11 Basic Dog Commands in Spanish! (2024)

Hola! Are you living in or moving to a Spanish-speaking country and owning a dog? Or would you like to adopt a dog from a Spanish-speaking country, or do you simply want to teach your dog commands in Spanish?

Whatever your reason behind wanting to know Spanish dog commands is – we don’t judge and actually think having a multi-lingual dog is pretty impressive.

Therefore, we have put together this list of the 11 most common dog commands in Spanish for you and your perro (Spanish for dog) to learn.

Vamos!

11 Spanish Dog Commands

Here are the most important and common Spanish commands to teach your (soon-to-be) Spanish-speaking dog:

1. No-Command: No!

Let’s start with the easiest one. No means “no” in Spanish and will therefore be incredibly easy for your dog (and you) to learn and use. Just say it with a bit more sassiness, and there you have your first Spanish dog command!

If you want to use the word with other commands in order to stop your dog from doing something specific, such as jumping, you would go and say, “No saltes!” which means “don’t jump!”.

2. Yes-Command: Si!

This is probably the most common among the Spanish dog commands a dog owner will use if they have a good dog.

“Si” is most commonly used in conjunction with praise and other commands in Spanish.

3. Come-Command: Ven Aqui!

If you want your dog to come to you, you can call them using “Ven aqui!” or simply “ven!”.

This is a critical command to learn as it will allow you to have your dog by your side in no time if they are in trouble or danger or you just want them next to you to give them a little back rub.

4. Sit-Command: Sientate!

Every good dog knows that in order to get a treat, they need to learn how to sit.

If you want to teach your dog how to sit in Spanish, you would have to use the imperative form “Sientate,” which basically translates to “Sit yourself down.”

This is not just a useful command form to give your dog treats, but it is also a great way to keep them close to you and calm when required. This is also the starting point for many other dog tricks and commands, such as paw or lie down).

5. Lie Down-Command: Abajo!

If you got your dog to sit, why not go further and have them lie down?

“Abajo” is a Spanish command that goes both for “lie down” as well as “down” if you wish to get your dog off of any furniture they are not supposed to be on (like the couch or your bed, for the hundred’s time…).

6. Fetch-Command: Trae!

The favorite activity of most dog breeds – playing fetch!

If you plan to throw a stick or ball in any dog park in one of the Spanish-speaking countries, then “trae!” should be your go-to for Spanish commands.

After you throw the ball, say “trae,” which originates from the verb “traer,” i.e., “to bring.”

7. Quiet-Command: Quieto!

Another important one on the list of Spanish dog training commands is “quiet.

You can use this if your dog is barking excessively, but it also works great to keep your dog to stay in one place.

“Quieto” directly translates into “still” or “calm” and therefore works great for the dog command “stay.” Simply raise your hand with the palm out and point downwards when using this command form to get your dog to be still, figuratively and literally.

8. Let’s go-Command: Vamos!

Even those that have never studied Spanish in their life have probably already known or used this Spanish phrase for “let’s go.”

If you wish to signal to your furry friend that you want them to follow you somewhere or that you are about to take them for a walk, use “Vamos” in an enthusiastic manner and see that tail go!

9. Get out-Command: Sale!

When in Latin America, you will likely hear this from everywhere. It’s the Spanish equivalent of “shoo!” and is used for cats and dogs and even to get unwanted people out of your home or stores.

We all know that dogs love to be in places they’re not supposed to, for instance, in the kitchen when you are busy cooking or in your bed, so having to “shoo” them out is quite a common command.

If you want your dog to leave a room or place, simply say “sale!” and perhaps point your finger in the direction they are supposed to go to be more clear.

10. Paw-Command: Dame la pata!

Now to one of the fun tricks to teach your dog in any language: “give paw!”. It always makes for a cute trick to impress people with, and this is no different in Spanish Speaking cultures.

“Dame la pata” is the imperative form of “paw” and means “give me your paw” when directly translated from Spanish.

11. Good dog-Command: Buen Perro!

If your dog got all of these basic commands in Spanish right, then it is time to let them know they were a good boy or a good girl! After all this training, they deserve some affirmation.

If you want to do this, you can either say “Muy bien” or “Buen perro” while giving your canine friend some dog biscuits or a pat on the head.

The opposite of good boy is “bad dog!” which translates to “perro malo!” in Spanish, and we honestly hope that you won’t have to use this in any language too many times with your own or other dogs.

FAQs

Here is some more information on language learning and raising a bilingual dog in a Spanish Speaking area:

How many Spanish-speaking countries are there?

Spanish is the official spoken language in a total of 20 countries across the globe. Among these countries are Mexico, Spain, Argentina, and Colombia, but also countries like Equatorial Guinea and Puerto Rico.

This amounts to a total of 442 million people who are native speakers of the Spanish vocabulary. This also means that there is a huge majority of people in this world who will use Spanish Commands almost exclusively for training their dogs.

Learning Spanish is, therefore, not just beneficial when you want to travel to a Spanish country and chat with the locals but also if you want to make some furry friends during your travels.

Why should I teach my dog commands in Spanish?

There are many reasons why you might want to use Spanish dog commands.

Either you are living in a Spanish-speaking country, grew up speaking the Spanish language, and want to continue using it with your dog, or adopted a dog from a Spanish-speaking country.

Another reason might be related to the same reason why K9 special forces in America train their dogs in German. This enables them to have more control over their dog, as very few other people will be able to speak this language.

Therefore, you might not even be living in Latin America or a Spanish-speaking country but just want to have exclusive communication with your dog.

Another more fun reason to teach our Spanish dog commands is to have a killer party trick at hand to impress your friends and family. Simply teach your dog a Spanish word or two that they can react to in the way you desire, and watch your friends lose it when your dog gives you the paw as you say Hola!

Can dogs learn another language?

Dogs actually learn commands as sounds and not as words with the actual meaning behind them. They then attach the sound to a certain situation, behavior, or experience.

Therefore, they can learn to attach the sound of any word to any situation. A dog trained in a specific language will, therefore, first struggle to understand what you want when you start speaking a new language to them. However, with enough training, they will start to attach the sound of the word in the new language to the required behavior or situation.

There are also several studies that prove that dogs react differently to familiar or unfamiliar languages, showing that they do know the difference.