Animated and Cartoon Dogs

George P. Dog & Foghorn Leghorn
by Robert McKimson

Many of my favorite breeds of dogs have been captured in animated cartoons over the years. Looney Tunes, Hanna-Barbera, and Walt Disney animators created some of the most memorable canine characters. My personal favorite is Looney Tunes' Barnyard Dawg (a.k.a. George P. Dog), the Basset Hound nemesis of the rooster Foghorn Leghorn. Foghorn would famously taunt the dog, knowing the limit of his tether.

Droopy the Dog
by Tex Avery

Another early (1957) Basset Hound character was Droopy.

Astronaut Snoopy (Pintrill)

Beagles were also popular choices for dog toons such as Peanuts’ Snoopy, Underdog, Gromit, and even Mr. Peabody from The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends. Charles Schulz's Snoopy is of course my favorite. In college, I used to draw Snoopy dressed in various costumes, sports uniforms, etc.

I don't have any of my own drawings anymore, so I took this one from an Internet ad for Peanuts lapel pins.

Spike & Tyke
by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera

When I moved off campus in college, I would get home from class in the afternoon in time to watch Hanna-Barbera's Tom and Jerry. Spike the Bulldog made his first appearance in 1942 in the cartoon Dog Trouble. He was later joined by Tyke, a bulldog puppy. Much later in 1979, Hanna-Barbera introduced Scrappy-Doo to the Scooby-Doo cartoon series about the adventures of a Great Dane playing detective. The Jetsons' Astro was also a Great Dane. The Flintstones' pet was a small dinosaur named Dino who barked like a prehistoric 'dog'.

Auggie Doggie & Doggie Daddy
by Hanna and Barbera

When my roommates' dogs had puppies, I claimed one of the males from the litter and named him Auggie after Hanna-Barbera's Auggie Doggie and Doggie Daddy. My puppy was a small gold and white Spaniel mix rather than a Dachshund. Garfield's Odie has been thought to be a Dachshund mix.

Hanna & Barbera's
Huckleberry Hound

Who can forget Huckleberry Hound, the (blue) Coonhound. Another Hanna-Barbera lesser-known cartoon sidekick is the Bloodhound Snuffles from Quick Draw McGraw.

Wacky Races'
Muttley the Dog

I also like the character Muttley, who is known as the foil to the cartoon villain Dick Dastardly from 1968's Wacky Races. I recently watched It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963) which curiously may have been the model for this ensemble cartoon. Lots of well-known celebrities were racing around looking for the treasure buried under "The Big W" by Jimmy Durante's character. Great movie!

Lady and the Tramp
by Artist Eyvind Earle

Disney's Lady and the Tramp (1955) is an animated movie about a Cocker Spaniel named Lady and her beau, a mutt named Tramp. Then in 1961, One Hundred and One Dalmatians was released starring Pongo and Perdita (Purdy) as the prolific parents of a litter of 15 puppies. When the puppies are stolen by the evil Cruella de Vil, 84 more become adopted after being rescued.

Disney's Nana

Disney's Peter Pan (1953) included Nana the St. Bernard as the nursemaid pet of the Darling children. In 1991's Hook, Nana was an Old English Sheepdog, then in the 2003 version of Peter Pan she was replaced by a St. Bernard. In James M. Barrie's book, Nana was a Newfoundland, after his household pet. We have a black Newfoundland named Newman in our neighborhood. 

Ren by Bill Wray

The adult cartoon, Ren and Stimpy (1991) is about a Chihuahua named Ren (Höek) and a cat named Stimpson "Stimpy" J. Cat. The characters were created by John Kricfalusi and illustrated by cartoonist Bill Wray. Some of the subject matter caused some episodes to be banned from TV.

Snuffles by artist Devaun Dowdy

Another adult animated (sitcom), Rick and Morty (2013), features a Maltese named Snuffles (a.k.a. Snowball). Apparently the pet's name was changed back-and-forth. We had a Maltese pair, Bogey and Bella for over 14 years. We've had a male Havanese-Pekingese-Poodle for the past two years.

Dug & Alpha from Up

Disney/Pixar's computer-animated film (2009) Up won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film in 2010. It features protagonist Golden Retriever Dug and antagonist Doberman Pincer Alpha. Both dogs were equipped with collars that allowed them to speak human; Alpha's device malfunctioned making his voice high-pitched like he had inhaled Helium.