Ever wondered why your dog responds better when you use that playful baby voice and say ‘Who’s a good dog’ to your furry companion? A new study from the University of Genevas, published in the PLOS Biology, has the answer to this human-dog vocal interaction. Dogs understand humans better when they are spoken to more slowly. Even if dogs don’t produce human-like speeches, they seem to respond to human speech, particularly the speech with a slower tempo.

Vocal variations of human and dog

The study assessed the vocal sounds of 30 dogs, along with 27 humans across five languages speaking to other people, and 22 humans speaking specifically to dogs to understand the variations in vocal tempo. The researchers also examined the EEG of both dogs and humans to monitor their brain responses.

The researchers noted that while humans generally speak at a rapid pace of approximately four syllables per second, dogs vocalize at a much slower rate of around two sounds per second. It’s even more intriguing that when addressing dogs, humans instinctively lower their speech tempo to about three syllables per second. This modification aligns with the dogs’ receptive abilities, enabling them to understand the commands and messages better and respond more effectively.

Speak slowly for better bonding

Slowing down the speech builds a better bond, as the dog understands humans better. In the study, the ECG signals revealed that the dog’s neural response to speech is centered on delta rhythms, and on the other hand human response to speech is focused on faster theta rhythms.

This difference in the neural systems involved in processing speech indicates that slowing down our speech will help convey our message to dogs more effectively. It highlights the importance of tone and tempo in fostering effective communication with our canine companions. This reveals that dogs are more attuned to and sensitive to the subtleties of human speech.

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