For years, dog trainers have encouraged us to say “who’s a good boy?” in a singsong voice — but now scientists have explored why this approach works so well.
A study by Swiss and French researchers has found that specific speech patterns do help dogs understand our verbal commands more effectively. The research, recently published in PLOS Biology, examined how humans and dogs communicate.
Both the way animals produce sound and how they interpret it have evolved together. This has led to species-specific calls and unique patterns of sound processing in the brain.
Although millions of years of evolution separate humans from dogs, these "best friends" of ours respond surprisingly well to human speech.
To investigate this cross-species communication, the researchers measured the rate of speech in humans, dogs, and humans speaking to dogs. They also tracked brain activity in response to speech using electroencephalography (EEG).
While humans typically speak at a rate of four syllables per second when conversing with each other, dogs can only produce about two vocalizations per second. The EEG results also revealed that dogs’ brains are more attuned to slower speech rhythms.
This may explain why people naturally slow their speech to about three syllables per second when talking to dogs.
The researchers suggest that this slower, more rhythmic "dog voice" aligns better with the way a dog’s brain processes sound, leading to improved understanding.
Interestingly, the study indicates that dogs don’t process syllables the same way humans do. Instead, they seem to focus on differences at the word level.
To examine which elements of "dog voice" aid comprehension, the researchers tested commands with and without clear words or original intonation (variations in pitch and intensity). Their findings show that both the words and intonation are crucial for dogs to grasp the commands.
So, there you have it—a scientific explanation for why slowing down and using a singsong voice can make it easier for your dog to understand you.
