Reasons Why Owners Chat with Their Pups: Heartwarming I
Is it just selfentertainment?
Canine behavior experts have discovered that the constant chatter and anthropomorphic conversations with dogs are actually akin to the way humans speak to infants. This form of communication is known as "infantdirected speech."
Dr. Katie Slocombe of York University found that this linguistic behavior is an innate human instinct, serving to maintain connections between adults and infants and is crucial in helping infants develop language habits. Over the years, the role of dogs in the family has evolved significantly, which has also influenced how humans interact with them.
"Infantdirected speech" and "dogdirected speech" share many similarities: the use of highpitched tones and excited vocabulary.
In Dr. Slocombe's experiments, dogs became visibly more excited when their owners communicated with them in a highpitched tone, and they responded differently to various words. If you've been talking to your dog frequently, they can indeed discern your thoughts and emotions through the nuances of your tone and intonation.
"Infantdirected speech" has a similar effect; children can learn and feel emotions like joy and sadness through the tone of our conversations with them. From a behavioral perspective, both forms of "directed speech" are forms of attachment behavior, ultimately encouraging the other to communicate with us.
From a psychological standpoint, "dogdirected speech" can also activate the "reward center" in our brains, which triggers the release of chemicals like dopamine and oxytocin. These chemicals influence our most primal instincts: the need to love and be loved. Dopamine and oxytocin can boost happiness, reduce stress, and even lower blood pressure. Surprising, isn't it? When conversing with your dog, it's not just them that feels happy; it's beneficial for you as well.
The latest research shows that from the dog's perspective, they prefer being with the person who speaks to them. When multiple people speak to them at once, they show great interest in each individual. From a human perspective, the brain perceives eye contact with a dog as being similar to that with a human.
This means that if you were to talk to a chicken, not only would others think you're odd, but you might feel foolish yourself, as your brain deems chickens unworthy of this form of directed speech.
