# Things you don't say around the dog **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 9, 2010, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-dont-say-around-the-dog/542559 "2010-06-09T17:59:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2010, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-dont-say-around-the-dog/542559/41 "2010-06-12T10:26:19Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Walk. We spell it out to each other, as in “Are you going to take the dog for a W-A-L-K?” > > I think the dog is learning how to spell though. We say perambulate so the beagles don’t spaz out. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2010, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-dont-say-around-the-dog/542559/42 "2010-06-12T10:47:31Z")
Have any of you tried texting? I wonder if a dog would eventually recognize sign language. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2010, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-dont-say-around-the-dog/542559/43 "2010-06-12T11:24:31Z")
My dog really only gets excited at \*dinner \*or _breakfast_. However, she does get excited if she sees me putting on jeans, because she knows that means a walk. Also she gets excited when she hears the Windows shut down sounds because she knows I am done for the day. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2010, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-dont-say-around-the-dog/542559/44 "2010-06-12T11:48:48Z")
Cats are so much easier to handle. “Walkies!” may be an aphrodisiac to a dog. To a cat, not so much. ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2010, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-dont-say-around-the-dog/542559/45 "2010-06-12T11:56:40Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > Cats are so much easier to handle. “Walkies!” may be an aphrodisiac to a dog. To a cat, not so much. My cats spazz when they hear “tuna,” “anchovy,” a can opener, or anything related to fish. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2010, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-dont-say-around-the-dog/542559/46 "2010-06-12T12:30:55Z")
We spell out w-a-l-k, too. Oh, and it’s the height of cruelty to open up the drawer where the dog leash is kept unless we mean business. He can hear that drawer open from the next county. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2010, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-dont-say-around-the-dog/542559/47 "2010-06-12T12:37:35Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > Cats are so much easier to handle. “Walkies!” may be an aphrodisiac to a dog. To a cat, not so much. Cats just have different triggers. Ours would go nuts searching if we said “mouse,” “bird,” or “treat.” And don’t use a can opener else the cat would be meowing like crazy for tuna, when we were only opening some fruit cocktail or something. ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2010, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-dont-say-around-the-dog/542559/48 "2010-06-12T12:41:13Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Walk. We spell it out to each other, as in “Are you going to take the dog for a W-A-L-K?” > > I think the dog is learning how to spell though. Years ago I knew a dog who knew the word “Beach” Dog then learned to spell “B-E-A-C-H” Dog then learned the Spanish word for beach, “Playa”. Last I saw, the dog was working on “P-L-A-Y-A” By now, dog can probably spell beach in 6 languages. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2010, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-dont-say-around-the-dog/542559/49 "2010-06-12T14:33:28Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I wonder if a dog would eventually recognize sign language. I don’t know if a dog could pick up on the complexities of ASL, but they can _definitely_ learn a few individual signs, and trainers frequently use gestures. I’m not much of a dog trainer, but mine learned a “sit” gesture and a “get out of the kitchen” gesture. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2010, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-dont-say-around-the-dog/542559/50 "2010-06-12T14:45:19Z")
> [@markm](#): > > My late dog, the best to ever walk this planet, made me go from using “walk” to “w-a-l-k” to eventually “dub” (for ‘w’) because he learned what they each meant. You also could not say ‘treat’, ‘car’, ‘ride’, or the name of a local state park. You also couldn’t have any chain-type noises (even on TV, such as the chain weapon scene in Kill Bill), or he’d come running, thinking someone had his leash. We used to keep our leash for our Beagle/Collie mix in a junk drawer with a bunch of other stuff. We’ve since learned that in order to eliminate the despaired howling of broken walk promises to keep it in its own place to avoid accidental chain jangling! ---
**Author:** ![singular1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@singular1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/singular1)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2010, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-dont-say-around-the-dog/542559/51 "2010-06-12T17:55:25Z")
> [@Gagundathar](#): > > This may be a derail, but are any of y’all owned by a canine that appears to be psychic? > Our canine masters apparently _know_ when I am preparing to leave on an errand because they all think they are going along for the ride. Note that they do not do this when I am merely going to the lab every morning. Only when I am going to the store or something like that. > > I have tried to isolate what I am doing that triggers this (putting on my shoes, getting my keys, asking SWMBO if she needs something,…) but I have not yet been successful in doing so. > > And yes, they have trigger phrases. In fact, I have taken advantage of this by referring to the vet as ‘camp’, as in ‘do you want to go to camp?’ I had a cat that knew if you were _thinking_ about getting a piece of cheese. I swear, she only perked up and followed me, meowing hysterically, if I was going to get some cheese. I don’t know how she knew, but she did. ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2010, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-dont-say-around-the-dog/542559/52 "2010-06-12T22:27:52Z")
