Words We Say to Dogs (and Other Things Scientists Learned Watching People Play with Pets)

"Who wants to generate some DATA??" are probably not words you've ever said while taking your dog's leash and tennis ball from the closet. But thanks to videos of people playing with their dogs, scientists now know what words you are likely to use. They also discovered how women's tussling and tug-of-war are different from men's—and what the professionals do better. The scientists are Alexandra Horowitz and Julie Hecht of Barnard College's Dog Cognition Lab. They asked members of the public to send them videos of playtime with their dogs. The researchers ended up with 187 videos from dog owners in 19 different countries. The humans in the videos ranged from 8 to 75 years old. Analyzing the videos, Horowitz and Hecht saw all the classic types of dog play: roughhousing, chasing, fetch, tug-of-war. They also saw some more innovative techniques, like using a laser pointer. The researchers transcribed everything ...