Music for Dogs

One of the many influences music has upon us is its impact on our moods. Each of us has different tastes in music and listens to different types of music depending on what kind of mood we are in. We may even change the type of music to change our mood, but how about dogs? What kind of influence does music have in dogs?

The research to study how dogs respond to certain types of music or sound was conducted in the United Kingdom. Fifty male and female dogs in a shelter were used as subjects. Researchers provided them five different types of aural stimuli – pop music, heavy metal, classical music, human conversation and no sound. They found that dogs rested more and were more relaxed and calm while classical music was being played than any other aural stimuli. Dogs made more movement such as jumping and pacing and barked more while heavy metal was being played.

Researchers concluded that playing classical music may create a less stressful environment to dogs. These dogs are living in a shelter environment, which could be stressful time to time. So how does this research apply to our dogs? Many of our dogs are left alone at home when we are at work during the day. These dogs often engage in destructive behavior due to stress caused by separation anxiety or simply from boredom. If we play classical music while they are left alone, would it help to relax them? It may be worth a try!