Hablas Español, Perro
As a dog owner, we’ve all had moments when our four-legged friend astonishes us with its cleverness. For some, it’s teaching them to nose a bell when they need to be let out. For the more advanced doggos, it’s pressing a noise-making button on the ground which matches to a word or phrase, such as “outside,” “love,” or “hello!” While those tricks may be impressive, one of the most useful things to come across is a dog that understands you in more than one language.
If you thought learning a language is hard for humans, imagine being an animal that only registers gestures and nonverbal cues! Regardless of the difficulty, it can be done. If you want Fido to be bilingual like you, or to obey a family member or partner that speaks only Spanish, try out these 10 commands that you can implement in your behavioral training that are pup-approved:
Sit – Siéntate (see-in-tah-tay)
Whether for safety reasons or calming unwanted energy bursts.
Down – Abajo (ah-bah-ho)
Nobody likes a jumper!
Lie down - Echado/Échate (eh-chah-doh/eh-chah-tay)
It’s time to snuggle… or get out of the way of the TV!
Come – Ven Aquí/Acá (vin ah-kee/ah-kah)
For the wanderer who needs to be reigned in from time to time.
Quiet – Silencio (sih-lin-see-oh)
Nothing like a loud bark to get your heart racing!
Bad dog - ¡Perro malo! (pear-roh mah-loh)
Can be shortened to just malo if you aren’t comfortable rolling your double r’s!
Very good - Muy bien!
For when they nail that trick you just taught them.
Get out – Sale (sah-lay)
No dinner scraps off the table for the furry ones!
Shake/Give me your paw - Dame la pata (dah-may lah pah-tuh)
Because, for whatever reason, we wanted to humanize our dogs with this one.
No (No) / Yes (Si) (“see”)
These ones are pretty obvious, we think.
With Denver’s Hispanic makeup at 31.2% in the community, we feel that getting your best bud to learn a few of these might benefit you both in the long run, and help you both learn a thing or two about a third of the demographic in the Mile High City!