How I Trained My Dog – French Story & Translation

Author: Eliane

Learn the dog training commands in French and practice with immersion teacher’s Eliane free French story – featuring her lovely Akita Inu Dog Okami.

1 – My French Dog Training Experience

Voici la liste les commandes françaises pour faire obĂ©ir son chien. Bien sĂ»r, tous ces ordres peuvent ĂȘtre adaptĂ©s en fonction de ce qui semble le plus naturel Ă  dire. Par exemple je n’ai jamais utilisĂ© l’ordre « au pied ! », ça me semblait un peu trop dur !

Use the floating blue icon in the bottom right to hide/reveal the English translations below or just click here.

Here is a list of the French dog training commands. Of course, all these dog training commands can be adapted according to what seems most natural to say. For example, I never used the training command «Heel!» It seemed a little too harsh!

Et je n’ai jamais appris Ă  mon chien l’ordre « Attaque ! », je voulais qu’il reste un gros nounours trĂšs gentil et doux !

And I never taught my dog the training command «Attack!», I wanted him to stay a big teddy bear, very nice and sweet!

2 – At the French Dog Breeder

Si vous avez lu mon article qui prĂ©sentait notre nouveau chiot l’annĂ©e derniĂšre, vous savez donc que nous avons un chien, et plus particuliĂšrement un Akita Inu.

If you read my article that introduced our new puppy, then you know we have a dog, an Akita Inu to be precise.

Quand nous sommes allĂ©s le chercher chez l’éleveur, il nous a tout de suite mis en garde :

When we went to get it from the breeder, he immediately warned us:

  • Les Akita Inu sont des chiens trĂšs tĂȘtus, si vous voulez qu’il obĂ©isse, je vous conseille de l’emmener prendre des leçons !
  • Ah oui ? A ce point-lĂ ?
  • Ces chiens sont adorables, trĂšs calmes et ne font pas de bĂȘtise, mais ils n’en font qu’à leur tĂȘte !
  • Ok ! Il vaut mieux qu’on aille chez le dresseur alors ! Merci du conseil!
  • Akita Inu are very stubborn dogs, if you want him to obey, I advise you to take him for some lessons!
  • Ah yes ? To that extent ?
  • These dogs are adorable, very calm and don’t do anything naughty, but they are a bit pig-headed!
  • Okay ! It’s better to go to the trainer then! Thanks for the advice !

Nous avons donc pris la dĂ©cision, dĂšs tout bĂ©bĂ© qu’il Ă©tait, de l’emmener chez le dresseur.

So we made the decision, when he was still a little baby, to take him to the dog trainer.

Alors je vais vous raconter comment nous avons dressĂ© Okami quand il n’était encore qu’un chiot.

So I’m going to tell you how we trained our dog Okami when he was still a puppy.

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3 – Training Our French Dog

Le premier jour, quand nous sommes arrivĂ©s Ă  l’école de dressage canin, il y avait une vingtaine de chiots qui chahutaient et jouaient entre eux. C’était vraiment trĂšs mignon ! Mais complĂštement inutile ! Haha !

The first day, when we arrived at the dog training school, there were about twenty puppies messing about and playing with each other. It was really cute! But completely useless! Haha!

La monitrice prĂ©sente pour nous aider, avait Ă  peine jetĂ© un coup d’Ɠil Ă  Okami, qu’elle nous a dit :

The instructor present to help us, had barely glanced at Okami, when she told us:

  • Oh !! Vous avez un Akita Inu ! Il est adorable ! Mais je pense que les leçons ne seront pas trĂšs efficaces !
  • Comment ça ?
  • Cette race est vraiment trĂšs tĂȘtue ! Vous pouvez essayer de le dresser mais en rĂ©alitĂ© il vous obĂ©ira seulement pour vous faire plaisir, et s’il n’a pas envie, il ne vous Ă©coutera pas du tout !
  • C’est trĂšs rassurant ! Haha ! Comment on doit s’y prendre alors ?
  • Si j’étais vous, j’essayerais de le dresser au maximum Ă  la rĂ©compense et non Ă  la punition ! S’il fait quelque chose de bien, fĂ©licitez-le, caressez-le, offrez-lui un petit gĂąteau !
  • Oh !! You have an Akita Inu! He is adorable ! But I think the lessons will not be very effective!
  • What do you mean ?
  • This breed is really stubborn! You can try to train him but in reality he will only obey you to please you, and if he does not want to, he will not listen to you at all!
  • That’s very reassuring! Haha! How should we go about it then?
  • If I were you, I would try to train him with rewards and not punishment! If he does something good, congratulate him, pet him, give him a treat!

Alors on a essayĂ© ! Et c’est vrai qu’Okami Ă©tait un chiot adorable !

So we tried! And it’s true that Okami was an adorable puppy!

4 – House-Training Our French Dog

Pour commencer, il y a eu l’apprentissage de la propretĂ© ! Et quelle chance on a eu : il a Ă©tĂ© propre en deux semaines ! Je ne sais pas si c’est par sa nature ou grĂące Ă  nous mais c’est vrai qu’à chaque fois qu’il faisait ses besoins Ă  l’extĂ©rieur, on le rĂ©compensait !

