when someone didn’t want a shlorby ball dropped in someone’s lap, which I’m sure is why she chose to give the ball to that person in particular.

A shlorby ball is sticky, and the more you play, the more grass and other debris is collected on it.

sleepy tongue (slee / pee / tung) noun
A particular licking or smacking by a dog’s tongue, usually as he or she stretches or moans, in preparation for a nice nap or snooze.
Usage: Lilah is doing sleepy tongue; she  must be tired out from a long day playing with Tucker.

Sleepy tongue is hard to photograph, because it happens so fast, but Tucker demonstrates the circumstances under which you might see it.

stealth dog (stelth / dawg) noun
A dog that disappears when it is dark; Lilah at night.
Etymology: from stealth aircraft, that are hard to detect using radar and other technology.
Usage: I forgot to put the light on Lilah’s collar when I took  her outside last night, and of course, the stealth dog disappeared; I had no idea where she was for more than five minutes.

Obviously, I couldn’t show a picture of Lilah as Stealth Dog at night, because you wouldn’t see her. But she does tend to hide in the garden now and again. You can just imagine how she would disappear when it’s dark out.

stretchy belly (strech / ee / bel / ee) noun
One of the best kinds of dog bellies to rub; appears only when the dog stretches, creating a tight, incredibly rubbable belly.
Usage: Ooh look; Jasper has stretchy belly and I’m going to rub it right now!

This isn’t quite a stretchy belly; the best ones include all paws stretched out as well–and they’re kind of hard to catch with a camera. But Tucker’s belly is quite rubbable at any time.

tayul (tay / ul) noun
A very cute tail, usually waggy.
Etymology: tail
Usage: Look at those cute, happy tayuls, wagging their greetings.

I love this picture; three pups havin’ a confab, complete with happy tayuls.

teef (teef) or teefs (teefs)  noun
Teeth, only cuter.
Usage: Watch those teefs, Tucker; bite the Tuggy, not me.

Lilah smiling, showing her teefs.

vortex of doom (vor / teks / uv / doom) noun
A spot on Jasper’s chest, where the fur swirls together…kind of like a dog version of a cowlick. It’s possible the vortex of doom has special powers.
Usage: Jasper loves to be petted, particularly near his vortex of doom, and will paw at you if you attempt to stop petting.

A close up of Jasper’s Vortex of Doom. I just want to poke it and pet it sometimes. It is irresistible.

whisper woof (wis / pur / woof) noun or verb
A short, quiet bark. Not loud enough to be a bark. Almost a whisper. Used when you think there’s something to bark about, but you’re not sure…almost like a test woof.
Usage: (noun) The wind blowing the branches against the house seems to be the cause of Kelsey’s whisper woofs.
Usage: (verb) What do you hear, Kelsey, that’s making you whisper woof?

Kelsey, the originator of the Whisper Woof.

whissle fuppy swippers (wis / ull / fup / ee / swip / urz) noun
Pasha’s fuzzy paws.
Etymology: From little fuzzy slippers–only cuter.
Usage: It’s time to trim Pasha’s whissle fuppy slippers; they’ve grown so furry that snow keeps getting caught in them.

Pasha had the furriest feet I’ve ever seen. Corinne coined the term whissle fuppy swippers, and it is exactly what they are.

zipper (zip / ur) noun
The white stripe on Rosie’s chest, a good place to pet her.
Usage: What’s behind that zipper, Rosie? (Answer: a brave and beautiful heart.)

My Rosie, showing off her white zipper.

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