How to Talk to Your Pet

Skeptics insist that pets do not understand anything we say to them. However, scientists keep trying to explain how communication between different species work. That’s why they did a study to explain how you should talk to your pet (as if anyone who loves and takes good care of their furry friend didn’t already know).

Scientific Studies Confirm That Dogs Understand What We Tell Them

We don’t need a scientific research study to know that our four-legged friends understand everything we say to them. Simply living with them proves it.

But scientists say that pet lovers are indeed correct. So, in addition to confirming that yes, our pets are well aware of what we say to them, now they’re explaining how to talk to your dog and express yourself so that he can better understand you.

At least, that was our understanding of the study carried out at the University of Lyon (France), which was published in the scientific journal called Proceedings of the Royal Society B, which focuses on how to talk to puppies.

Recent research studies determined that if you talk to a puppy like how you would speak to a two-year-old child, they will pay more attention to you and thus be better trained.

How to Talk to Your Pet to Get His Attention

According to professionals, when humans communicate with dogs, we do it in a very different way than we do with people. With dogs, we use a so-called “language aimed at dogs.”

Wondering what this “language” consists of? Well, mainly it’s that we change the structure of sentences, making them shorter and simpler. We also use a higher tone of voice. In short, we use baby talk. This question is related to the fact that other research studies discovered that a dog’s intelligence is very similar to the intelligence of a 2-year-old child.

According to this recent study, when people addressed puppies with a higher tone of voice than usual, the puppies paid more attention.  This in turn makes it easier for the dog to be trained.

• Hey, beautiful!
• Come here!
• Who’s a good boy?
• Good job!

Scientists discovered that people spoke differently to an adult animal, a puppy and an older animal, and also differently if they weren’t looking at any images.

Then they performed the experiment on the dogs; they made the dogs listen to the recordings made by humans. They noticed that the puppies had a more intense reaction to the voices used while people were looking at images of dogs. The puppies started barking.

On the other hand, the adult dogs were more indifferent. One explanation could be that dogs show less interest in the voices of strangers as they get older. However, when language aimed at dogs is used in face-to-face communication between people and pets, the animals seem to respond at any age.

What is the Best Way to Talk to Your Cat?

The study does not comment on how to talk to cats. So, for now, I will personally continue using the technique that gives me the best results. I address them as equals, on the basis that cats consider us their peers. It works wonders on my feline friends.

What about you? Do you have a special way of talking to your pet?