A memorable and graphic (if unsympathetic) way to convey timidity and fearfulness. You can see a cowering dog, skitting about with his tail between his legs, looking for a quiet spot. And yes, I drew the line at providing an image for this one.

See also the bestellar reviews, complete with rich quote-mosaics, of Adam Nicolson’s magnificent Why Homer Matters and Logue’s War Music, a muscular rendition of several books of the Iliad. 

‘As timid and fearful as a dog about to stool.’

Source: Christopher Logue, War Music: An account of Books 1-4 and 16-19 of Homer’s Iliad, London: Faber and Faber, 2001, p. 177