Dogs actually do respond better when their owners use cute ‘baby talk’, study finds

Dogs’ brains are sensitive to the familiar high-pitched “cute” voice tone that adult humans, especially women, use to talk to babies, according to a new study.

The research, published recently in the journal Communications Biology, found “exciting similarities” between infant and dog brains during the processing of speech with such a high-pitched tone feature.

Humans tend to speak with a specific speech style characterised by exaggerated prosody, or patterns of stress and intonation in a language, when communicating with individuals having limited language comPetence.

Such speech has previously been found to be very important for the Healthy cognitive, social and language development of children, who are also tuned to such a high-pitched voice.

But researchers, including those from the Eötvös Loránd University in Hungary, hoped to assess whether dog brains are also sensitive to this way of communication.

In the study, conscious family dogs were made to listen to dog, infant and adult-directed speech recorded from 12 women and men in real-life interactions.

As the dogs listened, their brain activities were measured using a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scan.

The study found the sound-processing regions of the dogs’ brains responded more to dog- and infant-directed than adult-directed speech.

This marked the first neurological evidence that dog brains are tuned to speech directed specifically at them.

“Studying how dog brains process dog-directed speech is exciting, because it can help us understand how exaggerated prosody contributes to efficient speech processing in a nonhuman species skilled at relying on different speech cues,” explained Anna Gergely, co-first author of the study.

Scientists also found dog- and infant-directed speech sensitivity of dog brains was more pronounced when the speakers were women, and was affected by voice pitch and its variation.

These findings suggest the way we speak to dogs matters, and that their brain is specifically sensitive to the higher-pitched voice tone typical to the female voice.

“Remarkably, the voice tone patterns characterizing women’s dog-directed speech are not typically used in dog-dog communication – our results may thus serve evidence for a neural preference that dogs developed during their domestication,” said Anna Gábor, co-first author of the study.

“Dog brains’ increased sensitivity to dog-directed speech spoken by women specifically may be due to the fact that women more often speak to dogs with exaggerated prosody than men,” Dr Gabor said.

A Whiskered Wanderer: A Journey of Hope and Recovery for a Canine Companion

Upon their initial encounter, Joey Maxwell and his spouse were captivated by Maverick, who resided in an animal shelter on the brink of demise, being malnourished and gaunt. Compassionately, they decided to adopt him, assimilating him into their family, and relishing in six delightful years together. Consequently, when the disheartening news of Maverick’s lymphoma diagnosis surfaced a couple of years ago, Maxwell devoted himself entirely to assisting his beloved canine in conquering cancer. Astonishingly, the initial course of chemotherapy administered yielded positive results, providing a glimmer of hope for Maverick’s recovery.

About two months back, the illness resurfaced, causing him to lose his ability to walk. Consequently, the owner made the decision to transport the adorable canine on a wagon. Initially, the intention was simply to bring some happiness into Mav’s final days, but unexpectedly, an extraordinary impact was observed on the doggie’s well-being.

Maxwell, in conversation with CBS News, mentioned that when they remove him from a particular environment, he tends to vocalize his presence by barking towards anyone who crosses his path. This behavior continues until someone kindly caresses him, which, according to Maxwell, depicts his belief that every soul in the world exists solely to provide him with affection.

And it is quite possible that he is correct. The overwhelming flow of affection and encouragement that Maxwell and his furry companion receive is truly remarkable. As a testament to this, Maxwell recently received a remarkable 50% discount on a wagon after sharing his heartfelt story, a touching moment that brought tears to both Maxwell and the kind-hearted Lowe’s cashier. These days, whenever the people in Maxwell’s small community catch a glimpse of Maverick, they instantly recognize him and gravitate towards him to shower the lovable pup with affection. It is abundantly clear that Maverick is thriving and growing stronger with each passing day, perhaps because he simply adores those joyous rides in the wagon.

“We find ourselves in a great position as we truly grasp the immense value Mav holds for countless individuals, along with the fact that he has genuinely experienced an equal measure of their affection and support.”