Online Etymology Dictionary

whippet (n.): small, fast type of dog, c. 1600, probably from whip (v.) in the sense of "move quickly" + diminutive suffix -et. Used earlier (1540s) in reference to "a brisk, nimble woman."
bitch (n.): Old English bicce "female dog," probably from Old Norse bikkjuna "female of the dog" (also fox, wolf, and occasionally other beasts), which is of unknown origin. Grimm derives the Old Norse word from Lapp pittja, but OED notes that "the converse is equally possible." As a term of contempt applied to women, it dates from c. 1400; of a man, c. 1500, playfully, in the sense of "dog." Used among male homosexuals from 1930s. In modern (1990s, originally African-American vernacular) slang, its use with reference to a man is sexually contemptuous, from the "woman" insult.
BITCH. A she dog, or doggess; the most offensive appellation that can be given to an English woman, even more provoking than that of whore. ["Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue," 1811]
Bitch goddess coined 1906 by William James; the original one was success.
mutt (n.): 1901, "stupid or foolish person," probably a shortening of muttonhead (1803) in the same sense; see mutton and compare meathead, etc. Mutt was used by 1898 of a dog, especially a stupid one, and perhaps this is the same word formed independently (muttonhead also was used of stupid animals), or else a separate word of unknown derivation. Wright's "English Dialect Dictionary" (1900) has "Mutton! used in scolding a dog, prob. in allusion to the offence of sheep-worrying."
"That dog ain't no mutt," McManus would say as he stood behind the bar opening oysters; "no an he ain't no rube! Say! he's in it all the time when Charley trims the steaks." [Robert W. Chambers, "The Haunts of Men," 1898]
Used by 1910 in dog fancier publications to refer to a non-purebred animal.
sick (v.): "to chase, set upon" (as in command sick him!), 1845, dialectal variant of seek. Used as an imperative to incite a dog to attack a person or animal; hence "cause to pursue." Related: Sicked; sicking.
gaze (n.): 1540s, "thing stared at;" 1560s as "long look," from gaze (v.). Gaze-hound (1560s) was an old name for a dog that follows prey by sight, not scent.
poodle (n.): 1808, from German Pudel, shortened form of Pudelhund "water dog," from Low German Pudel "puddle" (compare pudeln "to splash;" see puddle (n.)) + German Hund "hound" (see hound (n.)). Probably so called because the dog was used to hunt water fowl. Figurative sense of "lackey" (chiefly British) is attested from 1907. Poodle-faker, British army slang for "ingratiating male," is from 1902, likely euphemistic.
spaniel (n.): late 13c., as a surname meaning "Spaniard;" as a name for a breed of dog supposedly of Spanish origin, late 14c., from Old French (chien) espagneul, literally "Spanish (dog)," from Vulgar Latin *Hispaniolus "of Spain," diminutive of Latin Hispanus "Spanish, Hispanic" (see Spaniard). Used originally to start game; the breed was much-developed in England in 17c. Whether it is actually originally Spanish is uncertain.
shock (n.3): "thick mass of hair," 1819, from earlier shock (adj.) "having thick hair" (1680s), and a noun sense of "lap dog having long, shaggy hair" (1630s), from shough (1590s), the name for this type of dog, which was said to have been brought originally from Iceland; the word is perhaps from the source of shock (n.2), or from an Old Norse variant of shag (n.). Shock-headed Peter was used in 19c. translations for German Struwwelpeter.
papillon (n.): 1907, as a breed of dog, from French papillon, literally "butterfly," from Latin papilionem (nominative papilio) "butterfly," perhaps from a reduplicated form of PIE root *pal- "to touch, feel, shake."

The Latin word is cognate with Old English fifealde "butterfly," Old Saxon fifoldara, Old Norse fifrildi, Old High German vivaltra, German Falter. The dog so called for the shape of the ears.
cantilever (n.): 1660s, probably from cant (n.2) + lever, but earliest form (c. 1610) was cantlapper. First element also might be Spanish can "dog," architect's term for an end of timber jutting out of a wall, on which beams rested. Related: Cantilevered.
cur (n.): early 13c., curre, earlier kurdogge used of both vicious dogs and cowardly dogs, probably from Old Norse kurra or Middle Low German korren both echoic, both meaning "to growl." Compare Swedish dialectal kurre, Middle Dutch corre "house dog."
fawn (v.): Old English fægnian "rejoice, be glad, exult, applaud," from fægen "glad" (see fain); used in Middle English to refer to expressions of delight, especially a dog wagging its tail (early 13c.), hence "court favor, grovel, act slavishly" (early 14c.). Related: Fawned; fawning.
