Keep talking to your dogs in "that" voice: They like it

Regardless of the cringing face you make when someone else does it at the dog park, we know you've spoken to your dog in "that" voice ("Who's a good boy? Yes you are! Want to go for a walk?!"). It's our own personal dog language and it's near impossible to look at a puppy and not do it. A dog's ears perk up when they hear it, but they also perk up at any other noise that sounds remotely like food, so is this dog-talk even working? According to a new study, you're not barking up the wrong tree, your dog enjoys being talked to like that.

A study at the University of York sought out to examine how dogs react and interact with humans who use dog-talk versus those that do not. Drawing on previous research of baby-talk, which suggested that infants pick up certain speech that exaggerates sounds and words they are learning better, as well as signifying individuals they should interact with, the study aimed to create a similar canine scenario through two experiments.

The first took 37 dogs and exposed them to humans using dog-directed tone (being high-pitched and emotional) using key dog phrases (eg. "want to go for a walk?") and normal adult speech that didn't use key dog phrases to not only see which the dogs paid more attention to, but also which they chose to interact with. The results showed that dogs noticeably spent more time looking at the dog-talk speaker as well spending more time physically close to them.

The second experiment aimed to test the importance of key dog phrases used in the dog-talk. To do this, the same scenario was enacted with 32 dogs; however, the dog-talk speech contained no relevant dog words while the adult speech did. Interestingly, the results showed that there was no noticeable difference in the dogs' attention and physical preferences. Researchers believe this ultimately suggests that dogs respond best neither to the dog-talk or relevant words on their own, but both the tone and content together.

The benefits of being able to identify what a dog best responds to not only helps dogs and their owners communicate more effectively (especially during training), but can also prove very useful for veterinarians and anyone who deals with service dogs or dogs in emergency services. Meeting dogs at their preferences is a crucial factor.

Furthermore, this finding adds to the long list of insights we're still discovering about these forever complex and intelligent creatures, who are constantly redefining our notions about them. Last year, it was uncovered that while dogs might not recognize their reflections like we do, they are consciously self-aware of themselves via their sense of smell, opening up new research into the depths of canine intelligence. Even more cunning, dogs are keenly aware of how to manipulate us; recent research has also show that socialized dogs know how to use those cute faces they make to get what they want and use it more often with humans they interact with the most. Perhaps further research will save humans from being so skillfully treat-and-walk-manipulated for all eternity.

Meanwhile, the next time you're caught doing that voice to your dog in public, don't be ashamed; research is on your side.