Sat, 22nd August, 2026: “Baby Talking to your Pets”; Antonia Goetz, Research Fellow in Infant Studies, West Syd Uni

If you’ve ever found yourself in the local dog park using a voice three octaves higher than your normal speaking tone to ask a Golden Retriever who’s a ‘good boy,’ don’t worry—science says you’re completely normal.

Research shows that the way we speak to our pets shares a deep evolutionary link with how we talk to human babies. But do our dogs, cats, and birds actually care, or are we just making silly noises? Joining us today to unpack the science of pet-talk, baby-talk, and why our voices go squeaky around fuzzy creatures is Antonia Goetz, Research Fellow in Infant Studies at Western Sydney University. Welcome to Joy 94.9, Antonia!

The Core Science: Humans instinctively alter pitch, melody, and rhythm when speaking to subjects with limited language comprehension – whether they are pets or even human infants. High-pitched, sing-songy speech acts as a vocal “wave of the hand” to grab attention and establish psychological safety.

The key difference is, when people speak to babies, they hyper-articulate their words,

(exaggerating vowels like “eee” in “sheep”) to teach vocabulary. We don’t do this with most pets as it’s pure emotional bonding, not language instruction. Where it does differ is Parrots – which people articulate for a little – possibly in order to teach it to speak.

Puppies and adult dogs pay attention longer, move closer, and follow human gestures (like pointing to food) far more effectively when spoken to in high-pitched “pet-talk.” Humans also feel better when they hear their vets talk to their pets in a similar way.

A 2024 study showed women with only a pet speak to them with the same vocal warmth as mothers speak to babies. However, parents with both a baby and a pet soften their vocal warmth toward the pet when attention is split.

The post Sat, 22nd August, 2026: “Baby Talking to your Pets”; Antonia Goetz, Research Fellow in Infant Studies, West Syd Uni appeared first on Saturday Magazine.