A small white dog with a straw hat and red bandana.

How to Know If YOU Have a Redneck Dog

Courtesy of a Redneck Dog Lover

A couple of friends and I proudly call ourselves redneck dog lovers. After dinner one night (and let’s be honest, a few drinks) we got to thinking about our pets and wondered: how do you know if you have a redneck dog?

Now, before we really got into this discussion, we had to figure out what the term “redneck” actually means. Everyone had a slightly different definition based on his or her own experiences and views. We always thought of the term “redneck” as a good thing: someone that is working-class who lives rurally, loves the “country,” and is tough enough to survive almost anything.

Wikipedia cites that the term redneck “characterized farmers having a red neck caused by sunburn from hours working in the fields. A citation from 1893 provides a definition as ‘poorer inhabitants of the rural districts…men who work in the field, as a matter of course, generally have their skin stained red and burnt by the sun, and especially is this true of the back of their necks’”.

Now, our group of friends definitely sees the term as a badge of honor of sorts. However you use or consider the word “redneck,” please keep in mind that this article was created to be fun and not offensive in any way.

Now that that’s taken care of, here’s how to know if YOU have a redneck dog.

Your dog could be a redneck if he or she….

  1. Has a camouflage collar or bandana
  2. Eats things off the road or porch that you aren’t sure what they are
  3. Has survivor skills such as figuring out where to get water and food without having their pampered bowls filled
  4. Hates wearing dog clothes and sweaters unless it is a bandana
  5. Is quite independent and doesn’t always come when called
  6. Likes to go for rides in the truck in the back or with his head out the window
  7. Happily drinks out of puddles
  8. Takes off to explore the woods or neighborhood for hours
  9. Loves to swim in ponds
  10. Know when their “pa” or “ma” is home when they hear a loud muffler
  11. Can fetch beer cans
  12. Uses one of the multiple cars in the yard to urinate on or sleep in
  13. May go in a boat, but never if in the water because it’s in the yard
  14. Has no fear of the sound of a chain saw or guns
  15. Recognizes the sound of the taxidermist’s car
  16. Likes the taste of spilled beer

We hope you enjoyed this article. It was intended to make other dog lovers (like me) smile. After all, we rednecks do love our dogs!