Learning Mandarin Chinese With Our Dog

Teaching our dog mandarin chineseHave you ever tried to learn a second or third language? If you are not living in a country where you are completely surrounded by the new language, with people speaking to you, seeing signs everywhere, it can be quite a challenge to learn a new language.

My hubby and I are learning to speak mandarin chinese, but we are here in the U.S. We are not surrounded by people speaking chinese. We do have friends from Taiwan who have returned to their part of the world. We will keep in touch with them and look forward to visiting Taiwan in the future. We have a favorite chinese restaurant and enjoy our attempts to use our mandarin when visiting.

We decided to begin our education by using the same books that are utilized by the foreign language class at our local university, so we will learn pinyin and also learn to write chinese characters. In addition to a weekly study group we have with friends and a private tutor, we are also using online resources. I have found many resources on YouTube and some websites with free basic chinese lessons. Today I found the site LearnChineseEZ. They show you words and phrases in english and then in pinyin with a sound link so you can hear the pronunciation.  I listen and repeat, it has come in quite handy.  And of course google translate is very helpful, but you have to make sure of the accuracy.  I think one of my favorite tools is an online learning tool,  Quizlet, which provides study tools and games which can be used for learning anything, but is especially fantastic for learning languages.  Using Quizlet, I made up my own set of words and phrases and use the flashcard feature, the scatter game and the tests.  I have found many useful apps for my iphone, including an app for quizlet so I can practice my sets while on the go.

One advantage for us is that we are doing this as a family. Our dog, Blue Belle, will become a part of the learning process. We can speak to each other in chinese and we can speak to Belle. How long do you think it will take for Blue Belle to comprehend our new speech? She is such a smart dog, I think she will pick up on the new lingo rather quickly.

How about you guys? Have any of you taught your dogs a new language?

Dog Friendly Training

From Ted Partner Series – “Dog Trainer Ian Dunbar asks us to see the world through the eyes of our beloved dogs. By knowing our pets’ perspective, we can build their love and trust. It’s a message that resonates well beyond the animal world.”

He sounds like he really knows what he is talking about. We like this guy.

Veterinarian, dog trainer and animal behaviorist Ian Dunbar understands our pets’ point of view. By training dog owners in proper conduct (as much as he trains the dogs themselves), he hopes to encourage better relationships with dogs — not to mention their friends and children, too.

His WebSite: Sirius Dog Training

He has written many books about dog training. Find them here at Amazon.

Boise Dog Training at Petco Recommendation

Dog trainer, Victoria, praises Maggie as she completes her 6 week basic dog training course at Petco.

Dog trainer at Petco.

For 1 hour a week Murry, Julie & Maggie focused on basic commands such as sit, stay, down, wait, come, and the all important command to stay away from CATS – “leave it!”.

dog obedience class
Maggie graduates from dog obedience school.

Even though Maggie had some training before we adopted her, we could tell that more was needed.  I would say we needed the training just as much as our pet.

During the first class we learned an important lesson to make trips in the car more enjoyable. 

This is Maggie before the training — She gets into the back seat, even though she loves to ride in the car she was all over the place.  Trying to get to the front seat, barking at bicycles, barking at dogs, barking at innocent mother’s pushing their baby strollers.

On the first day of training this is what we learned to do:

  • We brought along a spray bottle of water to squirt Maggie when she misbehaved.  It only took one time to teach her to cease and desist.
  • The other method we used is the leave it command.  As we passed a noisy motorcycle we would say “leave it, Maggie, leave it” and as we successfully passed by the former object of distress Maggie was praised with a “good girl” and given a treat.

It has been a few months since her graduation and Maggie is doing great.  I would say the most important aspect of keeping her under control is for us to focus on our part of her training.  We need to take time from our day to give her commands and praise and to take her for walks.  She loves to go to the park. 

We will keep up our personal training and definitely recommend Victoria as a first class trainer at Petco on Federal Way in Boise.

Do you have a Dog Training Comment?  Please let us know.