Tom Read Wilson creates a doggy dictionary

Dogs are well known for their unrivalled ability to pick up on human emotions. Whether you’re excited, sad, or happy, our mood will often determine a certain reaction from our furry friends.

But it’s not only emotion our dogs pick up on; they also have very acute hearing, leading to trigger words like ‘Walkies’ and ‘vets’ sparking emotion within our dogs. But it’s not always positive reactions we get from our dogs, especially with negative trigger words like ‘Bath time’ or ‘vets’.

In fact, two-thirds of owners (56%) find it difficult to get to the vets due to their pet’s anxiety, with one-third (32%) admitting to using code words when referring to the vets to ease their dog’s fears.

‘Visit to Dr. Barker’ or the ‘Dogters’ are just some of the phrases owners resort to, with new research from Petplan showing a quarter of dog owners (25%) see their dog run away upon hearing the word ‘vet’ and 3 in 10 (30%) actively avoid a visit to the vet due to stress.

Aston spoke to lexicologist Tom Read Wilson and vet Dr Brian Faulkner.

Photo by Berkay Gumustekin on Unsplash