Dog-tired

I don’t see why phrases and sayings that somehow involve dogs should be used in a demeaning or derogatory way. I remember we had a dog long ago that my grandma called out to as ‘Tiger’. Why on earth ‘tiger’? At that time I did not have the faintest clue. “Hey, Tiger, come here” she would say. “Hey, Tiger, sit here!” “Tiger!, shake hands”. But come to think of it now, when you call your dog a tiger, that’s an up-grade! Also do you remember the logo of long long ago, 'His Master’s Voice', to top it all? Some were heroes of distinction like 'Lassie'. We have these extremely superb animals used by police forces the world over to give humans a helping hand.

Consider these old phrases still used in conversation nowadays:

“Dog-tired”. Does it mean tired like a dog? Or is it tired looking after dogs? Some dogs live in cushy comfort, in heated or air-conditioned homes. The air-conditioning in my car does not work and it’s like hell driving home to my dog after being dog-tired working the entire day. So I should be ‘man-tired’. Equally, if a dog is as much tired as I am, then it should be man-tired too. If the dog sees me very tired, it should be saying: “Oh, master, you must be very man-tired”.

“Dog’s life”. Some dogs don’t live a life of misery anymore. But I perhaps by comparison, do. We have a vet for the dog you know. As for me I'm reluctant to visit my family clinic because of a wrong diagnosis; just like the false prediction that was made on my last visit there.

“Gone to the dogs”. I don’t understand this one. In fact, we go for dog's help to guard our houses. But come to think of it, on the other hand, if we make an effort to understand this one, and considering what is going on in the world at the present time, we could safely bet that we humans have almost gone there and rightfully according to the phrase!

“Die like a dog”? This too is not a polite phrase considering that the dog is generally supposed to be man’s best friend. Also it can sniff out a missing or a dead person, a thief, etc. and amazingly, recognise HMV (his master’s voice)!