Training Animal Companions in a specific language

[WyvernRider101]

I am playing a druid with an animal companion. Since Druidic rarely comes up, I thought I'd use it as the language in which I train my animal companion, because I thought it would help make it harder for NPCs or other players to command it if they tried.

I'm unable to find any information on this, though, so I turn to you all. If I train an animal in Druidic, can others command it using Common or another language? I know I can give my companion the Exclusive trick, and it does have that, I'm just paranoid about spells like dominate animal or something that forces control, so I'm trying to make it harder.

[Bjørn Røyrvik]

No rules about it, AFAIK, and it makes sense that any verbal commands given will only work in the language(s) used during training. You could also probably train an animal to only take commands from you, regardless of what language was used.

Dominate Animal doesn't care about training or ability to understand commands - it's a telepathic link and command, so you're out of luck there.

[David knott 242]

Wouldn't teaching Druidic to your animal companion make you an ex-druid? Your animal companion is neither a druid nor a shifter.

[WyvernRider101]

David knott 242 wrote:

Wouldn't teaching Druidic to your animal companion make you an ex-druid? Your animal companion is neither a druid nor a shifter.

Not teaching the animal the whole language, just the commands would be in Druidic. If I said "attack", it would be Druidic. Then if someone else said "attack" in Common, my hope would be the animal wouldn't understand.

[Belafon]

If you give it the Exclusive trick, no one else can use Handle Animal to make it do trick. Animal tricks aren't language-dependent so "teaching in a specific language" doesn't help (in Pathfinder).

If you want to avoid other people using spells on them, the only thing you can do in this vein is to not teach them a language. That makes them safe from any [language-dependent] spells. I gave my tiger a couple of ranks in linguistics. That was fun for a while until someone hit him with a suggestion spell. Wouldn't have worked if he didn't know common. Still would be susceptible to dominate animal and the like, though. Unless the spell has the [language-dependent] descriptor the target's known languages don't matter.

[Jhaeman]

Apologies for a slight detour, but I could actually use help on a related issue. One of my players runs a Hunter, and the PC just got to Level 11 so she can speak with her animal companion (Intelligence: 3). How do you folks handle communicating with an animal-level intelligence? In what sort of circumstances would being able to speak with an animal companion be useful? I don't want the player to feel like the new ability they've gained is completely useless, while still recognising the "known tricks" limitations.

[WyvernRider101]

Jhaeman wrote:

Apologies for a slight detour, but I could actually use help on a related issue. One of my players runs a Hunter, and the PC just got to Level 11 so she can speak with her animal companion (Intelligence: 3). How do you folks handle communicating with an animal-level intelligence? In what sort of circumstances would being able to speak with an animal companion be useful? I don't want the player to feel like the new ability they've gained is completely useless, while still recognising the "known tricks" limitations.

Hunters being able to speak with their animal companions are useful, especially if your companion has an Int of 3 or higher, because that means they'll understand a language.

Although you should definitely be warned of the example above, with suggestion, when you use your empath ability, you only see through the companion's eyes. You don't smell what they smell, you don't hear what they hear.
If your companion is unassuming enough to get close to people without triggering suspicion, send it to eavesdrop and report back, because now you can understand what it's saying. If you send it ahead in a dungeon, and it comes back saying it smells almost nauseating (probably too big a word for an animal, but you get my point), you know to take precautions such as stuffing your nose so you can't smell, and the smell could hint that something is lurking ahead - some dungeon-based creatures have a stench.

[Mysterious Stranger]

Unless the animal has an INT of higher than 3 it cannot learn a language at all.

Since even normal animals can be taught to follow verbal instructions and they don’t understand a language it is obvious that the verbal commands do not have to be understood in the traditional way. Nothing prevents you from choosing any word you want for your command word. You could just as easily use colors or even made up words.

Think about the command Heel in the real world. This is a common trick that dogs are taught. But if you look up the word in Merriam-Webster online there is no mention of that particular use. This is because people training dogs have commonly used it as a code word for a particular trick commonly taught to dogs as part of obedience training.

For the most part animals respond to the tone of voice as much as the word. The commands used to communicate the trick to the animal are probably influenced by the culture of the trainer. There is no reason that a person could not make up an entirely different set of command words. But to me that is what the Exclusive trick is. If you think about it making up an entirely different set of commands than normal and keeping straight which animal uses which set of command is kind of difficult.

As to using druidic as the language for the command I would say that would not be allowed. Druidic is supposed to be a secret language that is only spoken among themselves and on ceremonial occasions. Using it to train an animal is inappropriate and would not be allowed. To me this may not be R.A.W, but it is R.A.I. and in my games a reason to make the character an ex-druid.

Anyone with the skill Handle Animal can already push the animal to do what they want anywise even if they don’t speak any languages you do. The skill does is not language dependent so nothing prevents someone from commanding your animal no matter what language you know or use.

Spell that affect animals don’t have the language dependent tag so it does not matter. If the wizard cast charm monster on your tiger it is going to respond to him like he is a trusted friend and ally because that is what the spell does.

[Bjørn Røyrvik]

Animals may not understand a language as a whole but they do recognize sound combinations, i.e. words, and can associate them with certain items and/or actions. The specific words used are a vital part of training if you are trying to teach them a variety of tricks, especially ones that are useful in situations that are stressful and where they need to be performed immediately.

If your dog has been trained to understand English commands, it won't have a clue what you are on about if you try ordering them in e.g. Wolof. I don't care what the rules say (or don't say, as the case may be), sometimes you have to use some real world knowledge to fill in the gaps. Technically you can teach animals to respond to non-verbal commands, so in that regard it is not language-dependent but verbal commands are used for a reason. It's a lot easier to command an animal to attack or fetch by using words than waving your arms around.

You can use whatever commands you want to when training an animal - the animal doesn't understand the words in the context of language. "Attack", "get 'em", "sic'im", "takedown", etc. could all be valid commands to get an animal to attack something. Simple, universal commands are used because they make sense and especially if an animal is going to be handled by more than one person. "Attack" makes sense if you want a dog to attack someone - "throatwobblermangrove" doesn't. The dog doesn't care either way, but humans (and presumably other sentients) do.

[Ryze Kuja]

I love this idea. I think this brings a unique flavor to an already cool class feature, so this is cool^2.

Anywho, Dominate Animal creates a mental link, so regardless of whether you train your AC in Common, Celestial, or Druidic language, he can still be commanded to do anything reasonable via the mental link (attack, help me, sit, get that guy instead, etc.), but your AC can still refuse things that are obviously harmful or suicidal.

Also, even if you had a Common-speaking-AC that was under no spells and sober as a judge, no enemy can use Common language to give it commands.