A common practise among German Shepherd trainers is to train their dogs using German Commands. In North America, having your protection dog or guard dog trained in a language other than English can have several benefits. First and foremost, it helps ensure that your dog is only responding to your voice, and your commands. While you cannot guarantee that no one else around you will know German commands, it ensures that at least the majority of the North American population will not know the proper commands to even attempt to control your dog. Secondly, it is useful to ensure that your dog will not get confused between words you speak in every-day conversation versus commands you give it. While most dogs can tell when you are commanding them and when you are speaking to someone else, using commands in a different language than what you regularily speak is simply reassuring.
While some people may not be well versed in the languages of the world, learning simple commands in another language is easy. Below, we’ve outlined some of the most basic commands in English, German, French, Czech and Dutch.
English |
German |
Czech |
French |
Dutch |
| Heel | Fuß (foos) |
K nose (kno zay) |
Au pied (oh-pee-ey) |
Volg / Rechts |
| Sit | Sitz (siitz) |
Sedni | Assis (ah-see) |
Zit |
| Stay | Bleip (blypp) |
Zustan | Reste | Blifj |
| Down | Platz (plahts) |
Lehni | Coucher (coo-shay) |
Af / Liggen |
| Come / Here | Komm / Hier | Ke mne (khe-mn-yea) |
Viens / Ici | Hier |
| Stand | Steh (shtay) |
Stuj (stooya) |
Debout (day-boo) |
Staan |
| Kennel / Crate | Zwinger / Box | Kotec | Chenil | Hok / Kennel |
| Out / Let Go | Aus | Pust (pusht) |
Halte / Donne | Los / Loslaten |
| Go Out | Voraus | Vpřed (va porshed) |
En Avent (on avon) |
Voruit |
| Jump | Hopp | Skoc / Hop | Saute / Aller (soht) |
Over |
| Bite | Faß (fass) |
Drz (dursh) |
Attaque | Stellen |
| Good (praise) | Braver (braffer) |
Hodny | Bon | Braaf |
| No (correction) | Pfui / Nein (fooey) |
Fuj (fooya) |
Non / Mauvais | Foei |
| Leave it | Lass es | Nech to | Laisse | Los |
While we’ve tried to include simple translation hints, they are very rough approximations, and this guide is not meant to replace a one-on-one training session. Here at CCK9 we offer customized training in the language of your choice for your protection dog, guard dog or security dog.