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Dogs prefer ‘baby-talk’ to adult speech, study shows
This is the first neural evidence that dogs are tuned to speech that is directed specifically to them.

They may also listen better to female speakers.

A study has revealed that dogs respond better to ‘baby-talk’ or ‘dog-talk’ than normal adult speech.

The research aimed to discover if dogs’ brains, being of limited linguistic competence, were sensitive to different speech styles, much in the way that infants are.

Infant-directed speech, often characterised by exaggerated prosody, is considered important to a child’s cognitive, social and language development.

The study investigated if dogs had similar responses to infant-directed or dog-directed speech.

To examine this, researchers used a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) machine to measure the brain activity of trained, conscious family dogs listening to different styles of speech.

The dogs heard dog-, infant- and adult-directed speech that had been recorded from 12 women and 12 men in real-life interactions.

The results showed that the dogs’ auditory brain regions responded more to dog-directed and infant-directed speech than to adult-directed speech.

This is the first neural evidence that dogs are tuned to speech that is directed specifically to them.

Furthermore, the data also showed that the dogs’ speech sensitivity was more pronounced when listening to dog-directed or infant-directed speech that was spoken by women, being affected by voice pitch and variation.

This neurone sensitivity to pitch and tone may explain why domesticated dogs outperform other animals when processing speech.

The investigation was conducted by researchers at Eötvös Loránd University’s Department of Ethology, the Research Centre for Natural Sciences and the Eötvös Loránd Research Network.

Anna Gergely, co-first author of the study, said: “Studying how dog brains process dog-directed speech is exciting, because it can help us understand how exaggerated prosody contributes to efficient speech processing in a non-human species skilled at relying on different speech cues (e.g. follow verbal commands).”

Anna Gábor, co-first author of the study, said: “What makes this result particularly interesting is that in dogs, as opposed to infants, this sensitivity cannot be explained by either ancient responsiveness to conspecific signals or by intrauterine exposure to women's voice[s].

“Remarkably, the voice tone patterns characterising women’s dog-directed speech are not typically used in dog-dog communication – our results may thus serve evidence for a neural preference that dogs developed during their domestication.”

The full study can be found in the journal Communications Biology.

Image (C) Shutterstock

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Webinar to explore AMR in vet dentistry

News Story 1
 The WSAVA has invited veterinary professionals to a webinar on responsible antibiotic usage in dentistry.

On 19 November 2025, at 1am, Dr J Scott Weese and Dr Brooke Niemiec will share the latest advice for antimicrobial use. They will present research on oral bacterology, and explain how attendees can choose appropriate antibiotics.

The session will cover pre-, intra- and post-operative guidelines, with recommendations for various pathologies.

The webinar is designed to support veterinary professionals to make informed decisions and tackle antimicrobial resistance.

Attendees can register here

Click here for more...
News Shorts
Bluetongue reaches Wales for first time in 2025

The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) has revealed that bluetongue has been confirmed in Wales for the first time in 2025.

In their latest statistics, APHA records a total of 109 cases of BTV-3 or BTV-8 in Great Britain in the 2025-2026 vector season.

The total number of BTV-3 cases in Great Britain this season is 107. This includes 103 cases within the England restricted zone and four cases in Wales.

There has also been two cases of BTV-8, which were both in Cornwall.

As a result of the cases in Wales, a Temporary Control Zone (TCZ) is enforced in Monmouthshire. Animals can move freely under general license within the England Restricted Zone, however animals with suspected bluetongue must stay on their holding.

All premises testing positive for blue tongue can be viewed on this map.