Tuesday 25 March 2014

Adorable ou touchant ?

An encounter with these two dogs in the market place at Blois recently led to a discussion over lunch about what (French) word best described them. I opted for adorable, but after pondering the matter for several minutes, Jean Michel thought touchant was better.

What do you think?

In English they are just sooooo cute!

9 comments:

Tim said...

I'm sorry...
those dogs just ain't cute!
Especially the "hand-bag" Pug...
with its wider at the bottom, chest straps so that it can be picked up by the handle and carted around with its legs dangling....
yuck!!
The other one is obviously very smelly!!!

Colin and Elizabeth said...

Absolutely Tim I could not have put it better myself... C

Ken Broadhurst said...

Usually, 'cute' in French is 'mignon' -- but I'm not sure these guys qualify.

Tim said...

Now Callie...
she's cute!!
But then I am Border Collie biassed!!

Susan said...

Tim: the harness strikes me as very practical. Better than cutting off the dog's windpipe to keep it under control. What is wrong with picking a dog up?

I love pugs -- they are like cuddly soft toys, with a really thick pelt. I know they snuffle and what have you, but they are lively, clever little dogs.

I like mastiffs too, but would hesitate to own one. They really are huge, and not always well tempered.

Personally, I am biased against border collies and would always choose a hunting dog over a shepherding dog -- sooooo much easier to live with.

Ken: we discussed mignon, but there is some technical reason it wasn't the right word that I can't remember now. Rosemary may enlighten.

I'm disappointed none of our readers seems to think these dogs are as adorable as Simon, I, Rosemary and JM all thought they were!

Anonymous said...

I have a soft spot for dogs as you might have guessed, especially the uglies! Mignon is often used, alongside mimi for the cuter little ones - trop mimi ce chien! Une crème!

Tim said...

I fully agree with you on the practicality of a harness...
for a toy dog...
or in our case, cats...
but for control...
not for lugging a dog/cat around like a handbag.

I cannot stand people using choker chains...
I think they ought to be banned...
especially the ones I've seen over here with projections on the inside!!

With my two dogs, one a BC..
the other a Labrador/BC/Lhasa Apso cross...
which was a good mix of temper and size...
I used Halti "collars"....
like a harness, but on the head...
the lead clips on just under the chin...
dog pulls, head dips down, dog can't see ahead...
dog stops pulling!
But that was only while training them...
my BC would stop and sit on a whistle, lie down on another, a descending note...
all done with the use of treats...
bribery gets you anywhere with a BC!!

BCs are no trouble Susan...
you just have to keep them entertained...
and their mind occupied...
the one down the road hardly barks at all now...
but he really thinks that he's in control of the donkey and goats...
inside their electrified fence!!!

There is absolutely no way I can love a smelly, slobbery mastif!
And they need one hell of a lot of excercise anyway!!

Stuart said...

"Particulier" comes to mind.

Aussie in France said...

Jean Michel says "je suis très touché par ce commentaire".
Stuart, "particulier" is a little negative in this context but maybe that is what you wanted to say.

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