Who is a good boy? Why is it important for dogs that people talk to them?

Why do people talk to their pets? Scientists from the University of York have shown that the way we talk to our dogs is important in building a relationship between a pet and its owner, just as "baby talk" is important for creating a relationship between a child and an adult.

Interaction experiments between adult dogs and humans have shown that so-called "dog talk" improves attention and can help people socially bond with their pets.

Previous research on communication with dogs suggested that talking in high pitched voices with exaggerated emotions, just as adults do with babies, can improve interaction with puppies, but this has little effect on adult dogs.

Researchers in York have tested this theory with new experiments aimed at understanding more about why people talk to dogs, and whether it is beneficial for dogs in some way, or if people do it simply because they enjoy treating dogs the same way as they treat small children.

Dr. Katie Slocombe of the Department of Psychology at the University of York said: “A special speech register known as 'infant-directed speech' is believed to aid language perception and improve child-adult bonding. This form of speech is known to share some of the similarities with the way people talk to their domestic dogs, known as "canine speech."

“This high rhythmic speech is common in human interactions with dogs, but not much is known about whether it benefits the dog in the same way that it benefits the child.

"We wanted to look at this question and see if this type and content of the message affects the social connection between animals and humans."

Unlike previous experiments, the research team positioned real people in the same room as the dog, rather than broadcasting speech through a loudspeaker without human presence. This made the environment more naturalistic for the dogs and helped the team test if the dogs were not only paying more attention to "dog speech" but also motivated to spend more time with the person who spoke to them in this way.

The researchers conducted a series of speech tests with adult dogs, where they were given the opportunity to listen to one person using directed speech containing phrases such as “are you a good dog” and “are we going for a walk?” And then another person using a speech directed at adults without dog content, such as "I went to the movies last night."

Attention during speech was measured, and after the performance, the dogs were allowed to choose which person they wanted to physically interact with.

The speakers then mixed regular canine speech with non-dog words and adult-focused speech with dog-related words so researchers could understand if the high emotional tone of speech was attractive to dogs or could be the words themselves.

Alex Benjamin, a graduate student in the University's Department of Psychology, said: “We found that adult dogs were more likely to want to interact and spend time with a person who used canine language with dog-related content than those who used adult-focused speech without content about the dog.

“When we mixed the two types of speech and content, the dogs showed no preference for one person over the other. This suggests that adult dogs need to hear dog-related words that are spoken in a high emotional tone."

"We hope this study will be useful for pet owners interacting with their dogs, as well as for veterinarians and rescuers."