Hair of the Dog

Updated 3/2017-- all links (except to my own posts) removed as many no longer active.

It will have been 4 years on May 30th since LadyBug was euthanized. She had osteosarcoma of the left maxilla. And no that isn't a cigar in her mouth. It's a rolled up rawhide treat. LadyBug was half-Rottweiler and half-Pyrenees. She was nearly 8 years old when she died. She was a charmer! She would sit with her hunches on the sofa and her front legs on the floor. She is missed.

The origins of the phrase "hair of the dog" seem to go back to "the Romans and many ancient peoples before them believed that like cures like. They would bind the hairs of a dog that had bitten someone to that very person's wound to make it heal better EVEN of the dog was rabid." It then morphed into referring to handover cures (no "hair" included in these).

Another use for the hair of your dog is to make something from it. Depending on your own dogs breed (and the Pyrenees is perfect), your dog may have wonderfully full, soft hair. Years ago while walking through 'Books-a-Million', a book caught my eye. The book was "Knitting with Dog Hair" by Kendall Crolius. It described the steps needed (comb and keep the hair in a dry paper bag until you have enough, spin into yard, and then knit). VIP Fibers provides the service of preparing the hair after you collect it. I saved the hair from LadyBug and my two labradors, GirlFriend and Columbo (who died in November 2003 from an abdominal cancer at age 11). I have a lace shawl from their hair. It feels like mohair.