The Fu Dog tattoo is an extremely attractive tattoo design that happens to hold a lot of different meanings. The Fu Dog, also known as the Foo Dog, is a classic mythological beast from multiple Asian cultures that has a unique look and is, in fact, far more lion than it is dog.
On this page, we are going to give you all of the information you’’ ever need on the Fu Dog tattoo, including some design options you’ll have should you choose to get one of these designs and some of the meanings that people like to give to them.
What’s kind of interesting about the Fu Dog is that many people don’t know if it is supposed to be a lion or a dog, though most agree that it is a very cool-looking animal. Most meanings that are used with dog and lion tattoos are a bit different than the ones used with Fu Dog designs, but there’s nothing stopping anyone from mixing and matching as they please.
The Fu Dog is a classic Buddhist symbol, so it is an excellent tattoo design to get if you want to get a beautiful tattoo that shows your pride in your religion. It actually represents spirituality, too, so you definitely can get a Fu Dog design as your lone Buddhist tattoo if you want to. It is also arguably one of the sweetest-looking Buddhist tattoos, so you can get a meaningful tattoo that also happens to look really great on your skin.
The Fu Dog tattoo is also an excellent symbol of luck, especially if you are looking for a larger good luck charm tattoo design. We should point out that most people will not recognize the Fu Dog as a good luck charm when they first see it, so you might have to explain it to people who are interested in your design. Of course, some people like that the meanings aren’t obvious with these designs, so you might actually choose to get this tattoo over others because of that added mysteriousness.
Easily the most common meaning attached to the Fu Dog tattoo is protection since they have long been placed in homes and outside of buildings to protect them from negative outside forces. Protection is a great meaning to use for a number of reasons. You could get this tattoo to show that you are proud to be the protector in your family, or you could get it as a source of protection from bad influences that try to make their way into your life.
Because of its interesting look, the Fu Dog tattoo represents mystery to some people, which is an excellent meaning to use if you are the type of person who wants to say that there is a lot below your surface. As we pointed out above, that meaning just comes with the tattoo anyway since many people outside of Asian countries don’t know what a Fu Dog is.
Some people will give their Foo Dog tattoos a playful or mischievous look to give the designs even more meaning and to give outsiders some insight into the types of people they are. This is a very fun part of the design process because you are not only adding in meanings in an easy way but you are also upping your chances of ending up with a very unique tattoo design.
Sometimes people will not use any specific meanings associated with the Fu Dog, but instead will get their tattoos simply to show that they love Asian mythology. With these types of designs, you will usually see other Asian symbols and images just to make the intention of the tattoo a bit clearer.
In most cases, people will get medium or large Fu Dog tattoos since they usually get them as one of their primary tattoos and so they can add in a lot of detail. They look excellent on the chest, on the back, or even as larger shoulder tattoos. What’s great is that you can easily manipulate these designs to ensure that they fit wherever you need them to. You can also get a very small Fu Dog that can fit on your wrist or forearm.
Just about any tattoo can be made in black and grey ink, but most people decide to get their Fu Dog tattoos in bright colors. The colors can help differentiate the many sections of the Fu Dog design and can make the tattoo pop on your skin.
There really isn’t a “standard way” to make a Fu Dog tattoo design, so you can very easily design it in a way that makes it fit wherever you want to place it. If you don’t have artistic skills, don’t hesitate to hire an outside artist to make some designs for you. We definitely do not recommend picking an image online or in a tattoo book since you probably want to end up with something that is yours and yours alone. Of course, you can pick a past design and make some tweaks to it if you find one that you really like.
Since just about every Fu Dog tattoo has a lot of color and complex line work, these are definitely the types of tattoos that should be created by experienced artists. You might not be able to find an artist in your area who has experience making these types of designs, but you should at least find one that is known for doing excellent jobs on large, detailed tats.
As you can see, not only do Fu Dog tattoos look amazing on the skin, but they also hold a plethora of excellent meanings that you can use. Even if you have never been interested in Asian mythology, you might find that a Fu Dog tattoo is perfect for you.
If you do end up deciding to get one of these designs, definitely take the design process seriously so you end up with a beautiful tattoo that fits on your body where you need it to fit.