A nossa cadela fica calma quando lhe pomos a coleira antes do passeio.

Because ficar here means something like to become, to get, or to end up being in that moment.

So fica calma means she becomes calm or goes calm when that happens.

• é calma = she is calm by nature / she is generally a calm dog
• está calma = she is calm right now
• fica calma = she becomes calm in that situation

In this sentence, the idea is that putting on the collar causes that reaction.

Because adjectives in Portuguese agree with the noun they describe.

The noun is cadela, which is feminine singular, so the adjective must also be feminine singular:

• cadela calma
• cão calmo

If the noun changed, the adjective would change too.

In European Portuguese, possessives are very often used with the definite article.

So a nossa cadela is the normal, natural way to say our dog.

Compare:

• a minha casa = my house
• o nosso carro = our car
• a nossa cadela = our female dog

Dropping the article is much less normal in standard European Portuguese than in English.

Cadela means female dog.

So:

• cão = dog / male dog
• cadela = female dog

If the sentence wanted to be less specific about sex, another wording might be used, but here the speaker is clearly referring to a female dog.

A cultural note: like the English word bitch, cadela can also be insulting if used about a person, but in this sentence it is purely literal.

Here lhe means to her and refers to the dog.

The structure is basically:

• pomos a coleira à nossa cadela
• we put the collar on our dog

In Portuguese, the thing being put on is the direct object (a coleira), and the animal receiving it is expressed with a:

• à nossa cadela

When that part is replaced by a pronoun, à nossa cadela becomes lhe.

So:

• pomos a coleira à nossa cadela
• lhe pomos a coleira

Because quando triggers proclisis in European Portuguese, which means the object pronoun goes before the verb.

So after quando, the normal standard order is:

• quando lhe pomos a coleira

not:

• quando pomos-lhe a coleira

In many other affirmative clauses, European Portuguese often prefers the pronoun after the verb:

• Pomos-lhe a coleira.

But after words like quando, não, que, se, porque, and some others, the pronoun usually moves before the verb.

Yes. Pomos is the we form of pôr, which means to put.

Present tense of pôr:

• ponho = I put
• pões = you put
• põe = he/she/it puts
• pomos = we put
• pondes = you plural put
• põem = they put

It is an irregular verb, so it is worth memorising.

Also note the spelling:

• pôr = to put
• por = by / for / through

The accent matters.

Because the present tense in Portuguese is often used for habits, routines, and general truths.

So this sentence is not necessarily about one single moment. It can mean something like:

• whenever we put the collar on her before the walk, she gets calm

This is very natural in both Portuguese and English when describing repeated situations.

In this kind of habitual sentence, quando often has the sense of whenever.

So although the direct translation may use when, the real idea is probably:

• Whenever we put the collar on her before the walk, she becomes calm.

That is a very common use of quando with the present tense.

Because Portuguese often uses definite articles in places where English may or may not use them.

Here a coleira means the collar — the specific collar that belongs in this situation, the one used for the dog before the walk.

It sounds natural because both speaker and listener understand which collar is being referred to.

Do is the contraction of:

• de + o = do

So:

• antes do passeio = before the walk

And passeio here means a walk, outing, or stroll. In the context of a dog, it is very naturally understood as the dog’s walk.

So literally:

• antes do passeio = before the outing / before the walk

Yes, you could. Both are natural, but they are structured differently.

• antes do passeio = before the walk
• antes de passear = before going for a walk / before walking

The original sentence uses a noun phrase (o passeio), while the alternative uses a verb (passear).

Both are good Portuguese, but antes do passeio sounds slightly more like talking about the walk as a known event in the routine.

In European Portuguese, lh is a palatal sound, roughly similar to the lli in some pronunciations of million, though not exactly the same.

So lhe is pronounced approximately like lyuh, but with a very short, reduced final vowel.

The most important point for an English speaker is:

• lh is not like ordinary English l
• it is a softer, more compressed sound

This same lh appears in words like:

• filho
• mulher does not have lh despite the spelling looking similar in English terms
• trabalhar

So lhe is a useful little word for practising that sound.