Yes, Your Dog Is Talking to You—and to the Cat, Too!

A recent study published in the journal Applied Animal Behavior [0] Science reveals that dog barking is—no surprise to many dog owners—a nuanced form of communication much like birdsong and infant crying. What's more, these forms of communication share acoustic properties in how they convey basic emotions, such as fear—which facilitates cross-species communication.

From the abstract:

"These findings show that dog barks function as predicted by the structuralâ€“motivational rules developed for acoustic signals in other species, suggesting that dog barks may present a functional system for communication at least in the dogâ€“human relationship."

You can read the abstract online, and/or purchase the journal article, at the Science Direct website [1]. The Discovery Channel has also posted an article on the new research, which you can read here [2].

About the author Miranda Hersey Helin is a writer and editor at Pen and Press [3], an editorial services and consulting company. Her writing credits include the Boston Globe, the Boston Globe Magazine, Bay Area Parent, Exceptional Parent, and Carve Magazine.