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Dogs' Balance Affected by Human Voice Tone
29 Jan
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.
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.
This exploratory biomechanical analysis, published in PLOS One, marks a significant step in understanding how auditory cues influence balance in animals. Further investigations are planned to explore individual differences and potential reasons for varied responses.
