En lydig hund kan luftes uten bånd.

Because hund is a common-gender noun in Norwegian, so it takes en in the indefinite singular: en hund.

A few related forms:

• en hund = a dog
• hunden = the dog
• hunder = dogs
• hundene = the dogs

If it were a neuter noun, it would take et, but hund is not neuter.

In Norwegian, adjectives change depending on gender, number, and definiteness. Here, hund is:

• singular
• indefinite
• common gender

In that pattern, many adjectives appear in their basic form, so you get en lydig hund.

Compare:

• en lydig hund = an obedient dog
• et lydig dyr = an obedient animal
• lydige hunder = obedient dogs
• den lydige hunden = the obedient dog

So lydig is the correct form here because it agrees with an indefinite singular common-gender noun.

Lydig means obedient, well-behaved, or compliant, especially in the sense of following commands.

With a dog, lydig strongly suggests that the dog listens to its owner and behaves reliably. In this sentence, that matters because it helps explain why the dog can be walked without a leash.

Here å lufte means to take out for air/exercise, especially about a dog. So å lufte en hund means to walk a dog or to take a dog out.

The verb originally relates to air or fresh air, so the basic idea is giving someone or something air. But with dogs, it is a very normal way to say walk or take out.

So in this sentence, luftes does not mean the dog is literally being aired out in a mechanical sense. It means the dog is being taken outside for a walk.

Because the dog is the thing receiving the action, not the one doing it.

• En lydig hund kan luftes uten bånd = An obedient dog can be walked without a leash.
• En lydig hund kan lufte uten bånd would suggest the dog itself is doing the walking of something, which does not fit.

So luftes is a passive form. It means something like can be walked or can be taken out.

If you wanted an active sentence, you could say:

• Du kan lufte en lydig hund uten bånd = You can walk an obedient dog without a leash.

The -s is a passive marker.

Norwegian often forms the passive in two common ways:

• luftes
• blir luftet

Both can mean is walked / is being walked / can be walked, depending on context.

So:

• En lydig hund kan luftes uten bånd
• En lydig hund kan bli luftet uten bånd

Both are possible, but kan luftes is very natural and compact.

English speakers often notice this because English usually uses be + past participle, while Norwegian can often use this -s passive instead.

It can suggest more than one of those ideas, depending on context.

In this sentence, kan most naturally means something like:

• can
• may
• is able to be
• is allowed to be, in the right context

So En lydig hund kan luftes uten bånd could mean:

• it is possible to walk an obedient dog off-leash
• it is acceptable to do so
• it is allowed, if the dog is obedient

Norwegian kan often covers both ability and possibility, and sometimes it also sounds close to permission when the context is about rules or acceptable behavior.

Because Norwegian often leaves out the article after uten when speaking generally.

So:

• uten bånd = without a leash, leashless, off-leash in a general sense

This is the most natural wording here.

If you said uten et bånd, it would sound more like without a leash / without any leash with slightly more focus on the object itself. It is possible, but less idiomatic in this kind of general statement.

Compare:

• Han gikk uten jakke = He went without a jacket
• Hunden går uten bånd = The dog goes without a leash

This article-less pattern is very common in Norwegian.

Yes. In this context, bånd means leash or lead.

The basic meaning of bånd is broader: it can also mean band, strip, ribbon, tape, or bond, depending on context. But with dogs, bånd is a standard word for a leash.

You may also hear related expressions like:

• i bånd = on a leash
• uten bånd = off leash / without a leash
• båndtvang = leash requirement, leash law

So here the meaning is very specifically about dog control.

Yes, absolutely.

That version means the same thing, but it is a little longer and less compact.

Compare:

• En lydig hund kan luftes uten bånd
• En hund som er lydig kan luftes uten bånd

The first version is more natural in most everyday situations because Norwegian, like English, often prefers a simple adjective before the noun when possible.

The second version is still correct, but it feels more explicit, almost as if you are emphasizing the condition that is obedient.

It is making a general statement.

Because the sentence starts with En lydig hund, it means something like an obedient dog in the general sense, not one particular dog that both speaker and listener already know.

If it were about a specific dog, you would expect something like:

• Den lydige hunden kan luftes uten bånd = The obedient dog can be walked without a leash

So the original sentence is best understood as a general rule or general observation.