harrier (n.): "small hunting dog," 1540s, from Middle English hayrer (c. 1400), of uncertain origin. Possibly from Middle French errier "wanderer" [Barnhart], or associated with hare (n.), which they would have hunted. Influenced by harry (v.). The hawk genus (1550s) is from harry (v.).
bark (v.): in reference to a dog sound, Old English beorcan "to bark," from Proto-Germanic *berkan (source also of Old Norse berkja "to bark"), of echoic origin. Related: Barked; barking. To bark up the wrong tree is U.S. colloquial, first attested 1832, from notion of hounds following the wrong scent.
whelp (n.): Old English hwelp "whelp, young of the dog," from a Germanic root related to Old Saxon hwelp, Old Norse hvelpr, Dutch welp, German hwelf; of unknown origin. Now largely displaced by puppy. Also applied to wild animals. Sense of "scamp" first recorded early 14c.
Cerberus: "watch-dog guardian of Hades," late 14c., Latinized form of Greek Kerberos, which is of unknown origin, according to Klein perhaps cognate with Sanskrit karbarah, sabalah "spotted, speckled;" Sabalah was the name of one of the two dogs of Yama.
lima bean (n.): 1756, associated with Lima, Peru, from which region the plant (Phaseolus lunatus) was introduced to Europe c. 1500. Among the earliest New World crops to be known in the Old World, Simmonds' "Dictionary of Trade" (1858) describes it as "esteemed," but it has the consistency of a diseased dog kidney.
chow (n.): "food," 1856, American English (originally in California), from Chinese pidgin English chow-chow (1795) "food," reduplication of Chinese cha or tsa "mixed." The dog breed of the same name is from 1886, of unknown origin, but some suggest a link to the Chinese tendency to see dogs as edible.
mondo (adj.): "very much, extreme," 1979, from Italian mondo "world," from "Mondo cane," 1961 film, literally "world for a dog" (English title "A Dog's Life"), depicting eccentric human behavior; the word was abstracted from the original title and taken as an intensifier.
mongrel (n.): late 15c., "mixed-breed dog," from obsolete mong "mixture," from Old English gemong "mingling" (base of among), from Proto-Germanic *mangjan "to knead together" (see mingle). With pejorative suffix -rel. Meaning "person not of pure race" is from 1540s. As an adjective from 1570s.
pointer (n.): mid-14c., "a tiler" (early 13c. as a surname), agent noun from point (v.). From c. 1500 as "maker of needlepoint lace." From 1570s as "thing that points;" meaning "dog that stands rigid in the presence of game, facing the quarry" is recorded from 1717. Meaning "item of advice" first recorded 1883.
bark (n.3): dog sound, Old English beorc, from bark (v.). Paired and compared with bite (n.) since at least 1660s; the proverb is older: "Timid dogs bark worse than they bite" was in Latin (Canis timidus vehementius latrat quam mordet, Quintius Curtius).
obedience (n.): c. 1200, "submission to a higher power or authority," from Old French obedience "obedience, submission" (12c.) and directly from Latin oboedientia "obedience," noun of quality from oboedientem (nominative oboediens); see obedient. In reference to dog training from 1930.
Lhasa: capital of Tibet, Tibetan, literally "city of the gods," from lha "god" + sa "city." The Lhasa apso type of dog is so called from 1935 in English, from Tibetan, literally "Lhasa terrier." Earlier name in English was Lhasa terrier (1894).
Samoyed (n.): Siberian Mongolian people, 1580s, from Russian samoyed (11c.), traditionally literally "self-eaters," i.e. "cannibals" (the first element cognate with same, the second with eat), but this might be Russian folk etymology of a native name:
The common Russian etymology of the name Samoyed, meaning "self-eater," deepened the Russians' already exotic image of far-northerners. The most probable linguistic origin of Samoyed, however, is from the Saami -- saam-edne, "land of the people" [Andrei V. Golovnev and Gail Osherenko, "Siberian Survival: The Nenets and Their Story," Cornell University, 1999]
Which would make the name a variant of Suomi "Finn." The native name is Nenets. As the name of a type of dog (once used as a working dog in the Arctic) it is attested from 1889.
dachshund (n.): 1881, from German Dachshund (15c.), from Dachs (Old High German dahs, 11c.) "badger" (perhaps literally "builder;" see texture) + Hund "dog" (see hound (n.)). Probably so called because the dogs were used in badger hunts, their long, thin bodies bred to burrow into setts. French taisson, Spanish texon, tejon, Italian tasso are Germanic loan words.
curmudgeon (n.): 1570s, of unknown origin; the suggestion, based on a misreading of a garbled note from Johnson, that it is from French coeur mechant "evil heart" is not taken seriously; the first syllable may be cur "dog." Liberman says the word "must have been borrowed from Gaelic (and references muigean "disagreeable person"), with variant spelling of intensive prefix ker-. Related: Curmudgeonly.
