‘Mutt,’ ‘Who Let the Dogs Out’ and More Hit Songs That Went to the Dogs

Leon Thomas’ soulful ballad “Mutt” joins a long line of songs with dog themes or variations of dog words in their titles to make the top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100.

While our focus here is on top 40 singles, we want to at least mention some dog-themed songs that were drawn from studio albums that reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 – Elvis Presley’s “Old Shep” from Elvis (1956), The Monkees’ “Gonna Buy Me a Dog” from The Monkees (1966), The Beatles’ “Martha My Dear” from The Beatles (1968), Led Zeppelin’s “Bron-Y-Aur Stomp” from Led Zeppelin III (1970), Snoop Doggy Dogg’s “Doggy Dogg World” from Doggy Style (1993), Carrie Underwood’s “The More Boys I Meet” from Carnival Ride (2007), and Luke Bryan’s “Little Boys Grow Up and Dogs Get Old” from Kill the Lights (2015).

Two of the most famous dog-themed songs pre-date the 1958 arrival of the Hot 100. Patti Page’s “The Doggie in the Window” and Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton’s “Hound Dog” were released within a month of each other in early 1953. They couldn’t be more different, but both found success. Page’s corny but ultra-catchy novelty smash featured barking sounds by “Joe and Mac.” Thornton’s boisterous rendition of “Hound Dog” topped an early Billboard R&B chart for seven weeks. Presley’s cover version, released in 1956 as a double-sided smash with “Don’t Be Cruel,” was one of the biggest hits of the 1950s.

The success of “Mutt,” which has climbed as high as No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100, led us to look back over the years at other top 40 hits with dog themes or variations of dog words in their titles.

Dogs bring us joy, companionship and love — and they have inspired some memorable songs to boot. This does not purport to be a complete list, but it’s a healthy sampling. The list also demonstrates the surprisingly many ways in which dog words and phrases have entered the language – references to “puppy love,” “doggin’ around” and “dog days” as well as the PG-rated expletive “doggone.”

The songs are listed in chronological order.