>> The English-only ball never understood a word Angel said and wound up in a sand trap.
>>Angel finished second.
>
>When I was a kid, there was a belief, supported by scenes in several movies, that certain breeds of dogs, mostly shepherds, understand only commands in german. Contrary to that, popular dog names at the time were mostly in english, Džimi (Jimi), Dženi (Janny), Džeki (Jackie), Reks and Luks were the most popular. The puppy I had as a toddler was a Linda.

It is true even in this country, among some people, that German Shepherds understand and learn better in German. I had a German Shepherds while our kids were growing up here in the US, and now my older daughter has a GS whom I often take care (the dog lived in our house all through the last winter).
I remember when I had a GS back 20-30 years ago, I was training her with a guy who was a police dog trainer. We trained our dogs together, I had my GS (female) and he had his (male). The strange, to me, was that he insisted that all commands have to be given in German (even though the guy was an American and didn't know a word in German, other than the commands). It felt odd to me to say the commands in German. Even now, when I see someone walking with a GS, I often hear them giving commands in German.
When I talk to my daughter's dog, I say commands in English and it has just about the same effect :)