Dog meat that dog was widely eaten in Hawaii and considered to be of higher quality than pork or chicken. When Hawaiians first encountered early British and American explorers, they were at a loss to explain the visitors' attitudes about dog meat. The Hawaiians raised both dogs and pigs as pets and for food. They could not understand why their British and American visitors only found the pig suitable for consumption. This practice seems to have died out, along with the native Hawaiian breed of dog, the unique Hawaiian Poi Dog, which was primarily used for this purpose. The consumption of domestic
Dog meat meat. It is thought to have medicinal properties, and is especially popular in winter months in northern China, as it is believed to raise body temperature after consumption and promote warmth. Historical records have shown how in times of food scarcities (as in war-time situations), dogs could also be eaten as an emergency food source. Dog meat is sometimes called "fragrant meat" (香肉 "xiāng ròu") or "mutton of the earth" (地羊 "dì yáng") in Mandarin Chinese and "3–6 fragrant meat" () in Cantonese (3 plus 6 is 9 and the words "nine" and "dog" have close pronunciation. In Mandarin, "nine"