uti no inu ha siranai hito ni au to yoku hoeru node, watasi ha riido wo mizikaku motimasu.

うちの犬 means my dog or our dog.

Here, うち does not literally mean just house. In everyday Japanese, it often refers to one’s home / family / household / our side. So うちの犬 sounds natural and conversational, like the dog at our house or simply our dog.

私の犬 is also grammatical, but it can sound a bit more direct or formal depending on context. In casual speech, うちの〜 is very common when talking about family members, pets, or things connected to your household.

は marks 犬 as the topic of the first part of the sentence.

So うちの犬は means something like:

• As for my dog...
• My dog...

The speaker is introducing the dog as the thing being talked about. Then the sentence explains what the dog tends to do.

In Japanese, a verb or verb phrase can directly modify a noun.

So:

• 知る = to know
• 知らない = do not know / unknown
• 知らない人 = a person (the dog) does not know = a stranger / someone unfamiliar

This is a very common Japanese pattern. English often uses relative clauses like a person that it doesn’t know, but Japanese simply puts the modifying phrase before the noun.

Grammatically, Japanese often leaves that kind of subject unstated, so it depends on context.

In this sentence, because the topic is my dog, 知らない人 is naturally understood as:

• people the dog doesn’t know
• in natural English, strangers

So even though the sentence does not explicitly say the dog does not know, that is what the listener understands from context.

Because 会う normally takes に when it means meet or encounter a person.

So:

• 人に会う = meet a person

Using を here would be incorrect in standard Japanese.

This is just a verb pattern you need to learn:

• 会う + に

Yes, 人と会う is also possible in many contexts, but there is a nuance difference.

• 人に会う often means meet / encounter someone
• 人と会う can feel more like meet with someone

In this sentence, 知らない人に会う fits well because the dog is encountering unfamiliar people. It sounds more like when it comes across strangers.

Here, と is the conditional particle, meaning something like:

• when
• whenever
• if

So 知らない人に会うと means:

• when it meets strangers
• whenever it encounters people it doesn’t know

This と is often used for things that happen regularly, naturally, or automatically. In this sentence, meeting strangers regularly leads to barking.

Because と works especially well for habitual results or automatic consequences.

Here the meaning is:

• Whenever my dog meets strangers, it often barks.

That is exactly the kind of pattern と is good for.

Roughly speaking:

• と = whenever X happens, Y naturally/regularly happens
• たら = if/when X happens, then Y
• なら = if it is the case that X / if X, then

So 会うとよく吠える sounds natural because it describes a repeated tendency.

よく here means often.

So:

• よく吠える = often barks

Be careful: よく can also mean well, depending on context.

For example:

• 日本語をよく話す = speaks Japanese well
• よく行く = often go
• よく吠える = often bark

So the meaning of よく depends on the verb and the context.

吠える means to bark, to howl, or more broadly to make a loud animal cry, depending on the animal.

In this sentence, with a dog, it clearly means:

• to bark

It is very commonly used for dogs.

ので means because or since.

So this part:

• よく吠えるので、私は... means:
• because it often barks, I...

Compared with から, ので usually sounds a bit more:

• softer
• more explanatory
• less blunt

So ので is very natural here because the speaker is calmly explaining the reason for holding the leash short.

Because the sentence changes topic from the dog to the speaker.

First part:

• うちの犬は...吠える
  As for my dog, it barks...

Second part:

• 私はリードを短く持ちます
  As for me, I hold the leash short.

Using 私は makes the subject of the second action clear. It creates a nice contrast:

• the dog does X
• I do Y

Literally, it means to hold the lead/leash short.

In more natural English, that means:

• to keep the leash short
• to keep a short hold on the leash
• to hold the leash tightly/close

This is a very natural Japanese way to express the idea.

Because 短い is an i-adjective, and when an i-adjective modifies a verb, it changes to its -く form.

So:

• 短い = short
• 短く = shortly / in a short way

In this sentence:

• リードを短く持つ = hold the leash short

This is the adverbial use of the adjective.

持ちます here expresses a habitual action:

• I hold the leash short
• I keep the leash short
• I make a point of holding the leash short

Japanese present tense often covers habitual actions, not just actions happening right this second.

If you said 持っています, it would sound more like describing the current ongoing state:

• I am holding it short
• I have it held short

But in this sentence, the speaker is explaining what they generally do in that situation, so 持ちます works well.

It is mainly describing a general habit or usual behavior.

Clues:

• 会うと = whenever it meets
• よく = often
• 持ちます = I do this / I usually do this

So the sentence means something like:

• Whenever my dog meets strangers, it often barks, so I keep the leash short.

This is not just one single event unless the larger context makes it specific.