Absolutely! I'm always telling him how handsome he is. Sometimes I confide in him as well....and just vent to him about whatever is going on in my life.
However, as an introvert, I love that I can be with my dog and say nothing at all. I think we communicate with dogs a lot more through our body language than through the spoken word, but as primates we hopelessly fall back on verbal language.
Anyway, I cherish him both as a 'listener' and a 'quiet time' buddy.