Dog in Slavic Folktales

Folkloristics 10/1 (2025): 21–33
Author: Galina I. Kabakova
Text:

In Slavic folktales, the dog is as an ambivalent character. The most contrasting image of a dog appears in the etiological corpus, since that image provides the background for the status of a particular character or object in a given culture. The dog can act as a positive character, for example, as a cultural hero, but in many stories the dog fails to perform its main function as a guard. The dog can be a negative character ultimately failing in some animal tales too. However, both in this type of folktales and in others, the dog is mostly endowed with positive qualities, primarily devotion, readiness to act as a helper, and bring good luck.

Keywords: dog, wolf, cat, cultural hero, magic assistant, etiology.