Animals, babies, friends: Examining human-dog communication and its implications for understanding what it means to be family

Animals, babies, friends: Examining human-dog communication and its implications for understanding what it means to be family

Jayme Brown

Human-dog communication is a popular topic for researchers due to the ubiquitous nature of domestic dogs in global society. Infant-directed speech, commonly known as baby talk and used by parents to speak to their children, has been repurposed by pet parents to talk to their dogs in a related pattern known as pet-directed, or dog-directed speech. The dog-directed speech register, characterized by repetitive and high-pitched combinations of sounds, words, and questions has been used to build and reinforce familial bonds between dogs and humans. Using existing literature, various multi-media, casual interviews, and observation, this paper specifically illustrates how an increase in the production of dog-directed speech indicates stronger family ties between humans and their dogs. The use of dog-directed speech during interactions such as play, greeting, reuniting, and togetherness provided a clear correlation with humans’ inclusion of dogs as family, compared to not speaking in this manner. It was also determined that women engage with their dogs using dog-directed speech more often than men, while also treating their dogs like children. Formal studies provided conclusive evidence of dogs’ responsiveness and aptness to display affectionate behaviors when being spoken to in dog-directed speech and showed clear preferences in speech types used by men and women. However, future research should consider ethnographic approaches such as observing dogs and their humans together in natural settings to provide greater insights into the formulation and sustainability of human-dog kinship.