Using "tall" for animals?

[vanilka]

Hello,

I wonder whether it's okay to use the adjective "tall" for animals. A few days ago, a student asked me about that and I must admit that I couldn't give him a definite answer (I'm new to teaching English and students still manage to surprise me with their questions from time to time, ahem. ). I'm not a native speaker but "tall" feels strange to me in this case - unless it's a giraffe (something obviously tall) or unless you want to say exactly how tall something is. I'd rather use "large" instead.

May I ask about your opinion?

[Gillnetter]

Hello,

I wonder whether it's okay to use the adjective "tall" for animals. A few days ago, a student asked me about that and I must admit that I couldn't give him a definite answer (I'm new to teaching English and students still manage to surprise me with their questions from time to time, ahem. ). I'm not a native speaker but "tall" feels strange to me in this case - unless it's a giraffe (something obviously tall) or unless you want to say exactly how tall something is. I'd rather use "large" instead.

May I ask about your opinion?

I agree with you. I can't imagine a tall cat or a tall dog. The only way I have heard tall in reference to an animal is when a horse is described as being so many hands tall. I'd opt for large in most cases.

[Ouisch]

It may not be common usage, but "tall" is definitely used in more technical situations when discussing the height of dogs and many other animals. For example, a veterinarian exmaining a particular dog might measure the animal's height (typically from the top of the shoulder to the ground) during the dog's annual check-up and he will note on the animal's chart that it is "X inches tall and weighs Y pounds". The American Kennel Club classifies the different types of poodles by height and specifically state in their rules, for example, that a "toy" poodle must be 10 inches tall or less.

[~Mav~]

... "tall" feels strange to me in this case - unless it's a giraffe...

I got this joke a couple of days ago:
Giraffes don't use drugs; they're just naturally high.

(Sorry, I couldn't resist.)

[Tdol]

I agree with you. I can't imagine a tall cat or a tall dog. The only way I have heard tall in reference to an animal is when a horse is described as being so many hands tall. I'd opt for large in most cases.

In BrE, I have heard number + hands high for horses.


If a dog or cat had extraordinarily long legs, I could use tall, but normally I'd use big.