Converse with (Pet name)

I would think it helps to build the relationship between pet and owner. I talk to my Beagles all of the time. I especially let them know when they are getting a shot at the Vets office and when my hubby goes off on a 'Field Job' when he will be back. It is said a dog can understand language as well as a human three-year-old child. Why they use the fifty-cent word, converse, over talk is beyond me. But okay.