How do human voices affect a dog's balance?

Human voices, particularly angry or happy tones, can cause measurable changes in a dog's posture and stability, leading to destabilizing effects.

Which type of human voice had a greater impact on dog balance?

Angry human voices were associated with more significant destabilization in some dogs compared to happy voices.

What was the main finding of the research on dogs and voice recordings?

The research found that emotionally charged human voices can elicit arousal that affects a dog's physical equilibrium and balance.

Home / Science / Dogs' Balance Affected by Human Voice Tone

Dogs' Balance Affected by Human Voice Tone

29 Jan

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Summary

Dog balance measurably changes when hearing angry or happy voices.
Angry voices caused more significant destabilization in some dogs.
Research explored sound's impact on animal balance for the first time.

Dogs' Balance Affected by Human Voice Tone

New research indicates that human voices can affect a dog's balance more than previously understood. Scientists found that hearing emotionally charged human voices, specifically angry or happy tones, led to measurable changes in dogs' posture and stability.

The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, involved 23 dogs standing on a pressure-sensing platform. These dogs were exposed to recordings of human voices, and their postural stability was assessed by measuring shifts in their center of pressure.

While happy voices showed mixed results, with some dogs stabilizing and others destabilizing, angry voices were consistently linked to a destabilizing effect in a portion of the dogs. This suggests that human vocalizations can elicit emotional arousal that directly impacts a dog's physical equilibrium.