The Monopoly dog token is one of the most loved playing pieces in the game of Monopoly. Despite several changes to the Monopoly tokens over the years, the dog piece is a firm favorite and it looks as though he (or she) is here to stay.
In this article, we take a closer look at the history of the Monopoly dog and suggest ways that dog lovers can make the most of their Monopoly games.
Key facts about the Monopoly dog:
- The dog is the most popular of the Monopoly playing pieces
- The breed of the Monopoly dog is Scottish Terrier
- Additional dog breed tokens can be bought
- The dog wasn’t in the original game
- There’s a token in a later game featuring a dog in a handbag
- There are at least 9 dog-themed Monopoly games
1. The dog is the most popular Monopoly piece
If you come from a family of dog lovers, you won’t be surprised to learn that the dog is the most popular Monopoly token of all.
In 2017, Monopoly manufacturer Hasbro gave fans the chance to vote for their favorite Monopoly pieces from 64 options. The campaign drew more than 4.3 million votes from fans located in over 100 countries. The dog token received the most votes, making it the most popular monopoly piece of all.
The second most popular Monopoly piece was the T-Rex, followed by the top hat. [Source]
The so-called ‘Monopoly Token Madness Vote’ in 2017 resulted in three pieces being retired from the game. The thimble, the boot, and the wheelbarrow were replaced by the T-Rex, the rubber ducky, and the penguin.
However, in 2022, there was another vote that saw the thimble return, taking the place of the cumbersome T-Rex.
For the record, I am 100% a dog person and the dog token is definitely one of my favorites.
2. The Monopoly dog is a Scottie Dog
Featured as a token in the game of Monopoly, Scottie Dogs are also known as Scottish Terriers or Aberdeen Terriers. They are small dogs with dense, wiry coats. Scottie Dogs are often black, but may also be brown, beige, or white.
It’s believed that the Scottish Terrier was chosen for the breed of the Monopoly dog because President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was in office when the Monopoly game was popularized, had a Scottish Terrier named Fala.
3. There’s no need to fight over who’s the dog as you can buy Monopoly tokens in six different dog breeds
As the dog is such a sought-after Monopoly piece, there can sometimes be squabbles over who gets to use this much-coveted token.
Luckily, Hasbro came up with a Dog Lovers’ Monopoly Theme Pack which has six different dog breed tokens. These are the Labrador, Beagle, German Shepherd, Labradoodle, Dachshund, and Scottish Terrier.
This Monopoly expansion pack doesn’t include a game board, but you do get 32 pet carriers (instead of houses) and 12 doghouses (instead of hotels). It also has some dog-themed Monopoly money, with a different breed on each denomination.
4. The dog token wasn’t in the original Monopoly game
The first Monopoly game, which was sold in 1935, didn’t include any tokens at all. Instead, players were instructed to use common household items such as buttons or coins.
Soon afterwards, plain wooden tokens shaped like chess pawns were added to the set.
Photo credit: cdbpdx.com
In 1937, the wooden pieces were replaced by metal tokens in the shapes of common items. This idea came from co-inventor Charles Darrow‘s niece, who used the charms from her charm bracelet as tokens when she played the game.
The first Monopoly tokens in 1937 were the car, iron, lantern, purse, rocking horse, shoe, thimble, and top hat. Later that year, the battleship and cannon were added.
The Monopoly dog made its first appearance in 1942 when the dog, wheelbarrow, and horse and rider tokens were introduced to replace the purse, lantern, and rocking horse.
5. There’s a ‘dog in a handbag’ Monopoly token
Handbag dogs became seen as a sought-after fashion accessory when they appeared on runways in early 2000. Popularized by socialites such as Paris Hilton, Chihuahuas, Pomeranians, and other tiny dog breeds were often carried around in bags, despite concerns that the animals might not enjoy it.
In line with the trend for handbag dogs, the 2006 Monopoly Electronic Banking Edition featured a dog in a handbag as one of the tokens. The other five tokens also reflected things that were popular at the time, such as the segway and the flat-screen TV.
In the 2013 version of Monopoly Electronic Banking, the dog in a handbag token was replaced by a green plastic robot dog token.
6. There are at least 9 dog-themed Monopoly versions
Dog lovers are spoiled for choice when it comes to the many dog-themed versions of Monopoly. As well as the official Monopoly editions made by Hasbro, there are also many unofficial dog-themed Monopoly sets to choose from.
List of dog-themed Monopoly sets:
- Monopoly Cats Vs Dogs
- Monopoly The Dog
- Dog-Opoly
- Beagle-Opoly
- Dachschund-Opoly
- Shepherd-Opoly
- Golden-Opoly
- Lab-Opoly
- Chihuahua-Opoly
The bottom line
The Monopoly dog is a favorite token of Monopoly fans for so many reasons. Not only do dogs make excellent pets, but there are some advantages to choosing the dog playing piece in Monopoly – It looks cute, is easy to pick up, and rarely falls over.
In the online games of Monopoly, the dog gives a nice little woof occasionally. Somehow, this isn’t annoying, whereas the miaow sound that the Monopoly cat makes in the console games can quickly get on your nerves.
If everyone wants to be the dog in Monopoly you could always roll the dice to see who gets to use it. But a more fun idea would be to buy a dog-themed Monopoly set or a dog-lovers expansion pack so that everyone can be a dog!
If you have more than one Monopoly set another idea would be to paint one of the dogs with nail polish, so that it’s easy to see who is who.
