The Prelude
Our dogs, especially Tevye (to the left), have a 唯一の楽しみ yuitsu no tanoshimi - The singular event they look forward to everyday; that is their daily walk - 散歩 sanpo.

The Story
Well, one of Makoto’s NHK children’s shows (ピタゴラスイッチ) has a bit with two penguins singing songs about Japanese wordplay. The ペンギン (pengin penguin) are cute and the songs are catchy; so catchy, Yumi goes around singing them all day.

Here are the lyrics for their latest hit: (found on this site)
いかん！　ん ！ん ！ん ！ん ！
んがなくちゃ、いか
んがなくちゃ、いか
んがなくちゃ、いか
いか！　いか！　いかん！

Basically, if you take away the ん from いかん (meaning ダメ or no good) you get いか (ika squid). Who would have thought penguins could be so clever?

Anyway, to Tevye’s fluffy ears, the 「いか」 sounds just like 「行こう」 (ikou) which means “let’s go!” 「行こう」 is code for “let’s go for a walk!” Tevye gets so excited until he understands the meaning of the final word - いかん！

Our dog’s complete (passive) vocabulary:

Tevye, the big boy dog & Hana, the smaller girl dog

散歩 sanpo Meaning: walk/stroll; Action: They rush to the front door for their 唯一のお楽しみ (one and only enjoyment) of the day (or so it seems)
行きましょうか ikimashou ka Shall we go? (for a walk)
行こう ikou Let’s go! (see above)
いか ika squid or, at least for Tevye, the same as 行こう
お座り osuwari Meaning: sit; Action: they sit
お手 ote Meaning: shake; Action: Tevye shakes his paw, but hana looks at you strangely
お外 osoto Meaning: outside; Action: they go to the backyard
昼寝 hirune　Meaning: nap; Action: Hana runs to the bed to take a nap, but Tevye ignores
お菓子 okashi Meaning: snack; Action: they run to the kitchen and sit before we have a chance to say お座り
お風呂 ofuro Meaning: bath; Action: Hana ignores it, BUT Tevye’s eyes fill with terror and quickly hides under the piano bench.