SIT! SENTA! ASSIS! SITZ!
How to command your dog in different languages!
How to command your dog in different languages!
International Dog Day on the 26th of August is an annual chance to celebrate everything canine, including dog diversity! To mark the occasion, Rosetta Stone has launched a guide to commanding dogs in different languages!
Find out how to say ‘drop it!’ and other key phrases in different languages
Can dogs really understand the difference?
“Yes! Dogs will learn whatever you are talking to them about in whatever language that may be. I’ve started teaching my two terriers Japanese with Rosetta Stone and they are absolutely loving it. You can literally teach them to bark fluently.”
Celebrity dog trainer, Joe Nutkins, believes that, while words themselves may be beyond the complexity of a canine mind, the sounds we make when we speak those different words are not. Intonation is recognised by dogs and they are more likely to be confused by a change in the tone of your delivery than to a change in the word itself. This is why some dogs struggle to understand the same words when spoken by different people with heavy regional accents.
The global canine
Dogs themselves are getting more international, with a growing popularity of breeds from other countries as well as in the adoption of dogs from places where they are not properly looked after. This follows campaigns such as the UK initiative #AdoptDontShop, which urges wannabe dog owners to avoid frequent breeders and puppy farms in favour of giving a rescue dog a forever home.
“We have a lot more dogs in the UK now that have come from other parts of the world. They may well have learnt cues and commands in their native tongue”
Older Dogs DO Learn New Tricks!
One of Joe Nutkins’ ‘pet’ topics is the training of dogs in older age. Author of the book ‘Older dogs DO learn new tricks’ she believes that owners can help maintain the physical and mental well-being of their older dogs by changing routines and adjusting interaction patterns. Maybe a new language is just what they need: a hobby that can help maintain the cognitive abilities of both dog and owner?
24 languages available for human commands also
Rosetta Stone Unlimited gives full access to all 24 languages Rosetta Stone teaches in one account. Meaning you can learn to order your less furry friends around in 24 different languages too!
About the Author Simon Goodall
Language learner, teacher and contributing author to the Rosetta Stone magazine
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