Scottish dogs are barking to imitate their master's voice

Scottish dogs are barking to imitate their master's voice

IT may sound barking mad, but researchers today claimed that dogs imitate their owners' accents.

A study has found similarities between a dog's yap or growl and how their owners speak.

Scientists claim pet dogs of all breeds gradually develop a "voice" that differs depending on where they live.

Tracy Gudgeon, from the Canine Behaviour Centre in Cumbria said: "What I did notice was differences in pitch and tone between the different dogs.

"The Scottish dog was quite distinctive. There was a lighter tone to the bark."

"I also noticed that in terms of pitch the Liverpudlian dog was higher then the rest of the sample."

Dog owners were asked to record a short message on an answer phone, and then encourage their pets to do the same.

Experts then compared the sounds, and found the dogs made different noises depending on how their owners spoke and where they lived.

They found a Labrador from Merseyside recorded in the survey had a higher pitched bark than would be expected from a breed with a deep growl.

The survey also found the closer the bond between the dogs and their owners, the more likely that their accents would be similar.

Urban folklore has long held that dogs look like their owners.