Three Dog Night

Ever wonder where the phrase "Three Dog Night" originated? Sure, there is the American rock band that was popular during the late 1960s and early 1970s known by that name. However, the term did not derive from the raging rock group.

It’s been said that on cold nights, Australian aboriginals would customarily sleep in a hole in the ground while embracing a dingo, a native species of wild dog. On colder nights, they would sleep with two dogs, and if a night was especially cold, it was considered a “Three Dog Night.”

The expression is also used by the Aleutian Eskimos, who combat the cold by sleeping under fur blankets topped with their heat-emitting canine companions, to connote a very cold night that requires not one, not two, but three dogs on the bed to keep warm.

Being the leader of the Knowlton pack, I determine whether it's a one, two, or three dog night. It's not often, but occasionally a bone-chilling arctic night creeps up on me like a cheap pair of underwear, and I have to summon Daddy Dawg's help to keep the real leader of the pack, Momma Dog, warm.

Goodnight. Sleep tight. Don't let the bed bugs bite!