Pet Parent
Talk feeding, grooming, training, and spotting symptoms — the everyday words pet care runs on, out loud.
This is the owner's vocabulary — not the vet consultation, but everything before it: las croquetas in the comedero, el baño and the cepillado, walks con la correa, and el premio that makes training work. The word for kibble alone marks your region: las croquetas in Mexico, el balanceado in Argentina, el concentrado in Colombia. And when something's off, precise beats vague: la picazón (itching), la cojera (limping), el letargo — with how long and how often. In &Be there are no flashcards: you learn every one of these words by saying it in a real conversation about a real animal.
Below: feeding, grooming, training, and symptom vocabulary lesson by lesson, what pet words locals actually use country by country, and a way to rehearse it all out loud.
The warm-up pack
The Spanish you actually need across the vet counter, the leash, and bath day.
01 · The morning feeding line
Cada mañana le sirvo la comida del perro.
Every morning I serve the dog's food.
La comida del perro is the plain, natural way to talk about feeding — no need for the fancier 'alimento' every time.
02 · What you call an adorable pup
Vos tenés un cachorro divino.
You've got an adorable puppy. (Argentina/Uruguay — voseo)
Vos tenés instead of tienes marks you as speaking Argentine or Uruguayan Spanish — and divino is exactly how a fellow dog person gushes.
03 · The nail-trim warning
Este cachorro tiene las uñas largas; vos tenés que cortárselas seguido.
This puppy's nails are long — you need to trim them often.
Seguido here means 'often,' not 'in a row' — a small word that changes the whole meaning of the advice.
04 · Before he ambushes the mailman
Hoy toca sacarlo a pasear con la correa.
Today it's his turn for a walk on the leash.
Sacarlo a pasear — literally 'take him out for a stroll' — is what people actually say, never the stiffer 'pasear al perro.'
05 · Bath day, no negotiating
Esta semana hay que darle un baño.
This week he needs a bath.
Hay que darle — 'someone needs to give him' — is the everyday way to announce a chore is due, pet or otherwise.
06 · The bite you head off early
Le digo siempre que no muerda, po.
I always tell him not to bite. (Chile — the 'po' tag)
Po doesn't translate — it's a Chilean filler that softens almost any sentence. Drop it in and you'll sound local.
07 · The bark that needs softening
Por favor que no ladre tanto, ¿no?
Please, tell him not to bark so much, okay?
Tacking ¿no? onto the end turns a complaint into a friendly ask — useful well beyond dog training.
08 · Breaking the bad news gently
Creo que devolvió la comida esta mañana.
I think he threw up his food this morning.
Devolvió la comida is the softer way to say 'vomited' — creo que in front makes it even gentler.
09 · The stomach euphemism vets appreciate
Mi gato está flojo del estómago hoy.
My cat's stomach is upset today. (a euphemism for diarrhea)
Flojo del estómago says exactly what a vet needs to hear without ever saying the blunt word for it.
10 · When he's just not himself
Anda achacado.
He's been low-energy lately. (Chile)
Two words, and a vet immediately understands you mean lethargy, not just tiredness.
11 · Locking in the vet slot
Tenés turno con el veteri a las cuatro.
You've got a vet appointment at four. (Argentina — el veteri)
Turno and veteri are both distinctly Argentine — elsewhere you'd hear la consulta and el vete instead.
FLUENT
Finally, someone to talk to in Spanish.
Ten-minute spoken lessons. A teacher who answers back — and gently fixes what you got wrong.
First 10 lessons freeandbefluent.com/spanish/pet-parentRegional Spanish
Textbooks teach one word. Locals use several — pick your region's and stay consistent.
| English | Mexico | Argentina |
|---|---|---|
| kibble / dry food | las croquetas | el balanceado |
| the vet (casual) | el vete | el veteri |
| the appointment | la consulta | el turno |
Watch out
The part no drill site can do
Olivia
Your vocabulary teacher for this pack
No flashcards, no matching pairs — you talk like a pet owner from the first minute. In the Pet Parent lessons, Olivia walks the daily routine with you: what goes in el comedero, when the cachorro gets el baño, why the training needs more premio and less scolding when he won't stop ladrar. Then she raises the stakes — something's wrong, maybe la picazón, maybe la cojera — and you describe it precisely, out loud, the way you'd need to before calling el vete.
Blank mid-sentence and nothing bad happens — she waits. That's the practice, without unnecessary judgement.
Finish the 6 lessons and Pet Parent is yours — earned, not given.
First 10 lessons free · 10-minute spoken lessons · your AI coaching team remembers you
Quick answers
Depends on the country: las croquetas or comida seca in Mexico, el balanceado in Argentina, el concentrado in Colombia. The bowls are el comedero (food) and el bebedero (water).
It's Mexico's affectionate word for a dog — warmer than el cachorro. Other countries have their own: Chile's el quiltro is a street mutt with no pedigree, and Panama and Central America say el chucho.
Name the symptom and give duration and frequency: el vómito, la diarrea, la picazón (itching), la cojera (limping), el letargo. For limping, locals often say está renqueando.
La correa, el collar, and el arnés — and the natural phrase for walkies is sacarlo a pasear con la correa. In Chile and Uruguay you'll also hear la pechera.
Ask for la consulta — or la cita in the Caribbean, el turno in Argentina, el control in Chile and Peru. The vet gets a nickname everywhere: el vete in Mexico, el veteri in Argentina.
