Mystery of How Dogs Hear Our Voices
Have you ever wondered how your dog perceives your voice? Join us as we delve into the fascinating world of canine communication. In this video, we explore whether dogs understand human speech beyond just tone and emotion.
Discover if dogs can differentiate between TV voices and real ones, and if they recognize their names or nicknames. We also investigate how dogs react to baby talk and whether they can sense human emotions through our voices.
Uncover the secrets of how dogs interpret the sounds around them and gain a deeper understanding of their remarkable ability to communicate with us.
Discover if dogs can differentiate between TV voices and real ones, and if they recognize their names or nicknames. We also investigate how dogs react to baby talk and whether they can sense human emotions through our voices.
Uncover the secrets of how dogs interpret the sounds around them and gain a deeper understanding of their remarkable ability to communicate with us.
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AnimalsTranscript
00:00Human speech is a maze of words, tones, and emotions.
00:05How much of this can your dog actually decipher?
00:07And while you might have officially named your dog Jessica, you probably call her Jessie,
00:13Pretty Girl, or even Snuggles.
00:16Can your dog really understand their name or those cute nicknames?
00:20If sometimes it feels like your furry friend is conveniently ignoring you, you're spot
00:25on.
00:26In this video, we'll cover research that reveals your mischievous dog understands much
00:30more than they like you to think.
00:34How well does your dog understand their nickname?
00:37Dogs are masters of association.
00:40If you often follow a particular word by the same behavior, especially one they enjoy,
00:45they quickly learn to connect the word with the action.
00:48This is why your dog might instantly perk up at the mere mention of walk or treat.
00:54When you call your dog by one of their many adorable nicknames, it's usually in a happy
00:58context followed by petting, belly rubs, or maybe even a sneaky snack.
01:04Without even realizing it, you're teaching your dog that responding to Snuggles or Pretty
01:08Girl means extra goodies and attention.
01:12Dogs can actually recognize up to 165 words, so there's a lot of room to teach them lots
01:17of cute nicknames.
01:19How to help them make the connection?
01:21As with any trick you want them to learn, your step one is to grab some tasty treats.
01:27When your dog isn't looking at you, call out their nickname in an excited tone and wait
01:31for them to look your way.
01:33When they do, immediately mark the behavior with a cheerful yes and hand over a treat.
01:39Play this game in various environments to solidify the connection.
01:43With a little patience and a lot of treats, your dog will soon understand that Snuggles,
01:48Jessie, and Pretty Girl all mean the same wonderful thing, you're talking to them.
01:54What's crucial is that you want their name and nicknames to be associated with positive
01:58vibes, so avoid using them when they're in trouble.
02:03If you need to correct your dog, stick to simple commands like quiet or down instead
02:07of quiet Jessie.
02:10What exactly does your dog hear when they eavesdrop on you?
02:14The right hemisphere of the brain picks up on emotions better if they come in through
02:18our left ear, but the left hemisphere, which processes meaningful words, wants to hear
02:23them through our right ear.
02:26But what about dogs?
02:27Do they experience this right-ear, left-ear magic too?
02:31A study published in Current Biology finally answered this question.
02:35Dogs will do almost anything to please their owners, so it's no surprise that with a bit
02:39of training they can lie perfectly still with their heads in an fMRI machine.
02:44These dogs were positioned between two loudspeakers.
02:48The researchers played around with different emotional tones of the same words, mixed in
02:53the known commands, and even threw in some gibberish from a foreign language.
02:58It turns out that to a dog, most of our conversation sounds like a mix of familiar words and a
03:04lot of noise.
03:05Imagine telling your friend about a stressful day at work.
03:08So my boss gave me this huge project and I'm swamped, but all I can think about is
03:13taking a break.
03:15Your dog hears blah blah blah.
03:18Break!
03:19This meaningful word sparks activity in the left hemisphere of their brain, because maybe
03:23that means a chance for a cuddle or a game of fetch, but the rest is a blur of human
03:29chatter.
