Why do I need to know it? 

It’s an effective way to describe someone’s outgoing personality, and dropping it in everyday conversation will serve you well in this dog-loving country.  

What does it mean? 

The phrase translates directly to “known like a colourful dog,” based on the idea that in a world full of dogs with one or two-coloured coats, a multicoloured canine would certainly stand out. 

Originally, the expression was deployed as an insult, used to describe someone who stood out for their negative characteristics. In English, it would be similar to saying that someone “sticks out like a sore thumb.”  

Nowadays, though, the phrase has lost its negative connotations. You can use it in a positive sense to describe a conspicuous friend with many connections or someone who is famous in their neck of the woods. 

Use it like this: 

Jeder kennt meinen Freund Thomas. Er ist bekannt wie ein bunter Hund.

Everybody’s heard of my friend Thomas. He’s known all over town.

In Wien ist der DJ bekannt wie ein bunter Hund.

This DJ is well-known in Vienna.