kennel (n.): c. 1300, from Anglo-French *kenil, French chenil (attested from 16c. but probably older), from Vulgar Latin *canile, from Latin canis "dog" (see canine (n.)). With suffix denoting a place where animals are kept, as in ovile "sheepfold" from ovus, equile "horse-stable" from equus, etc. Kennel club is attested from 1857.
harass (v.): 1610s, "to lay waste, devastate" (obsolete); 1620s, "to vex by repeated attacks," from French harasser "tire out, vex" (16c.), which is of uncertain origin; possibly from Old French harer "stir up, provoke; set a dog on," and perhaps blended with Old French harier "to harry, draw, drag" [Barnhart]. Related: Harassed; harassing.
bay (n.3): "howl of a dog," early 14c., earlier "howling chorus raised (by hounds) when in contact with the hunted animal," c. 1300, from Old French bayer, from PIE root *bai- echoic of howling (compare Greek bauzein, Latin baubari "to bark," English bow-wow; also see bawl). From the hunting usage comes the transferred sense of "final encounter," and thence, on the notion of putting up an effective defense, at bay.
adulation (n.): late 14c., "insincere praise," from Old French adulacion, from Latin adulationem (nominative adulatio) "a fawning; flattery, cringing courtesy," noun of action from past participle stem of aduliari "to flatter," from ad- "to" (see ad-) + ulos "tail," from PIE *ul- "the tail" (source also of Sanskrit valah "tail," Lithuanian valai "horsehair of the tail"). The original notion is "to wag the tail" like a fawning dog (compare Greek sainein "to wag the tail," also "to flatter;" see also wheedle).
patois (n.): "a provincial dialect," 1640s, from French patois "native or local speech" (13c.), of uncertain origin, probably from Old French patoier "handle clumsily, to paw," from pate "a paw," from Vulgar Latin *patta (see patten), from notion of clumsy manner of speaking. Compare French pataud "properly, a young dog with big paws, then an awkwardly built fellow" [Brachet]. Especially in reference to Jamaican English from 1934.
Alsace: region between France and Germany (disputed by them 18c.-19c.), Medieval Latin Alsatia, from Old High German *Ali-sazzo "inhabitant of the other (bank of the Rhine)," from Proto-Germanic *alja "other" + Old High German -sazzo "inhabitant," literally "one who sits." Alsatian was adopted 1917 by the Kennel Club for "German Shepherd dog" to avoid the wartime associations of German; the breed has no connection with Alsace.
frankfurter (n.): "hot dog," 1894, American English, from German Frankfurter (wurst) "(sausage) of Frankfurt," so called because the U.S. product resembled a type of smoked-beef-and-pork sausage originally made in Germany, where it was associated with the city of Frankfurt am Main (literally "ford of the Franks" on the River Main). Attested from 1877 as Frankfort sausage.
brach (n.): "bitch hound" (archaic), mid-14c., brache, originally "hound that hunts by scent," from Old French braches "hound, hunting dog," brachez, plural of brachet, of West Germanic origin (compare Middle Dutch brache, Old High German braccho "hound, setter"), from PIE *bhrag- "to smell" (source also of Middle High German bræhen "to smell," Latin fragrare "to smell sweetly"). Italian bracco is a Germanic loan word.
minx (n.): 1540s, mynx "pet dog," later "a young, pert, wanton girl" [Johnson] (1590s), of uncertain origin, perhaps a shortening of minikin "girl, woman," from Middle Dutch minnekijn "darling, beloved," from minne "love" (see minnesinger) + -kijn, diminutive suffix. Klein's sources suggest the word is from Low German minsk "a man," also "an impudent woman," related to German Mensch (see mensch), which also has a sense in vulgar use of "wench, hussy, slut."
muse (v.): "to reflect, to be absorbed in thought," mid-14c., from Old French muser (12c.) "to ponder, dream, wonder; loiter, waste time," literally "to stand with one's nose in the air" (or, possibly, "to sniff about" like a dog who has lost the scent), from muse "muzzle," from Gallo-Roman *musa "snout," of unknown origin. Probably influenced in sense by muse (n.). Related: Mused; musing.
snack (v.): c. 1300, "to bite or snap" (of a dog), probably from Middle Dutch or Flemish snacken "to snatch, snap; chatter," which Watkins traces to a hypothetical Germanic imitative root *snu- forming words having to do with the nose (see snout). The meaning "have a mere bite or morsel, eat a light meal" is first attested 1807. Related: Snacked; snacking.
