Ever put on some music before leaving your house so your dog wouldn’t feel so alone while you were gone?
Some dogs, especially those who experience separation anxiety, may feel comforted by soothing tunes, but it depends on the type of music you choose. Animals may be less stressed or anxious when exposed to classical music, according to Tristan Rehner-Fleurant, CBCC-KA, Senior Director of Behaviour Rehabilitation at the ASPCA Behavioral Rehabilitation Center.
But dogs have different preferences, just like people. “Some dogs may like one type of music but not another,” explains Amy Campbell, CPDT-KA, co-founder of Behave Atlanta.
So how do you know which music to play—or whether your dog wants to listen at all? Read on to find out.
Do Dogs Like Music?
Research exploring how dogs feel about music remains limited, but some evidence suggests classical music can help calm some dogs. Experts found that dogs spent more time resting and sleeping and less time vocalising when classical music played in the background.
That said, Campbell notes that not all classical music has the same effect. “If you think of something like Tchaikovsky’s War of 1812, you know that music can sound like cannon fire, and that is not calming.”
According to other studies, heavy metal and rock music may have the opposite effect: When listening to these types of music, dogs began to bark, vocalise, and stand up.
Can Music Help Anxious Or Bored Dogs?
Music can have a positive effect on health and behaviour for many species, and research does suggest that dogs show calmer behaviour when music is playing, explains Janet Cutler, PhD, CAAB, owner of Landmark Behaviour.
It’s important to keep in mind, though, that most research exploring the effects of music on dog behaviour has taken place in more stressful environments like shelters, vet clinics, and kennels, not necessarily within a home.
How to help an anxious dog with music
If you want to play some calming music before leaving your dog alone, Cutler advises doing a trial run and checking for signs of calm behaviour while that music plays.
Signs of calmness in dogs include:
- Lying down
- Sleeping
- Resting
- Chewing a toy or playing quietly—the specific behaviour may depend on your dog
A dog who isn’t feeling calm, on the other hand, may:
To learn which type of music calms your dog the most, Cutler suggests:
- Paying attention to their behaviour: Monitoring your dog’s behaviour, in-person or over video, while different types of music play can help you figure out which genre is most relaxing for your dog. Then, you can compare these results to how they react to a quiet environment to find out which your dog prefers.
- Check for room avoidance: If your dog avoids rooms where you’re playing music, they may prefer a different type of music—or quiet!
- Find the right noise level: Dogs can have different perceptions of music based on their head shape and size. To find the noise level that works best for your dog, start with a low volume and increase just a little at a time. If your dog begins to show signs of discomfort, the music is likely too loud.
What Type Of Music Do Dogs Like Best?
Music preference can vary from dog to dog, just as it does for people. It’s possible your dog might even like the same music as you do!
According to Rehner-Fleurant, dogs have a great ability to get used to music or noises in their environment. So, your dog may acclimate to your preferred genre of music, especially if they link it to other things they enjoy, like spending time with you.
Tips for finding your dog’s music of choice
Finding your dog’s favourite music, whether that’s Bach or Beyoncé, can be a fun experiment for you both to enjoy.
1. Keep the volume low
A dog’s hearing is different than yours and generally more sensitive, explains Rehner-Fleurant. “They can hear sounds farther away than we can. Dogs are also able to move their ears in ways we can’t to localise sounds and funnel them to the inner ear.”
For this reason, when experimenting with music, it’s a good idea to start with the volume audible, but low.
If your dog seems calm and relaxed or active and playful with the music at a low volume, you can increase the volume gradually. Just make sure to keep observing their behaviour and body language so you know they’re still comfortable.
2. Give them the option to leave
When you try out something new with your dog, you’ll want to give them the option to leave the room or avoid the new experience if they don’t enjoy it.
If they do leave to settle in another room, they may not like the music.
3. Observe their body language
To determine your dog’s preferred music, you can try playing a new kind of music in one room of your house and watch their body language and behaviour.
Things to pay attention to:
- Do they relax and settle?
- Do they seem interested in the sound?
- Do they seem more active and playful?
- Do they show any signs of fear or stress like panting, pinning their ears back, lowering their tail, or trembling?
- Do they leave the room?
4. Try different music in different rooms
You can even try playing two different types of music in two different areas of your home and note whether your dog spends more time hanging out in one room over the other.
What About Music That’s Just For Dogs?
Lisa Spector and her team knew anxious dogs responded well to classical music. They took this idea and created a collection of classical music specifically for dogs, called “Through a Dog’s Ear.”
As Spector explains, their arrangements simplify the range of classical music. “It’s lowered because lower frequencies calm the canine nervous system. It’s slowed down significantly to 40-60 beats per minute because that slows down their heart rate.”
Research has yet to find any additional benefit of playing music specifically designed for dogs, so “Through a Dog’s Ear” may work just as well to calm your dog as other types of classical music.
Do Dogs ‘Sing Along’ To Music?
Dogs sometimes sing along to music. “For some dogs, barking and howling is very fun,” Campbell says.
You can even encourage or discourage this behaviour depending on your own preference. If your pup loves belting out their favourite songs, you can encourage this behaviour by rewarding them with a treat or verbal cue when they perform this behaviour.
If you live in an apartment, your neighbours may not be too happy with your dog’s rendition of your favourite songs. To discourage this behaviour, you can offer your pup something else to do while the music is playing, like a puzzle toy or playtime outside.
Do Dogs Prefer Silence To Music?
Some dogs won’t relax to any genre of music and may prefer to not have any added stimulation.
“Dogs have much more sensitive hearing and can hear a wider range, so what we may perceive as silent may not be silent to them,” Campbell explains.
If your dog doesn’t seem to like any genre of music, you can also try using a noise machine that plays white, brown, or pink noise, including sounds like bird songs, waterfalls, waves, or rain showers. Some dogs may find the breaks between songs unsettling, and this type of noise doesn’t change like songs do.
White noise can also help mute outdoor noises, which can help your dog relax and prevent frequent barking, Campbell says.
Is Music Ever Bad For Dogs?
“For dogs who are noise reactive or noise sensitive, you will want to make sure that music doesn’t add any fear or anxiety or lead to other behaviour issues,” says Jessica Lockhart, PhD, CAAB, founder of Fairview Behavior Associates.
Lockhart notes that music can have a negative effect on dogs if:
- The volume is too high: It’s important to make sure the volume stays at an acceptable level for your dog’s ears. As dogs have more sensitive hearing than you, what you find too quiet may be a good volume for them.
- There is no break in music: Limiting the duration of music is important. Having music play for hours on end can stress out your dog, especially if they can’t move away from it.
- There is no escape from the music: Allowing your dog the freedom to approach or leave the music is important. If they have access to multiple rooms in the home, you can put music on in one room so they have the option to leave or enter at will.
Alternatives
If you find your dog doesn’t settle to any type of music and a white noise machine doesn’t help, you can also try playing an audiobook.
One study found that audiobooks had a stronger calming effect on dogs than classical music. This may be in part because audiobooks maintain the same tempo throughout, unlike a radio station or TV channel that switches between songs and programs.
Alternatively, finding a dog walker in your area to take your pup out for a walk can help them stay occupied while you run errands.
