A lapdog or lap dog is a dog that is both small enough to be held in the arms or lie comfortably on a person's lap and temperamentally predisposed to do so. Lapdogs are not a specific breed, but is a generic term for a type of dog of small size and friendly disposition.
Lapdogs historically were kept in many societies around the world by individuals with leisure time, as docile companion animals with no working function. Genetic analysis reveals that lapdogs are among the earliest specific types of dogs to live with people. Today, most lapdog breeds fall into the Toy breed group.
Read more about Lap Dog: Appearance, History and Breeds, Extinct Lapdog Breeds, Idiomatic Use
Famous quotes containing the words lap and/or dog:
“The plum my mother picked matured slowly,
The boy she dropped from darkness at her side
Into the sided lap of light grew strong....”
—Dylan Thomas (1914–1953)
“All sailors pause to watch a steamer, and shout in welcome or derision. In one a large Newfoundland dog put his paws on the rail and stood up as high as any of them, and looked as wise. But the skipper, who did not wish to be seen no better employed than a dog, rapped him on the nose and sent him below. Such is human justice!”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)