May I ask for some translation help from a French speaker who also is au fait with the terms often used in canine behavior assessment?

The tattered remnants of my long-forgotten school girl French have proved inadequate to the task...


The following is an short behavior assessment, this text is all I have. I have questions on how best to translate the two bolded terms:

"vivait en maison, ne reste pas seule, connait pas les enfants, aime les chiens, les chats et la voiture, pas fugueuse, gardienne, pas très obéissante, très gentille."

1. vivait en maison - would you translate this as 'Lively in the house' (as in high energy that needs to be channeled appropriately) or as 'has lived in a house' (as opposed to having been kept outdoors.)

2. gardienne - Would you translate this as guarded, as in shy, wary, cautious of new things, or would you translate this as in 'shows guarding behavior' as in jealousy over resources a potential flash point?


Many thanks.

Lived (and/or spent most of her time) at home.

Tom

Child (or dog) minder.

Or are you talking about a dog? In which case, a watch-dog.

Tom

That's what my friend Google says as well, but that wouldn't make much sense in terms of behavior assessment. Typically we would say that the the dog is wary (zurückhaltende) or a resource guarder (Ressourcenverteidigung).

Ah, just saw the rest of your comments. Yes, it's a dog, so guarding behavior as in watchfulness, barking, territorialism makes sense.

Many thanks, Tom!

There's a reason why I stay on my side of the Rostigraben...

Putting my translator's hat on, I would say

"vivait en maison" - lived in a home, i.e. an indoor dog, not one that's been living in an outdoor kennel

"gardienne" - I would read this as "guarding instincts"

so I would translate the whole lot as follows:

"house/indoor dog, doesn't like to be left alone, unfamiliar with children, likes dogs, cats and cars, no tendency to escape or run off, has a guarding instinct, not very obedient, very sweet"

I concur, the dog was a proper pet who lived with the family (as opposed to the ones kept on a long leash in front of many farms) and has the qualities of a guard dog, which could also mean that it is protective of its family/owner.

Thank you one and all!


(Your help will hopefully help this dog find the right home.)