sneer (v.): 1550s, "to snort" (of horses), perhaps from North Frisian sneere "to scorn," related to Old English fnæran "to snort, gnash one's teeth," of imitative origin (compare Danish snærre "to grin like a dog," Middle Dutch, Middle High German snarren "to rattle"). Meaning "to smile contemptuously" is from 1670s; sense of "to curl the upper lip in scorn" is attested from 1775. Related: Sneered; sneering. Sneer word is in E. Digby Baltzell (1987).
spay (v.): early 15c., "stab with a sword, kill," also "remove the ovaries of (a hunting dog)," from Anglo-French espeier "cut with a sword," from Middle French espeer, from Old French espee "sword" (French épée), from Latin spatha "broad, flat weapon or tool," from Greek spathe "broad blade" (see spade (n.1)). Compare Greek spadon "eunuch." Related: Spayed; spaying.
stoma (n.): "orifice, small opening in an animal body," 1680s, Modern Latin, from Greek stoma (genitive stomatos) "mouth; mouthpiece; talk, voice; mouth of a river; any outlet or inlet," from PIE root *stom-en-, denoting various body parts and orifices (source also of Avestan staman- "mouth" (of a dog), Hittite shtamar "mouth," Middle Breton staffn "mouth, jawbone," Cornish stefenic "palate"). Surgical sense is attested from 1937.
Toby: familiar form of masc. proper name Tobias, in various colloquial usages, such as "jug" (1840), "drinking mug in the form of a stout old man;" as a type of collar (1882) it refers to that worn by the dog Toby in 19c. Punch and Judy shows. Also in Toby show (by 1942, American English) "comedy act based on the stock character of a boisterous, blundering yokel."
heeler (n.): 1660s, "one who puts heels on shoes and boots," agent noun from heel (n.1). Meaning "unscrupulous political lackey" is U.S. slang from 1877. The notion is of one who follows at the heels of a political boss, and it likely was coined with the image of a dog in mind. See heel (v.1).
Cholo: "Indian or mixed-race person of Latin America" (fem. Chola), 1851, from American Spanish (c. 1600), said to be from Nahuatl (Aztecan) xolotl "dog, mutt." Proposed derivation from Mexican city of Cholula seems too late, if this is the same word. In U.S., used of lower-class Mexican immigrants, but by 1970s the word began to be embraced in Latino gang slang in a positive sense.
kibble (n.): "ground-up meat used as dog food, etc.," 1957, apparently from the verb meaning "to bruise or grind coarsely," which is attested from 1790, first in milling; a word of unknown origin. The same or an identical word was used in the coal trade in the late 19c. and in mining from the 1670s for "bucket used to haul up ore or waste."
Patagonia: South American region, with -ia + Patagon, name given by Europeans to the Tehuelche people who inhabited the coasts of the region, sometimes said to mean literally "large-foot," from Spanish and Portuguese pata "paw, animal foot" (see patten) in reference to the people's llama-skin shoes. But elsewhere said to be from Patagon, name of a dog-headed monster in the prose romance "Amadís de Gaula" (1508) by Garci Ordóñez de Montalvo (which also might have yielded California).
sniper (n.): "sharpshooter; one who shoots from a hidden place," 1824, agent noun from snipe (v.). The birds were considered a challenging target for an expert shooter:
Snipe Shooting is a good trial of the gunner's skill, who often engages in this diversion, without the assistance of a dog of any kind; a steady pointer, however, is a good companion. ["Sportsman's Calendar," London, December 1818]
pit (v.): mid-15c., "to put into a pit," from pit (n.1); especially for purposes of fighting (of cocks, dogs, pugilists) from 1760. Figurative sense of "to set in rivalry" is from 1754. Meaning "to make pits in" is from late 15c. Related: Pitted; pitting. Compare Pit-bull as a dog breed attested from 1922, short for pit-bull terrier (by 1912). This also is the notion behind the meaning "the part of a theater on the floor of the house" (1640s).
snack (n.): c. 1400, "a snatch or snap" (especially that of a dog), from snack (v.). Later "a snappish remark" (1550s); "a share, portion, part" (1680s; hence old expression go snacks "share, divide; have a share in"). Main modern meaning "a bite or morsel to eat hastily" is attested from 1757. Snack bar is attested from 1923. Commercial plural form snax attested from 1942 in the vending machine trade.
leash (n.): c. 1300, "thong for holding a dog or hound," from Old French lesse, laisse "hound's leash," ultimately from Latin laxus "loose" (see lax), perhaps via noun use of fem. form laxa. The notion seems to be of a string loosely held. Figurative sense attested from early 15c. The meaning "a set of three, three creatures of a kind" is from early 14c., originally in sporting language and especially of greyhounds, foxes, bucks, or hares.