Can you teach yorkies to be Bilingual?? - YorkieTalk.com Forums

yorkees4mee · 05-17-2005, 01:42 AM

hey everyone! I'm also Asian, but was born in the USA. Just had a quick question: it is possible to teach a yorkie two languages, or would it confuse them?? For example, teach "sit" in English and then "sit" in Chinese. And how would you go about teaching them?? Thanks!! I dont have a yorkie yet, but am hoping to/considering getting one!!

Luk Tan · 05-17-2005, 02:15 AM

My Cha-Cha can understand commands both in Thai and English languages. I start with one language at a time. Practising many many times until she understand the command and then change to another language

yorkees4mee · 05-18-2005, 03:22 AM

oh, i see. so i have to teach the command in english first and make sure he understands it completely BEFORE beginning to teach him the same command in CHinese? I shouldnt try to teach both at the same time?
(i'm just very scared that i might confuse the dog soo much that he might end up not being able to learn any commands)

oh yeah, btw, cha cha IS very pretty haha....I hope ur not bored with that comment yet cuz it seems u get lots of those with cha cha's looks.

daisysmom · 05-19-2005, 04:08 PM

My sister had a Maltese that she got from a Korean family and for the longest time we couldn't figure out why the dog wouldn't listen to any commands we said to her in English then on a hunch, we started saying them in Korean and she listened and did them. After awhile my sister kept repeating the commands in English and she eventually understood and picked it up.
I would say to start with one language and once your pup picks up on it and understands it then go ahead and switch to the other language. If you do both languages at the same time, I think it would confuse it and take longer for them to figure out the commands.

Luk Tan · 05-19-2005, 04:45 PM

Thank you Yorkees4mee for compliment

Agree with daisymom....teach her one language at a time. Don't do both otherwise she will get confused

natalie · 05-19-2005, 08:26 PM

My boyfriend is Cantonese and is his parents main language around the house.
They had a chow mix before we brought Fred home and his chow understands "sit" and "shake" in both languages. Fred has also got accustomed to it.
At first, you have you associate the word with a hand motion. After they underestand "Sit" with the hand motion in English, you say "Sit" in your language and use the hand motion. They might not understand at first, but after you keep doing it with the hand motion, they should catch on! Fred did and we've had him for a little over 3 months.

ReconsMomma · 05-20-2005, 12:19 AM

You can teach a dog in any language. Try to choose which language the dog with hear most to be the first language that it learns and with any training when you start out, make sure you associate it with a hand signal. This way when you move onto the second language the dog will understand the hand signal and start associating the two.

I really hope that made sense.

Dougal&Little · 05-22-2007, 12:57 AM

Dogs don't understand any language. It's a matter of them associating a sound that comes out of your mouth with a desired action. You could teach your dog to "sit" on the word "bananas" if you felt like it. My dogs will even work without words - I have hand cues for: sit, down, and wait. Competition obedience ONLY uses hand commands.

I have always been taught to be consistent and only have one word for each command. But this is for a situation where the dog's being tested on the speed at which they respond to the command (agility).

I'm sure that you could teach a dog that more than one sound requires the same action. But when you're first teaching a command I would be consistent and only use the one word in one language. Once your dog is really really solid then you can start adding a new command word.

It's got to be what works for you. I know I have a tendency to use more than one word for some things - and the yorkies can usually guess what I mean -- but it does take them longer to figure it out.

xxmxaxrxyxx · 05-22-2007, 04:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yorkees4mee

hey everyone! I'm also Asian, but was born in the USA. Just had a quick question: it is possible to teach a yorkie two languages, or would it confuse them?? For example, teach "sit" in English and then "sit" in Chinese. And how would you go about teaching them?? Thanks!! I dont have a yorkie yet, but am hoping to/considering getting one!!

yes it is possible...all my fur-kids understand commands in Vietnames, English and some Laos.

Mz_s3ski_Kitt3n · 05-25-2007, 10:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xxmxaxrxyxx

yes it is possible...all my fur-kids understand commands in Vietnames, English and some Laos.

Same here Miss Mary...yorkies are very smart little doggies !! if you train them when they are puppies...they pick up very quickly too !! Mine understand Vietnamese, Laos/Thai & English...

MissSophie · 05-26-2007, 09:14 AM

My grandpuppies are bi-lingual. English/Spanish. They are not Yorkies, but I think that if any other dog can, so can a Yorkie.

xBUTTERCUPx · 06-01-2007, 08:22 AM

My husband is Vietnamese and I am Chinese/Vietnamese. I teach Buttercup commands in english and my husband does it in vietnamese. After 2-3 months of confusing him, he understood. I think it takes time and practice.

Mz_s3ski_Kitt3n · 06-06-2007, 11:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xBUTTERCUPx

My husband is Vietnamese and I am Chinese/Vietnamese. I teach Buttercup commands in english and my husband does it in vietnamese. After 2-3 months of confusing him, he understood. I think it takes time and practice.

They sure do pick up very quickly...btw where in tx do you live ?? how far is it away from arlington/dfw area ??

