An American Animal Hospital Assoc. poll found that 33% of dog owners admit to talking to their dogs on the phone and leaving answering machine messages for them while away.
FWIW, when I've been out of town on business trips and I call my husband, he would hold the phone to our dog's head and I will call the dog's name and tell him to "sit" or "down", and my husband says the dog will look quizzically at the phone and then actually do whatever it was I said!!
Wow! I should try that next time my husband is away on a business trip. See how the dogs will respond to his voice. But first I have to figure out how to turn on the speaker phone :doghuh: