http://www.gsscc.ca/schutzhund/commandstranslation.aspx “Borrowed” from the German Shepherd Dog Club of Canada website:
Many people like to use commands for competition that are distinctly different from the commands that they use around the house. This is one way to indicate to the dog that you are “working” and makes it easier for you as a trainer to be consistent with the behaviour that you ask for from the dog. This allows you to tell the dog to “down” around the house, and “platz” on the field, and the dog understand that “down” means “lay down” and “platz” means “lay down but continue to watch me for my next command”.In addition, using German commands honors the heritage and tradition of the German Shepherd Dog and the sport of schutzhund. And, the German language seems to lend itself to being yelled on an open field. 😉 Of course, it’s not necessary to learn to speak German, just a handful of terms. Even if you don’t choose to use them, you will probably hear them in conversation.
What is Pfui? Pfui, phooey, (pronounced foo-ee) translates to “shame” as in “shame on you, you know better.” It is used to tell a dog that his behaviour is not acceptable at this time – as opposed to “No” which means the behaviour is never acceptable. For instance, if you wanted to tell the dog to stop barking at someone, without telling him to never bark at anyone. What about “Stay?” Schutzhund considers “sit-stay” and “down-stay” to be a double command, which is not permitted in a trial. In addition, it is redundant. For more commands, phrases, and other languages. http://www.uwsp.edu/psych/dog/languag1.htm prounounciation sound files http://www.eastgermanshepherd.com/german.html translation of german frequently found on pedigrees |
And lets not forget the most important:
Bring me more wine – Bringt mir mehr Wein – Used when your dog acts like they have never heard either the english or german spoken command 🙂
PERFECT! …and sometimes the most important phrase of all! Lisa, you crack me up.
Agree with Carole! Too funny.
And if the dog’s not listening, hopefully that command can be directed to a helpful spouse..
There are German pronunciations, and then there are how the Schutzhund community in the USA pronounces the commands. Many are not quite correct, but universally understood here. In German a vowel followed by two consonants “shortens” the vowel sound (I believe we have the same rule in English, just don’t always follow it). So the “u” in Fuss is not really a long “ooooo” sound, it’s actually closer to the sound in “book”, I can’t think of an English word that really matches it. The “i” sound in German is like “eeeeeee” and “a” is “aaaaah” but in Sitz and Platz you just say the vowel sound kind of quick and sharp because of the two consonants. Here is actually “Hier” not “Heir” (“ie” = eeee sound and “ei” = i sound like “eye”).