Cupcake · 06-06-2007, 11:40 PM

Cupcake understands spanich and english. I also use hand comands, so I wont confuse her

nansyorkies · 06-06-2007, 11:49 PM

friends of mine are German, and they speak English and German to their dogs- and they understand them.

05-17-2005, 01:42 AM	#1
yorkees4mee Yorkie Talker Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 14	Can you teach yorkies to be Bilingual?? hey everyone! I'm also Asian, but was born in the USA. Just had a quick question: it is possible to teach a yorkie two languages, or would it confuse them?? For example, teach "sit" in English and then "sit" in Chinese. And how would you go about teaching them?? Thanks!! I dont have a yorkie yet, but am hoping to/considering getting one!!

05-19-2005, 04:08 PM	#4
daisysmom Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: May 2005 Location: Washington State Posts: 183	My sister had a Maltese that she got from a Korean family and for the longest time we couldn't figure out why the dog wouldn't listen to any commands we said to her in English then on a hunch, we started saying them in Korean and she listened and did them. After awhile my sister kept repeating the commands in English and she eventually understood and picked it up. I would say to start with one language and once your pup picks up on it and understands it then go ahead and switch to the other language. If you do both languages at the same time, I think it would confuse it and take longer for them to figure out the commands. __________________ Jules The Yorkie Bunch Pochi Choppi Daisy and Meeju too

05-22-2007, 12:57 AM	#8
Dougal&Little Donating YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: New Zealand Posts: 851	Dogs don't understand any language. It's a matter of them associating a sound that comes out of your mouth with a desired action. You could teach your dog to "sit" on the word "bananas" if you felt like it. My dogs will even work without words - I have hand cues for: sit, down, and wait. Competition obedience ONLY uses hand commands. I have always been taught to be consistent and only have one word for each command. But this is for a situation where the dog's being tested on the speed at which they respond to the command (agility). I'm sure that you could teach a dog that more than one sound requires the same action. But when you're first teaching a command I would be consistent and only use the one word in one language. Once your dog is really really solid then you can start adding a new command word. It's got to be what works for you. I know I have a tendency to use more than one word for some things - and the yorkies can usually guess what I mean -- but it does take them longer to figure it out. __________________ Dougal (card carrying member of the Teapot Club) & Dixie (aka Evil Wee) Dougal's Facebook Dixie's Facebook

06-01-2007, 08:22 AM	#12
xBUTTERCUPx YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Cypress, TX Posts: 872	My husband is Vietnamese and I am Chinese/Vietnamese. I teach Buttercup commands in english and my husband does it in vietnamese. After 2-3 months of confusing him, he understood. I think it takes time and practice. __________________ Kim her Reese's Buttercup http://www.dogster.com/?305156

06-06-2007, 11:40 PM	#14
Cupcake Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: San Diego Posts: 80	Cupcake understands spanich and english. I also use hand comands, so I wont confuse her __________________ Cupcake's mommy http://www.dogster.com/dogs/504097

05-17-2005, 02:15 AM	#2
Luk Tan YT Addict Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Bangkok, Thailand Posts: 293 Blog Entries: 1	My Cha-Cha can understand commands both in Thai and English languages. I start with one language at a time. Practising many many times until she understand the command and then change to another language

05-18-2005, 03:22 AM	#3
yorkees4mee Yorkie Talker Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 14	oh, i see. so i have to teach the command in english first and make sure he understands it completely BEFORE beginning to teach him the same command in CHinese? I shouldnt try to teach both at the same time? (i'm just very scared that i might confuse the dog soo much that he might end up not being able to learn any commands) oh yeah, btw, cha cha IS very pretty haha....I hope ur not bored with that comment yet cuz it seems u get lots of those with cha cha's looks.

05-19-2005, 04:45 PM	#5
Luk Tan YT Addict Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Bangkok, Thailand Posts: 293 Blog Entries: 1	Thank you Yorkees4mee for compliment Agree with daisymom....teach her one language at a time. Don't do both otherwise she will get confused

05-19-2005, 08:26 PM	#6
natalie Owned by Fred Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Dallas, TX Posts: 1,352	My boyfriend is Cantonese and is his parents main language around the house. They had a chow mix before we brought Fred home and his chow understands "sit" and "shake" in both languages. Fred has also got accustomed to it. At first, you have you associate the word with a hand motion. After they underestand "Sit" with the hand motion in English, you say "Sit" in your language and use the hand motion. They might not understand at first, but after you keep doing it with the hand motion, they should catch on! Fred did and we've had him for a little over 3 months.

05-20-2005, 12:19 AM	#7
ReconsMomma BANNED! Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Janesville WI Posts: 2,483	You can teach a dog in any language. Try to choose which language the dog with hear most to be the first language that it learns and with any training when you start out, make sure you associate it with a hand signal. This way when you move onto the second language the dog will understand the hand signal and start associating the two. I really hope that made sense.

05-26-2007, 09:14 AM	#11
MissSophie YT Addict Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Lincoln, Nebraska Posts: 477	My grandpuppies are bi-lingual. English/Spanish. They are not Yorkies, but I think that if any other dog can, so can a Yorkie.

06-06-2007, 11:49 PM	#15
nansyorkies Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Harlem,Ga. Posts: 134	friends of mine are German, and they speak English and German to their dogs- and they understand them.