How owners talk to their dogs: Researchers reveal 25 most common words

Ask any dog owner and they'll tell you – when it comes to playtime, certain phrases are guaranteed to get a reaction. Researchers from Barnard College combed through almost 200 videos of dog-human play sessions to find out more about this unique type of interaction. The team was able to determine the 35 words that people use most frequently when playing with their dogs, and also discovered that women were more likely than men to play hands-on. Ask any dog owner and they'll tell you – when it comes to playtime, certain phrases are guaranteed to get a reaction. This resulted in more than 30 common play routines, including tug, fetch, roughhousing, and even teasing.