Hey there! This is TOP episode 107. Dogs. Vocabulary Booster
My name’s Ola and I am an English teacher. My goal is to help you start speaking English with confidence and get rid of speaking barriers. I believe it is achievable for you and it’s time you started speaking English fearlessly! Go to my website for full transcripts and worksheets to each episode. Happy learning!
Hello, welcome back, it’s a pleasure to have you here. I hope you’ll learn loads of new words and phrases. It really doesn’t matter whether you have your own dog or not, look, look at me, I don’t, but still you need to learn basic words connected with dogs. I don’t have a dog but I would love to have one. This dream will be fulfilled one day, I just can’t wait. Tomorrow, on the 26th of August is International Dog Day! How can I celebrate it if not with a dedicated episode?
Today we’re going to answer a few very important questions. First of all what does a dog look like? What do we, humans and dogs have in common and what sets us apart? How do you actually get a dog? What do you need to have in place for your pet? What do you do with a dog? And finally, what do dogs do?
Let’s start with the dog. With the body parts. Dogs have human body parts, I mean, language-wise, in English at least. A dog has a head, ears, legs, shoulders, a tongue, a neck, a thigh, a jaw. Apart from these similarities, there are differences.
The body part that contains the nose and the mouth is called a snout. A snout. A muzzle is another name for it but less common. Snout.
Dogs have legs but they don’t have feet, they have paws. Paws. Do you know this cartoon ‘Paw Patrol’? A paw, one paw, four paws. On paws you will find claws. Claws.
Another element humans don’t have but dogs do is fur. Fur. That is also dog hair. Dog hair. We don’t have tails, only a tail bone, that’s all the evolution left us with. Dogs have tails.
Ok, next. We have male dogs and female dogs, obviously. Male dogs are just dogs, and female dogs are called bitches. Yes, you’ve heard right. A female dog is a bitch. I’m more than sure I need to make a vocabulary episode about the word ‘bitch’. There’s no question about it. Coming back to dogs. What about the cutest baby dogs? What are they called? They are pups or even sweeter: puppies.
Now, let’s move on to how do you get a dog? There are various options. You can go to kennels, an animal shelter and there adopt a dog. There are many dogs who need love and help and a human. But if you have certain expectations, some special needs and you have chosen the proper breed of dog you have to find a breeder and the breeder needs to be a member of a kennel club. And then if everything is fine you can purchase the dog. I’m not gonna go into details because I don’t know them well. I don’t even have a dog yet.
Another big question I’d like to at least try to answer is what do you need to have to buy for your dog. You need a bowl, or rather two bowls.
A water bowl and a food bowl. You need a dog bed or a dog house – a kennel. I don’t think dogs should sleep in kennels outside your house, but I guess some of them like to have a little place to hide away for a while. So some kind of a dog house can be practical.
You need to buy a leash, a long piece of leather or rope used for holding and controlling a dog. It’s not an object, the next thing on my mind but you do need to find a good vet. A veterinarian. Nobody uses that word though so let’s stick to a vet. This is an animal doctor. You take your pet to such a doctor when it needs help, when it’s sick, or when it needs a vaccination for instance. Or for medication, worming or simply for some advice. Another person whose services you might wanna use depending on your dog’s fur is a dog groomer. A groomer, you will never guess, grooms your dog. Grooms means maintains the appearance of your dog.
Dog Groomers provide a number of services for dogs by washing, cutting, grooming and styling their coats, in addition to cleaning and clipping dogs’ nails and detangling their fur.
What do you do with a dog? First of all you take the dog for a walk, you go for a walk, you go for walkies. When you take your dog for a walk what you probably need to do before you leave you need to attach the leash to the collar. I’ve mentioned a leash before. Sometimes you can let your dog off the leash so that he or she can run free.
You have to remember to feed your dog. And we have already heard, the dog needs to have his own bowl of food and a bowl of water. Feeding time is probably three times a day. However, the bowl of water should never be empty. Especially when it’s hot outside, you want your dog to stay hydrated.
Dog treats. It’s good to reward good behaviour with some snacks, healthy treats. When you play with your dog you are petting them. Yes, this is a verb to pet, to pet a pet. Dogs enjoy receiving belly rubs. A belly rub is a gentle massage on the belly.
During your walks you can play fetch. You throw something, the dog chases it and brings it back to you. Then you do it again.
The last yet significant question of the day is what does a dog do? Dogs wag their tails. They move them back and forth, back and forth. Dogs will wag their tail to convey a range of emotions: happiness, nervousness, feeling threatened, anxiety, submission and excitement. A fast paced wag will often mean a dog is happy or excited.
Dogs often beg. Begging in dogs is a learned behavior. At some point, dogs discover that pawing, nudging, whining, drooling and barking will usually yield a prized reward.
Dogs bark. ‘‘Woof’’ is the most common onomatopoeia in the English language for this sound, especially for large dogs. “Bark” is also a verb that describes the sharp explosive cry of certain animals.
We all know that dogs love to play, be petted, eat all day, sleep and run. To roll over, to pose, to lick. Do you have a dog? What’s its name? Please let me know? What have I forgotten? What vocabulary do you need? Please let me know in the comments.
It’s your turn now. Now, you will do the talking simply. Please listen and repeat the sentences out loud. You know the drill. Here we go:
I like to take my dog for a walk.
I put my dog on a leash when we walk.
I love petting my dog on the head.
What do you do with a dog?
Sometimes you can let your dog off the leash so that he or she can run free.
You have to remember to feed your dog.
Especially when it’s hot outside, you want your dog to stay hydrated.
During your walks you can play fetch.
Dogs wag their tails.
At some point, dogs discover that pawing, nudging, whining, drooling, barking will usually yield a prized reward.
Well done! Now, go to your inbox and grab the worksheet in order to test yourself. Complete the worksheet with translations. If you aren’t a member of TOPeople download the worksheet at teacherola.com/107 and become one. It’s free.
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Thank you so much for listening and I’ll see you next Wednesday! We’re going to discuss another grammar point. Modal verbs yet again! I’ll see you here in 5, oh, why 5? 7 days. Happy learning. Take care! Stay fearless and say it out loud! Bye!