As many of you may be aware, in the UK we love animals! In particular, people in the UK tend to love dogs. So much so that we even refer to them as 'man's best friend'. 

What you may not be aware of is that we even use dogs in our day to day phrases!

When I started writing this column, I realised that we actually have so many phrases involving dogs that I will have to divide it into a couple of parts!

1. 'Every dog has its day' - This means that no matter how unlucky we believe we are, everyone has good luck or success at some point in their life.

Example:

"After losing my job and my wife, I can't believe I won the lottery Sarah!"

"Every dog has its day Steven!"

2. 'It's raining cats and dogs' - This means that it is raining very heavily! 

Example:

"I'm not going to leave the house today, it's raining cats and dogs outside!"

3. 'Doggy Bag' - A doggy bag is a term you can use if you are eating in a restaurant and are unable to finish your meal. You can ask the waiter or waitress for a 'doggy bag' in which the leftover food is put, so that you can take it home and finish it another day.

Example:

"This dinner is delicious Gary, but I don't think I'm able to finish it. I'm so full!"

"Thats ok, you can just ask for a doggy bag."

So there you have it! Part one of my series on dog-related idioms. Please keep checking back for further columns and to follow the rest of the series. You can also check out my girlfriend's upcoming columns on cat-related phrases. Ashley (アシュリー) is also a professional English teacher, and we are currently working and travelling around Japan together on Working Holiday Visas: https://cafetalk.com/tutors/profile/?id=54542&lang=en