Why Do People Use Baby Talk with Dogs?
People use baby talk with dogs because puppies respond more to high-pitched voices and people extend their protective instincts to them.
[FamTimes reporter Park Joo-hye] Aww, what a cutie! We use baby talk with babies. Most dog owners also use the same kind of baby talk with their puppies and dogs that they use with human babies. But that is not a bad thing at all.
A study was conducted in the United Kingdom to investigate why people use baby talk when calling dogs.
According to the study, people generally speak in a high-pitched voice when communicating with babies. Young children cannot yet express themselves in the same way as adults.
Babies simply smile when they hear adults cooing at them. When the same baby talk is used with puppies, they show excitement by jumping up or pacing around.
Researchers asked 30 women to call dogs of different ages by saying, “Come here, sweetie,” and observed their voices. The younger the dog, the higher the participants’ voices became.
When the women spoke to older dogs in a moderately high-pitched voice, they elicited only a minimal response. But when they spoke to young puppies in a high-pitched voice, they elicited a stronger response. A high-pitched tone was a factor that prompted puppies to respond.
The actual words dog owners say do not matter to puppies. The animals respond more strongly to high-pitched voices and baby talk.
People use baby talk because they think of puppies like human babies. The human instinct to protect babies is applied to puppies in the same way.
The study’s findings were featured in Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
Reporter Park Joo-hye, fam1@pcss.co.kr
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