Dog watch of Ship's Bell clocks) website explanation it says that ..."the Evening Watch is periodically divided into two watches. These are called Dog Watches because they "dog" the watch schedule for all divisions ahead by one watch period". It can be surmised that this may mean an action similar to the "feed dogs" on a sewing machine, although obviously the use of the term predates the use in the sewing machine. Dog watch Dog watch, in marine or naval terminology, is a watch, a period of work duty or a work shift, between 16:00 and 20:00 (4 pm and 8 pm).
Fire Watch (book) Fire Watch (book) Fire Watch is a book of short stories by Connie Willis, first published in 1984, that touches on time travel, nuclear war, the end of the world, and cornball humour. The title story, "Fire Watch", is about a time-travelling historian who goes back to the Blitz in London. He's miffed because he spent years preparing to travel with St. Paul and gets sent to St. Paul's Cathedral in London, instead. This model of time travel also features in Willis's subsequent novels "Doomsday Book", "To Say Nothing of the Dog" and "Blackout/All Clear", set in the same continuity.