For starters, there was house training! And what luck we had: he was toilet trained in two weeks! I do not know if it is by his nature or thanks to us but it is true that every time he did his business outside, he was rewarded!

5 – Basic French Dog Training

Pour les ordres de base, c’était assez facile :

For basic commands, it was quite easy:

A – French Dog Training Command Sit: Assis

On a dĂ» truquer grĂące aux gĂąteaux mais c’était efficace ! On levait lĂ©gĂšrement la main qui tenait le gĂąteau et au tout dĂ©but on lui appuyait trĂšs lĂ©gĂšrement sur le derriĂšre en lui rĂ©pĂ©tant l’ordre « Okami, assis ! », et dĂšs qu’il s’asseyait on lui donnait le gĂąteau !

We had to rig it, thanks to the treats, but it was effective! We raised slightly the hand which held the treat and at the very beginning we pressed very slightly on his backside and repeated to him the order « Okami, sit! », and as soon as he sat down we gave the treat to him!

Et aujourd’hui ça fonctionne toujours ! On a juste Ă  lever la main et regardez le rĂ©sultat !

And today it still works! We just have to raise our hands and look at the result!

B – French Dog Training Command Down: CouchĂ©

Comme pour l’ordre « assis », le « couchĂ© » a nĂ©cessitĂ© beaucoup de rĂ©compenses et quelques manipulations. Cette fois on baissait la main vers le sol.

As for the “sit” order, the “down” required a lot of treats and some subterfuge. This time we lowered our hands to the ground.

Aujourd’hui c’est trĂšs amusant quand la rĂ©compense est Ă©norme, comme un gros os, et qu’on dit Ă  Okami « Assis ! » : il est tellement excitĂ© qu’il perd ses repĂšres et qu’il se couche.

Today it’s a lot of fun when the reward is huge, like a big bone, and we say to Okami « Sit! » : he is so excited he forgets what he’s doing, and lies down.

C – French Dog Training Command Shake: Donne La Patte

Celui-ci est devenu son prĂ©fĂ©rĂ© ! Aujourd’hui quand il veut quelque chose : sortir, se promener, manger, boire, jouer (peu importe) il vient me voir et il me donne la patte sans que je la lui demande ! C’est devenu sa façon Ă  lui de rĂ©clamer, et c’est tellement mignon que c’est trĂšs difficile de rĂ©sister.

This one has become his favorite! Today when he wants something: to go out, walk, eat, drink, play (whatever) he comes to see me and he offers his paw without me asking! It has become his way of asking for something, and it’s so cute that it’s very hard to resist.

D – Other French Dog Training Commands

Pour les autres ordres, ça dĂ©pend toujours de son humeur


For the other orders, it always depends on his mood


  • Okami, viens ici ! = – Okami, Come here!
  • Okami, reste lĂ  ! = – Okami, Stay there!
  • Okami, attends ! = – Okami, wait!

Quand on se promĂšne, Okami est toujours en laisse, parce qu’il est interdit en France de promener son chien sans laisse. Mais dans certains endroits, c’est tolĂ©rĂ©. Par exemple, quand nous allons en forĂȘt, nous laissons Okami courir tranquillement.

When we walk, Okami is always on a leash, because it is forbidden in France to walk one’s dog without a leash. But in some places, it’s tolerated. For example, when we go to the forest, we let Okami run quietly.

Mais parfois nous sommes obligĂ©s de le rappeler pour garder un Ɠil sur lui. Alors on peut essayer avec l’ordre « Viens ici ! » ou on peut essayer de ralentir sa cadence avec l’ordre « Attends ! ».

But sometimes we have to call him back to keep an eye on him. Then we can try with the command « Come here! » Or we can try to slow him down with the order “Wait! “.

Parfois ça fonctionne, il va revenir ou nous attendre tranquillement parce qu’il veut nous faire plaisir. Mais s’il est trop impatient d’atteindre un point prĂ©cis du chemin, on pourra tout essayer, il n’en fera qu’à sa tĂȘte.

Sometimes it works, he will come back or wait quietly because he wants to please us. But if he is too eager to reach a specific point on our route, we can try everything, he will just do what he wants.

Heureusement, pour tout le reste, c’est un amour ! Il est calme, ne fait pas de bĂȘtise, et il adore la compagnie de tous nos Ă©tudiants. Si vous ĂȘtes comme nous et que vous adorez les chiens, vous allez craquer devant sa bouille.

Fortunately, for everything else, he’s a sweetie! He is calm, does not do anything stupid, and he loves the company of all our students. If you’re like us and you love dogs, you’ll love his sweet face.

For a Fun French practice, watch Camille train her “virtual” dogs (and puppy!!) in French in this video (you can turn the CC in French and English on/off)

Author: Eliane

Eliane

Bonjour, my name is Eliane and I'd love to welcome you for a French immersion homestay near Carcassone.

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