see also Meat dog
A variety of canine that is known to grow out of old ladies armpits.
They are often found in the folds of fur coats, handbags, large pockets or have some intrinsic armpit nestling quality. Strictly considered inedible across all cultures, they represent one dimorphic extreme of the pet verus food animal dichotomy, especially in countries such as Korea where dogs are still very much on the menu.1.
Armpit dogs often have rattish proportions, long hair, bulbous eyes and a 'yap' rather than a bark, hence the synonym yappy dog. They also tend to be somewhat neurotic or have some other personality disorder relating to their unnaturally dimunutive size.
Armpit dogs are sometimes used by human couples as a child substitute, a "pseudobaby" having under this guise all the possible traits of honorary personhood.
Yet it can be equally argued that armpit dogs push the pet boundary in the reverse direction:
Object > Animal > Child
...by becoming an animate fashion accessory.
This accessorization can take many forms including, doggie-owner matching outfits, doggie hair-doo's and non-hominid fashion. Iconographic names such as Gucci have created specially designed paw wear -tooled leather shoes for dogs that rarely touch the ground. Armpit dogs exist outside their natural urban ecological niche becoming epiphytes, carried by their owners (AKA parents) into the most unlikely places.Look closely and you may spy a pair of quivering nostrils where you least expect them.
1Compare with Meat dog