Pet-directed speech, or companion animal-directed speech, is defined as a person speaking directly to an animal and distinguished by a higher pitch and pitch variation. In this recent study published in Vet Record, an online survey and snowball sampling were used to evaluate the use of pet-directed speech and how its use affected clients’ opinions about veterinarians. Of the 400 respondents, most (87%) were non-veterinary professionals who owned at least 1 dog (76%).
This week, I spoke with Mickey McDermott, PhD, senior vice president of strategy at Circa Healthcare, and Louise Corah, PhD, MRCVS, assistant professor of veterinary education at University of Nottingham School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, about the study.
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Q: Free-text responses to the survey were grouped into 4 themes: “pet at the center,” “not just words,” “include the owner,” and “impressions of the veterinarian.” These 4 themes emphasize the role of pet-directed speech in the veterinarian-client-patient relationship and its ability to strengthen that relationship. Would you consider that to be an accurate summation of pet-directed speech and its potential?
Dr. Corah: Definitely, and it demonstrates the importance of pet-directed speech as a key part of the approach to the veterinarian-client-patient interaction. Clients are making judgements about their veterinarian based upon the interaction with the pet about a whole range of things from their clinical abilities to how they feel about their job. When the pet is included in the consultation, the vast majority (86%) of respondents to our survey reported being more likely to choose to see that veterinarian again. This shows just how important it is for supporting the veterinarian-client relationship. The caveat is that this is, to our knowledge, the first study to look at clients’ experiences with and attitudes toward pet-directed-speech; and it was a preliminary study with 400 respondents. Further exploration with both clients and veterinarians will likely be necessary, but this study was an important first step to expanding our understanding of the role and importance of pet-directed speech in veterinary communication.
Q: A communication style that places the pet at the center displays a sentiment that the pet is an extension of the owner and that the pet “understands on some level.” Beyond words, pet-directed speech considers tone and volume of speech as well as body language and actions—with the avoidance of “baby talk.” Keeping that in mind, do you have any clinical recommendations for veterinarians regarding the employment of pet-directed speech?
Dr. McDermott: Further studies are needed before concrete recommendations can be made about if and how pet-directed speech could be most effectively employed in clinical practice and communication training. That said, in our study, the respondents felt that veterinarians speaking to their pet had a positive influence not only on the vet-client relationship but also on their pet and, overall, was considered to be a good thing by the majority of respondents. To us, this supports the recommendation to “involve the animal(s)” as detailed by the Calgary-Cambridge Guide for veterinary consultations. With respect to how veterinarians may achieve this during a consultation, they should approach the patient empathetically and remain sensitive to the bond between the client and their pet.
Q: In this survey, 65% of respondents answered that it was “very important or extremely important” that a veterinarian speak directly to their pet. And 86% of respondents indicated that they were more likely to see a veterinarian again who spoke directly to their pet. Yet pulling away from pet-directed speech, many respondents stressed the importance of addressing the client for clinical communications. Did those findings align with your hypothesis?
Dr. Corah: Absolutely. We felt before the study, and maintain today, that addressing the client directly is essential for ensuring a shared understanding of a veterinarian’s findings and recommendations, and for working toward a shared decision in which both the veterinarian and client are confident and informed. However, it’s not an “either-or” situation. Pet-directed speech, in our opinion, is just one aspect of effective client communication within the veterinary consultation.
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Q: Do you have any suggestions for future research about pet-directed speech?
Dr. McDermott: Research with a larger sample of pet owners could help substantiate or clarify our study’s findings, whilst research exploring veterinarians’ attitudes toward pet-directed speech could form a more complete picture of its role and value. Various studies have reported using functional MRI imaging to explore how dogs process human speech. Using the same methodology to assess how animals process pet-directed speech as typically employed in the consultation is yet to be explored and could help define the content and tone of speech that provide the greatest benefit to our patients.
Q: Is there anything you would like our readers to know that has not been mentioned?
Dr. Corah: Pet-directed speech is one interesting piece of a complex puzzle of veterinarian-client-patient communication. We believe the role it plays among all the other elements of veterinary communication is worth knowing more about.
Read the full study
Pet-directed speech strengthens the veterinarian-client-patient relationship: results from a pet owner survey.
McDermott MP, Corah L. Vet Rec | doi:10.1002/vetr.70500