> [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](#): > > Years ago I knew a dog who knew the word “Beach” > Dog then learned to spell “B-E-A-C-H” > Dog then learned the Spanish word for beach, “Playa”. > Last I saw, the dog was working on “P-L-A-Y-A” > > By now, dog can probably spell beach in 6 languages. Are you sure it wasn’t picking up other cues? My dog, for example, perks up when I put on a shirt or put a plastic bag in my pocket, without me saying anything. [quote=“Gary “Wombat” Robson, post:49, topic:542559”] I don’t know if a dog could pick up on the complexities of ASL, but they can _definitely_ learn a few individual signs, and trainers frequently use gestures. I’m not much of a dog trainer, but mine learned a “sit” gesture and a “get out of the kitchen” gesture. [/QUOTE] I remember a TV show where non-verbal commands were part of a dog training competition. > [@singular1](#): > > I had a cat that knew if you were _thinking_ about getting a piece of cheese. I swear, she only perked up and followed me, meowing hysterically, if I was going to get some cheese. I don’t know how she knew, but she did. My cat would stand guard between us and refrigerator. If we moved slightly, the cat would adjust slightly to be in our direct path. He would also pretend to be affectionate, and slowly draw us towards the fridge by making us reach a lil’ farther to scratch him, and step-by-step he would bring us to the fridge. However, that cat was actually supporting a stray mother cat and kittens that were living in our backyard. When I gave him a hot dog or something, he would give it to them. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2010, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-dont-say-around-the-dog/542559/53 "2010-06-12T22:33:38Z")
> [@singular1](#): > > I had a cat that knew if you were _thinking_ about getting a piece of cheese. I swear, she only perked up and followed me, meowing hysterically, if I was going to get some cheese. I don’t know how she knew, but she did. Everyone knows dogs are verbal, cats are psychic. ---
**Author:** ![Perciful](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b38774/32.png) [@Perciful](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Perciful)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2010, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-dont-say-around-the-dog/542559/54 "2010-06-13T03:48:02Z")
> [@teela\_brown](#): > > Not too much mayhem ensues, but my three puggies reacted much as the three puggies on [this video](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uuqXXT7VYo&feature=channel) react when certain phrases are recited. > > Well, maybe neck vertebrae trauma ensues, at any rate! Awww, My Boston does that head thing if I say, Walk, Car, Treat. ---
**Author:** ![silk1976](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@silk1976](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silk1976)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2010, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-dont-say-around-the-dog/542559/55 "2010-06-14T15:30:29Z")
Since we can’t say ‘walk’ or ‘park’ without the dog going nuts, fortunately we’ve still been able to get away with saying ‘take puppy to the place’. I think he’s catching on, though. But the real reason for this post: If either my wife or I have a message to leave the other, we have a small dry erase board hanging on a door knob. I didn’t even realize I did it, but when I left my wife a message last week, I wrote something about taking the dog up the street to the place. I didn’t even spell ‘park’. When I got home, she was like ‘you know the dogs can’t read, right?’ ---
**Author:** ![Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleanor_of_Aquitaine)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2010, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-dont-say-around-the-dog/542559/56 "2010-06-14T16:22:50Z")
Once in a while our beagle will go nuts over some random word, like “dishwasher”, and we’ll stand around trying to figure out which of her trigger words rhymes with “dishwasher”. ---
**Author:** ![lindsaybluth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/90db22/32.png) [@lindsaybluth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lindsaybluth)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2010, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-dont-say-around-the-dog/542559/57 "2010-06-14T17:40:34Z")
My family’s bullboxer understands - and freaks out to - Walk, Out, and “Go for a ride” or “get in the car” or “go outside” are completely out of the question. He’s now picked up on spelling “o-u-t”. Any mention of his best friend’s name will set him off. Also, I pick up dog bones for my parents at Costco, so I’m careful to ask “Do you need any b-o-n-e-s?” ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2010, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-dont-say-around-the-dog/542559/58 "2010-06-14T18:19:05Z")
> [@silk1976](#): > > When I got home, she was like ‘you know the dogs can’t read, right?’ Yet. 😛 I give our rabbits a small amount of timothy hay pellets in the morning before I go to work. They know that morning-before-work approximate time is “we get pellets time”, and start revving up, running back and forth in the cage, running up to the “dish gets put down here” spot, looking up at the bag of pellets on the shelf\*, etc. I’m really worried they’re going to learn what the word “pellets” means. Rabbits can be trained to do tricks rather like dogs, so it’s definitely possible that it could happen. - Oh yes, they know exactly where the pellets are kept. Twice now, one of them jumped out of the open hutch - I was standing right there, getting ready to put some pellets in the dish - and landed on a stack of towels on the shelf below, immediately under the bin containing the pellets bag. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Sue\_Duhnym](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/91b2a8/32.png) [@Sue\_Duhnym](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sue_Duhnym)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-dont-say-around-the-dog/542559/59 "2010-06-15T05:49:56Z")
As the mother of a two year-old human, I think it’s hilarious that you could substitute “toddler” for “dog” in most of these posts and they’d still be relevant. ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-dont-say-around-the-dog/542559/60 "2010-06-15T06:21:04Z")
Tears of laughter at this thread. Not a problem for me anymore, because the last thing my 18-year-old beagle Boomer heard was my scream at Devin Hester returning the opening kickoff for a touchdown in the Superbowl a few years ago. I used to have loads of fun with him, his mother, his brother and aunt, by whispering “squirrel” - they all went frantic wanting to go outside to deal with this threat. And you couldn’t talk about “biscuits” in the woodworking sense, because they heard it in the “yummy treat” sense and went apeshit. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-dont-say-around-the-dog/542559.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-dont-say-around-the-dog/542559.md?page=4)