[K-Town Lassie]

O.K. so after years of prodding from the young lad, I finally relented and got a new puppy. Actually, I got him from the "pound", and I think he maybe full grown. (I can see a lot of Springer Spaniel in him, but he's classified a mutt. ) He was already named Bonneau, so we are going with that. Problem is, he appparently, "doesn't speak English". Since my French is textbook only, I am wondering, can he understand English? This is a stupid topic/question, I know, but he doesn't seem to be responding when we call or talk to him. If I say "Ici, Bonneau", he will happily come, but that's all. Any help, without the obvious "Boy, you are an idiot" responses, would be appreciated.

[skippy the wonder dog]

Ho ho, that's funny. A few years ago, I had a new puppy in puppy school, named Casey. When I called Casey, the trainer asked if I always spoke French to my dog. Needless to say, I was a little confused by this question, until I realized she'd misheard "Casey" as "ici."

The answer to your question is that you can train the dog to obey any command you want, but you more or less need to start from scratch to get it to understand that "come" is the command formerly known as "ici."

[Lizard King]

If the dog was only taught commands in French than thats all he'll know, you will have to re-train him using English command words, it will take time just like any new dog.

[Stephen Dame]

I found out once that old dogs certainly can learn new tricks, so with time you should be able to ensure that he can pass the civil service language test.

But c'mon, you know it would be far more fun (And funnier) to say stuff like "mauvais chein!" and "mange pas mes pantalons!"

[scottitude]

It may be easier (and quicker) for you to learn Bonneau's limited "vocabulary" in French. And as Stephen said, more fun!