It’s hard to resist the urge to talk to your dog in what scientists call “dog-directed speech.” Dog-directed speech is similar to “baby-directed speech.” We exaggerate our pronunciation and raise the pitch of our voices; scientists think it helps babies learn to talk.
In general, talking babies to dogs leads to positive reactions from them, it can lead to reassurance and positive reinforcement.
Dog Directed Speech, or Companion Animal Directed Speech more generally, is the process of using hyper-focused voice and words, also known as baby talk or using Baby Directed Speech, with your animal pet
Although it may seem like nonsensical behavior, there are actually some noteworthy scientific features of Pet-Directed Speech.
Although, at first, Pet and Baby Directed Speech may seem different, they are almost identical in pitch and intonation.
Some scientists have suggested that there could be a connection between the two; basically that both are one comprehensive type of speech behavior associated with talking to a creature that cannot talk back.
Think of it this way, when we use Infant-Directed Speech, we use similar intonation and hyper-pronunciation; scientists think this helps babies learn to talk.
Although dogs don’t learn to speak English, they do learn a lot from the words you say.
If you’ve ever had to spell the word “walk” to stop an overexcited puppy from getting his hopes up, you’ll know that dogs learn a great deal from human speech and can understand and apply meanings to the words we speak with. them.
With their ability to learn and apply meaning to words in mind, it makes more sense that we would naturally move to a slow, exaggerated voice like we use with babies.
Dogs will understand the words we say to them better if we say it to them because they are cute and can’t talk, like babies!
Do Dogs Care About Dog-Directed Speech?
Although using Dog Directed Speech may seem like a scientific idiosyncrasy with no significant impact, studies show that dogs care a lot more about Dog Directed Speech than you might first think.
For example, Speech Guided Animal Companion has been tested with dogs, cats, and even horses.
All animals tested showed positive reactions to Companion Animal Directed speech compared to animals that were spoken to using Adult Directed Speech.
To test the animals’ reactions to Companion-Directed Speech, the researchers used two different “models” and played recordings of their voices where one model used Adult-Directed Speech, and one used Adult-Directed Speech Companion Animal.
Recordings of their voices were used to eliminate the risk of any differences in intonation, timbre, or tempo that would be present in live speech.
Researchers found that dogs spent more time looking at the speaker using Animal Companion-Speech Guidance and spent more time playing with them after the recordings ended.
Image Credit: Linas T, Shutterstock
It naturally makes sense that a dog can discern which words in our language are most important to him, such as going for a walk and treats.
In the second experiment, recordings of the people’s voices were played to the dogs.
The intonation and the text were incongruent: the animal-directed companion speech was about “adult” human topics, while the recording with adult-directed speech was about topics dog related.
Therefore, dog-directed speech and dog-related topics are needed for the dog to pay attention to.
In other words, dogs know when they are spoken to, and not just by the name you call them.
Dogs understand when you talk about topics they know relate to and when you combine that with Pet Directed Speech, dogs pay close attention.
It is not entirely clear where the practice of Pet Directed Speech comes from or why it positively affects dogs.
Puppies may be born with an innate preference for pitch sounds, or they may learn to associate the behavior with positive consequences as it usually precedes dog-like things, such as walks or treats .
Previous studies have also shown that although Companion Animal Directed Speech and Infant Directed Speech are similar, they have differences.
For example, when using Baby Directed Speech, speakers will greatly exaggerate vowel sounds, often some of the more complex sounds for babies to learn.
This is likely because we know subconsciously that our dogs don’t learn to speak from us, and they don’t need to hear the prim and proper pronunciation.
So, rather than being a silly habit with no meaning, it seems that we deliberately and subconsciously adjust our speech based on the potential language learning abilities of the listener.
If the listener can learn our language, we adapt to help them learn to speak it better.
If they can’t, we adapt to help them learn how to understand it better.
Does a Talking Baby Help with Dog Training?
In addition, Pet Directed Speech showed positive effects on attention and socialization in dogs, cats and horses.
So, at least, it makes your dog pay more attention to what you say during training sessions.
Image Credit: Monika Wisniewska, Shutterstock
So, don’t stop talking baby to your dog!
When you do that, it helps them learn to better understand our language and its mysteries.
Baby talk also helps your dog as it learns to interact with other creatures, it gives them reassurance and positive reinforcement helping them become better behaved citizens.
Talking to Dogs: Animal-Instructed Companion Speech in a Stress Test
Featured Image Credit: VK Studio, Shutterstock