Polyglot pooches

SIR – Our dog obeys instructions given in English (“Dog Latin”, Letters, November 20) in direct proportion to how amenable she is feeling. But she obeys anything issued in French, immediately and without question.

We always wonder where she learnt the language. Stephen Knight

Barnet, Hertfordshire

SIR – I lived in Basel, Switzerland, in the 1980s and toured the city’s guide dog training school with a group from my son’s school.

As German, French and Italian were spoken in the country, a decision had to be made as to which language the trainee dogs should be schooled in. Apparently, they responded best to Italian, so all were taught the basic commands in that language. This meant that a blind German or Frenchspeaking person who received a guide dog also had to learn these commands in Italian. Sue Knoll

Bromsgrove, Worcestershire

SIR – My golden retriever patiently sits while I recite Benedictus, Benedicat per Jesum Christum Dominum Nostrum before her evening meal. However, the effect is slightly lost as she doesn’t move until I say “Go” after Amen. John Mellows

Kilmington, Devon