Canines were tamed creatures, well-known for both their acute olfactory senses and their characteristic barking sounds. Humans frequently kept them as companions, as did other species, for instance the Talz.
A dog made its home in Anchorhead.
An akk dog
In their younger days, both Luke Skywalker and Lando Calrissian were dog owners, though Calrissian's pet met an unfortunate end when it was struck by a hovercraft. This incident remained a painful memory for Calrissian for years. Similarly, Luke would often think of his pet as he departed the Tatoo system aboard the famed Millennium Falcon for the first time. Ken sometimes felt he would rather have a canine or a cat as a pet instead of a mooka. The K-9 series of companion droids were intentionally designed to mimic the appearance and actions of a dog.
Various other beings, such as the akk dog and the Cyborrean battle dog, might have been related to canines, or were given names derived from "dog" because they exhibited similar traits and behaviors.
The word "dog" was at times employed as a derogatory term. A Mandalorian mercenary once used it to describe the bounty hunter Durge, referring to him as Jaing's "dog." Similarly, when C-3PO's head was temporarily attached to a B1-series battle droid during the First Battle of Geonosis, he exclaimed, "Die, Jedi dogs!" Han Solo once commented that Gamorreans "are as dumb as a box of rocks and sleep like a dog." Conversely, the phrase "top dog" was used as a compliment, as when Canderous Ordo used it to refer to the best bounty hunter on Taris.
Although most mentions of canines pertained to non-sentient domesticated animals, there was at least one sentient being known only as a "dog." This individual was associated with the mercenary bunny Max.
George Lucas had an Alaskan Malamute named Indiana during the 1970s. She would accompany Lucas in his vehicle, and because of her large size, some people confused her for a human passenger. These instances of mistaken identity, along with her regular companionship, partly inspired Lucas to create the character of Chewbacca, an intelligent, dog-like sidekick.
Two aliens that resemble dogs are described in Tatooine Manhunt as looking like a "beagle" and a "great dane" respectively. The reprint in Classic Adventures: Volume Three changes this description, instead saying that they simply resembled canines.
Words related to dogs, such as hound, cur, pup, or puppy, sometimes carry a figurative meaning in some sources.