How to Say “Dog” in Spanish

Quick Answer

dog = el perroor la perra

Gender

In Spanish, many animals have a fixed grammatical gender that has nothing to do with the animal’s biological sex. For example la jirafa(giraffe) is a feminine noun. For other animals, like dog, we use the masculine form (el perro) to refer to a male and the feminine form (la perra) to refer to a female.

When you are speaking generally about a dog or when you don’t know a dog’s gender, you can use the masculine form perro.

Let’s check out some examples!

examples
¿De quién es ese perro? Whose dog is that?
¿Tienes alguna mascota? - Sí, tengo dos perros. Do you have any pets? - Yes, I have two dogs.
Mi amiga vive con su novio Johnny y su perra June. My friend lives with her boyfriend Johnny and his dog June.

Breeds of Dogs

Many dog breed names in English are exactly the same in Spanish, such as bulldog, labrador, and chihuahua. Here is a list of common dog breed names that have a different translation in Spanish!

Spanish	English
bóxer	boxer
caniche	poodle
cobrador doradoo labrador dorado	golden retriever
dálmata	Dalmatian
doguillo	pug
galgo	greyhound
pastor alemán	German shepherd
perro esquimal	husky
perro salchicha	dachshund
San Bernardo	St. Bernard
perro de Terranova	Newfoundland

Vocabulary for Dog Owners

¿Tienes un perro?(Do you have a dog?) Take a look at the following list of vocabulary so you can talk about your dog in Spanish!

Spanish	English
alimentaror dar de comer	to feed
cachorro	puppy
chucho	mutt
collar	collar
comida para perros	dog food
correa	leash
dormir	to sleep
enterrar	to bury
golosina	treat
hueso	bone
jugar	to play
jugar a la pelota	to catch
ladrar	to bark
pasear	to walk
pelo	fur
perro callejero	stray dog
truco	trick

Let’s put these words into context!

examples
Acuérdate de darle de comer al perro antes de salir de la casa. Remember to feed the dog before leaving the house.
El perro de mi vecino ladra mucho. My neighbor’s dog barks a lot.
La perra de Maite tuvo seis cachorros. Maite's dog had six puppies.