How did Wardog get his nickname?

Wardog's real name is Dan DaSilva. A veteran of the Army, he got his nickname during basic training.

"After going to a couple deployments with the army, it [the name Wardog] kind of became my persona and a way of life," he says in the video below:

Watch out for Wardog. This east coast law student has quite the plan set for #Survivor Season 38 and it includes a BIG lie. pic.twitter.com/NJD1Nf8T6O - SURVIVOR (@survivorcbs) February 12, 2019

While that explains the nickname, it doesn't really explain why he speaks of himself in third person, or why he gave this quote to CBS when asked why he thinks he'll "survive" Survivor: "I bring a certain sex appeal that men my age haven't had for over a decade or most have never had."

We sincerely wonder if he meant that ironically. We suspect he did not.

What else should I know about the legendary Wardog?

Wardog is currently in law school, and host Jeff Probst believes he's purposely keeping that a secret and sticking to his "Wardog" persona so the other castaways won't catch on to the way he really thinks.

"I think this is the beginning of his big lie. He doesnt want anybody to know hes in law school. He wants people to judge his East Coast accent and his military tattoo and think hes a military guy," Probst said in that same Survivor Twitter video.

While talking to ET Canada, Wardog also called himself a "kindred spirit and a joker," but we haven't really gotten to see that side of him. In the video, Wardog does seem a bit more talkative and open, so it's entirely possible that he's pushing the Wardog persona in order to protect himself. (Unfortunately for Wardog, it didn't prevent him from ending up on Extinction Island after being voted out.)

Either way, viewers are enjoying Wardog on the show, and we're glad we're going to get to see him fight to rejoin the game from the Edge of Extinction.

WARGOD - The Wardog (@IAmTheWardog) April 17, 2019