Why not leave that dog as only understanding German. I think that would be a nice angle. That the dog only understands German commands. Also save you on a couple of resources. Make sure you add it to the back-story so that it seems plausible. Also gives the game a more cosmopolitan feel .

As for spiders, you could always go for the Indiana Jones of "Damn, I hate spiders!" or a more generic "I'm getting too old for this sh*t!" Or may a "If I see one more spider I'm going to scream!" and occasionally when he see's a spider he screams.