03:30And because their left hemisphere can't make sense of it, the right side of their brain
03:34kicks in, picking up on what emotions they can hear in your tone.
03:38Your dog likes it when you're happy.
03:41Even if it seems like your dog isn't paying attention as you're chatting away, you can
03:45be sure they are listening, one head tilt at a time.
03:49Are you excited?
03:50They feel that energy.
03:52Feeling down?
03:53They pick up on that sadness.
03:56Dogs are experts at picking up on body language, so even if they don't understand every word,
04:01they watch your gestures and expressions closely.
04:04If you're waving your hands around and talking animatedly, they know something's up.
04:10Dogs can distinguish between different human voices and often recognize their favorite
04:14people just by the sound of their voice, so while they might not get the latest gossip,
04:20they know when it's you chatting away.
04:23So keep talking to your dog.
04:25They might not get every word, but they definitely get you.
04:30Why can't your dog resist baby talk?
04:33Do they get extra wiggly and excited when you switch to that high-pitched, sing-songy tone?
04:39Dogs are experts at picking up on emotional cues, and baby talk is loaded with positive vibes.
04:46The exaggerated pitch and playful tone signal to your dog that you're happy and ready to
04:51engage with them.
04:53This kind of talk often comes with lots of pets, belly rubs and treats, making it even
04:58more appealing.
04:59It's no wonder your dog perks up and looks at you with those big, loving eyes when you
05:04start cooing at them.
05:05If you use this dog-directed speech regularly, this can help strengthen the bond between
05:10you and your furry friend.
05:13So next time you find yourself saying,
05:15Who's a good boy?
05:17Pitch your voice extra high for more tailwags and joyful barks.
05:22Do dogs pine only for humans or for other dogs' voices too?
05:27In another fascinating study, scientists at Eötvös-Lorand University used an electroencephalogram,
05:33which measures individual brainwaves, to peek into the minds of our furry friends.
05:38The researchers recruited 17 family dogs, including border collies, golden retrievers
05:44and a German shepherd.
05:46They trained these good pups to lie still with headphones on, inside a noisy brain scanner.
05:52Here's the cool part.
05:53Whenever the dogs heard different human and dog sounds, their brainwaves changed within
05:58the first 250 to 650 milliseconds.
06:03This means that our pups are trying to figure out who or what is making the sound, and how
06:08to respond.
06:09Interestingly, the brainwaves were more positive when they heard human voices, and more negative
06:15when they heard canine sounds.
06:17This shows just how tuned in our dogs are to us compared to their canine family.
06:23Why can dogs tell apart human and TV voices?
06:26Do they just somehow know they are not real?
06:30The sounds from your TV usually range between 20 Hz to 18 kHz, which fits nicely within
06:36human hearing.
06:37After all, TVs are made for our ears.
06:40But dogs, with their super-sensitive hearing, can detect sounds in a much broader range.
06:46That means they can hear things we can't even imagine, and won't react to a bark or a human
06:51voice coming from the TV because of how the sound is processed.
06:56TV audio is compressed and filtered through various electronics before it reaches your
07:00ears and your dogs.
07:02This processing adds a layer of distortion that changes the sound.
07:07Your speakers and the room's acoustics further alter the signal, giving it a different sonic
07:12signature than natural sounds.
07:15So when they hear a voice on TV, it doesn't trigger the same response as a real-life voice.
07:21Plus, dogs are pretty smart.
07:23They quickly learn that the voices coming from the magic box in the living room don't
07:27pose any threat or require any action.
07:30Over time, they become accustomed to these artificial sounds and may even start ignoring
07:35them altogether, just like we humans get used to background chatter or the hum of appliances
07:40in our homes.
07:41When we hug our dogs, we can't see their faces, right?
07:45You might think, my dog loves it!
07:48But as with all things dog-related, it's a bit more complicated.
07:53In this video, we follow in the steps of Dr. Stanley Coren, a psychologist and writer who
07:58conducted an entire experiment just to answer this one question.
08:03How to give your pup a squeeze that they would enjoy for sure.