I love dogs. Big ones, little ones, fat ones, skinny ones, brown ones, black ones, white ones, multicolored ones – the size, shape, and color don’t matter.
During my life I’ve been fortunate enough to have at least one (usually more) dog living in my house most of the time. I’ve had some big ones (two St. Bernards), some little ones (three Schipperkes), and some medium ones (two Shelties right now), and I have dearly loved every one of them. And yes I wept unashamedly every time one of them went to doggy heaven. Aside from teaching them to speak and shake hands on command, I never really got into training them to do a lot of tricks. But one thing I did teach all of them – proper grammar. Yes, you read that correctly.
As one who spent his professional career attempting to educate students about the intricacies of the English language (something in which few people are interested), I just decided that my dogs would not contribute to the illiteracy count of the many canines who are taught to lay down instead of obeying the command to lie down.
Now before you quit reading, hear me out. During my 37 years of teaching English and journalism at West Liberty State College (now West Liberty University), I often asked my classes what troubled them the most about English grammar. Correctly using lie and lay topped the list followed closely by the usage of who and whom, but that’s another story. (Teaching students how to use who and whom correctly was one of my biggest challenges, and I fear that I failed miserably at it.)
But Wait! There’s More
The problem with lie and lay is simply the fact that many children heard it misused by their peers in school. There is a very easy way to differentiate between lie and lay. Lie means anything at rest. Therefore people (and dogs) lie down for a nap, and while they are doing that, they are lying there.
The verb to lay means to put or place, so if you are carrying a book you want to put down, you are going to lay (put or place) it on a table. Now the book is lying (at rest) on the table.
If you have read this far, you may as well get the bottom line. The truth is that dogs really don’t give a damn whether they are told to lie down or lay down. They’ll do whatever they are trained to do as long as they get a treat for doing it. I once knew a man who had a beautiful Rottweiler, and he taught it to obey commands issued only in German. I actually saw a demonstration of this. The dog would be standing beside him, and the guy would say, “Sit down.” The dog just looked at him, but when the command changed to sich setzen, the dog sat immediately. Very impressive.
Getting back to your dog, if you really care that it recognizes correct grammar, by all means teach it to lie down. If you don’t care, however, you can be sure it won’t matter to your pooch either. Whatever you decide, there is one thing you MUST do, and that is LOVE your dog and consistently treat it with kindness. Dogs are fiercely loyal to their owners, and they ask very little in return – just regular exercise and meals and lots of affection. Every day spend a few special minutes and look deeply into your dog’s eyes filled with love and loyalty to find this message, “Please hug me or pet me.” Obey this command and then go find someplace where you both can lie down.
Stay home. Wash your hands. Don’t touch your face. If you absolutely must go out in public, wear a mask and practice social distancing.
And be well!
