Dogs have an incredible sense of hearing, with an ability to detect sounds that are well beyond the range of a human’s hearing. This means that they can pick up on sounds and frequencies that humans cannot hear. But how exactly do dogs hear humans? Scientists have long studied this phenomenon, and the study of canine hearing has revealed some remarkable insights. In this blog post, we’ll look at how dogs hear humans, and explore the various factors that can affect their hearing. We’ll also look at some of the ways dogs can use their hearing to interact with us. So, if you’ve ever wondered how dogs hear humans, this is the post for you!
Why we say “Good dog!” to our pooches
We frequently speak to our dogs in nearly the same slow, high-pitched voice as we do to our babies, and we often say the same sweet, absurd things. Scientists have now demonstrated that while older dogs are somewhat indifferent to our pooch-directed speech, puppies find it exciting. The results demonstrate, for the first time, that young dogs respond to this form of speech and that it may aid in their acquisition of new words, just as it does with human infants.
Nicolas Mathevon, a bioacoustician at the University of Lyon in Saint-Étienne, France, and his colleagues first recorded the voices of 30 women as they spoke to a photograph of a dog while looking at it, reading from a script that said, “Hi! Hello cutie! Who’s a good boy? Come here! Good boy! Yes! Come here sweetie pie! What a good boy!” (The researchers were concerned the women would improvise if they spoke to ) The women also repeated the passage to a person.
The women spoke to the dogs in distinctive, high-pitched, sing-song tones, as was expected, but not to the humans, according to the scientists, who compared the human- and dog-directed speech. It made no difference if the dog was a puppy or an adult, according to Mathevon. But when they were looking at pictures of puppies, the women did speak louder.
Next, the researchers played these recordings in short trials with 10 puppies and 10 adult dogs at a New York City animal shelter and videotaped their responses. Nine of the puppies reacted strongly, barking and running toward the loudspeaker even when the recording had been made for an older dog, the team reports today in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B. Some even bent toward the loudspeaker in a play bow, a pose meant to initiate horseplay, suggesting they may regard dog-directed speech as “an invitation to play,” Mathevon says. The puppies were less interested in the recordings of the women speaking to the person. And the adult dogs? “They didnt care at all,” Mathevon says. It made no difference if they heard speech directed at puppies, older dogs, or humans. “They had a quick look at the speaker, and then ignored it.”
A dog listening to puppy talk.
Mario Gallego-Abenza
The researchers are unsure of the cause of the adult dogs’ lack of interest. According to Mathevon, it could be that they require hearing a recognizable voice or interaction with a real person rather than an artificial voice. The women’s exaggerated, high-pitched, dog-directed speech, however, served a purpose for the puppies: “It got their attention,” says Mathevon, who believes that this manner of speaking may help them learn words, much like our baby talk helps human infants learn language. Other research, however, disputes this idea.
Even so, according to Monique Udell, an animal behaviorist at Oregon State University in Corvallis who was not involved in the study, “the study shows that even in our speech we care for and treat dogs of all ages like human infants,” which is probably “an important part of their success in human environments.”
Scientists are still unsure as to whether puppies respond to dog-directed speech inherently or if it is something they learn. It will also take more research to determine whether the words in dog-directed speech have more of a meaning for the puppies or if it aids in their word learning. In the interim, make sure you’re prepared to play when you speak dog to your puppy.
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If dogs had a super power, it would be hearing
We all know that dogs have a keen sense of hearing and hear better than we do, but if you’re a dog owner who enjoys talking to your dog, have you ever wondered how much he really understands? Dogs hear nearly twice as many frequencies as humans. In addition, they have four times the hearing range of human ears, so our dogs can hear sounds from 80 feet away.
Do our dogs understand what they are hearing, despite the fact that they can hear better than we can?
Your dog may not understand everything you say, but he listens and pays attention similarly to the way humans do, according to two studies, one of which was published in the journal Current Biology and the other in Science. The researchers found that, just like humans, dogs react to the emotional tone of our voices as well as the words we say to them.
Signs a Dog Understands Your Voice
Now that we know that dogs can recognize human voices, let’s examine the different indicators. Dogs responded quite strongly to human voices that were distinct, high-pitched, and had a sing-songy tone in a few specific studies that we will discuss below. In one instance, the majority of adult dogs began to bark and rush the loud speaker where the voice was coming from. These dogs were attempting to determine the source of the voice while their tails were wagging and their ears were perked up.
Dogs may interpret your words and voice tone differently, but the fact remains that they hear you and are putting in extra effort to comprehend what you are saying. One sign that your dog understands you and isn’t just acting like they do is that they frequently tilt their head and perk their ears while you are speaking. The brains of many dogs will sit and focus intently stare at you as they try to process what they hear. Another reason why dogs are truly a man’s best friend is this.
Here are some signs your dog understands your voice:
Other indications that your dog is hearing and understanding your voice include:
FAQ
Can dogs actually hear humans?
The study also confirmed that dogs actually listen to human speech, as suggested by prior studies, and don’t just respond to familiar humans or body language, according to Magyari, although our canine companions may not recognize all the subtleties.
What do dogs think when you talk to them?
Talking to their adult dogs like puppies is common. We frequently speak to our dogs in nearly the same slow, high-pitched voice as we do to our babies, and we often say the same sweet, absurd things. Scientists have now demonstrated that while older dogs are somewhat indifferent to our pooch-directed speech, puppies find it exciting.
What do dogs think when they hear us talk?
Without any formal training, our canine companions are such adept social learners that they can recognize speech and recognize different languages. According to Hungarian researchers, your dog has the same ability as you to recognize whether someone is speaking your language or another one.