How do speak to your pets?

I've never had a dog. However during my lifetime I have been owned by a few different dogs.

I always remember that and speak to them as such

 

It depends on the animal and what's going on. As a vet tech, I interact with a bunch of different animals in various states on a daily basis. I generally converse with or question my own cats, for whom I have an absurd amount of nicknames (fluffer nutter may be my favorite- I have the dopiest persian (super fluffy), who is about the color of peanut butter).

When I talk to my patients, I tend to repeat everything twice. No idea why. I only noticed this when looking at videos I took at work and since becoming conscious of it have made an effort to stop doing it quite so much. I also notice that I grit my teeth when talking to animals. Again, not sure why I do that, but I started feeling how much it made my jaw ache after I realized I was doing it. If they are nervous, my voice becomes soothing, sometimes even whispering in their ear. When a patient is excited to be there, I try to match their enthusiasm. I tend to have a set of nicknames I call my patients too (bug, bud, buddy boy, baby girl, sweetie pie, mush, goof).

Even if a client mentions that their pet is deaf, I still talk to them purely out of habit. I think it does more for us than it does for them sometimes!