Dogs in Russian literature

[Olga Meerson]

Compare Gogol's "Sobakevich pristroilsia k osetru i v polchasa doekhal ego vsego" (Собакевич пристроился к осетру и в полчаса доехал его всего).


Potomu i "doekhal"? chto sam -- Sovakevich! Потому и "доехал", что сам -- Собакевич!  If the name has an allusion to dogs, the verb will pick it up! That is Gogol for you!


> Boudovskaia Elena:
> Here is a Russian-Russian dictionary that may be useful in  your search:

http://pitomnik.biz/ru/dogs/borzaya/dictionary/

It says "doezzhat'" is "[during a hunt,] to follow an animal and gradually get close to it" (???????????? ? ????????? ?????), i.e. the same as "dogoniat'"

These terms belong to the terminology of _psovaia okhota_, a sport popular in the 19th c. and earlier among the Russian gentry, and described by Tolstoy and other authors.

The terminology of _psovaia okhota_ is virtually unknown to the public now, but used to be as well known to the Russian gentry of the 19th c. as baseball terms are known now in America.

This terminology is very different from the contemporary Russian terms of dog training, which have developed later, and are used for working dogs/guard dogs.

HTH

Best,
Elena

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