Animals & Pets Vocabulary

Part 1: Animals & Pets Collocations

Collocations are words that naturally go together. These phrases are common when talking about animals & pets.

Collocation	Example	Meaning
stray dog	"They adopted a stray dog from the street."	An animal without an owner or home
house-trained	"Our puppy is finally house-trained."	Trained not to go to the toilet indoors
take for a walk	"I take the dog for a walk every morning."	Walk an animal outdoors
animal shelter	"We got our dog from a local animal shelter."	A place that cares for homeless animals
wild animal	"You shouldn't approach a wild animal."	An animal that is not domesticated
pet owner	"Being a responsible pet owner takes commitment."	Someone who owns a pet

Collocation	Example
endangered species	"Pandas are an endangered species."
animal cruelty	"The charity campaigns against animal cruelty."
loyal companion	"Dogs are known as loyal companions."
litter of puppies	"The dog gave birth to a litter of puppies."
natural habitat	"Elephants thrive in their natural habitat."

1. They adopted a __________ dog from the street.

2. Our puppy is finally house-__________.

3. I __________ the dog for a walk every morning.

4. We got our dog from a local animal __________.

5. You shouldn't approach a __________ animal.

Idioms add colour and natural expression to your English when talking about animals & pets.

let the cat out of the bag – reveal a secret "She let the cat out of the bag about the surprise party."
smell a rat – suspect something is wrong "I smell a rat - this deal seems too good to be true."
a dog-eat-dog world – a ruthlessly competitive environment "Business today is a dog-eat-dog world."
hold your horses – wait or be patient "Hold your horses, we're not ready yet."
the elephant in the room – an obvious problem no one mentions "We need to talk about the elephant in the room."
kill two birds with one stone – achieve two things with one action "By walking to work I kill two birds with one stone."

1. She let the __________ out of the bag about the surprise party.

2. I smell a __________ - this deal seems too good to be true.

3. Business today is a dog-eat-dog __________.

4. Hold your __________, we're not ready yet.

5. We need to talk about the __________ in the room.

These phrasal verbs are commonly used when talking about animals & pets.

Phrasal Verb	Meaning	Example
look after	take care of	"Can you look after my cat while I'm away?"
clean up after	tidy up mess made by a pet	"You need to clean up after your dog in public."
put down	euthanise an animal	"Sadly, they had to put the old dog down."
take in	give shelter to an animal	"They took in a stray kitten last winter."
run away	escape	"The cat ran away when the door was left open."

Put down is a sensitive but common term specifically for euthanising a sick or old animal.

Take in implies giving a home to a stray or abandoned animal.

Look after is the most general term for caring for a pet short-term.

1. Can you __________ after my cat while I'm away?

2. You need to clean up __________ your dog in public.

3. Sadly, they had to __________ the old dog down.

4. They __________ in a stray kitten last winter.

5. The cat __________ away when the door was left open.

Practice animals & pets vocabulary with a native English speaker!

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Paws-itively brilliant! You've mastered animal vocabulary!