Music more relaxing than others for dogs
It was Deborah Wells, a psychologist at Queens University Belfast, who became interested in the "musical preferences" of our canine friends by exposing shelter dogs to different types of music and by studying their reaction.
The psychologist played them a compilation of pop music (including Bob Marley, Robbie Williams and Britney Spears), classical music (including Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" , "The Four Seasons" by Vivaldi and Grieg's "Morning" ) and heavy metal (like Metallica). In order to test whether the dogs were really responding to the music, she also exposed them to recordings of human conversations and periods of silence.
Dogs reacted very differently to the three types of music. Pop music had no noticeable effect on them, nor did human conversation, while heavy metal created chaos among the animals in the shelter. The dogs became very agitated and started barking. In contrast, classical music seemed to have a calming effect on them. By listening to it, their barking level reduced and the dogs tended to lie down.
In 2019, a study conducted on dogs used for clinical experiments at American universities showed that classical music can even have physiological effects on dogs, by improving their heart rate variability.
The relaxing effect of classical music in dogs has also been confirmed by various previous experiments.
To have calming effects, however, the music should not exceed 50 to 60bpm and a sound level of 55+/-5 DB so as not to offend the dog's hearing sensitivity.It is possible to find compilations of free music that are relaxing and suitable for dogs on Ikea Pet Tunes.
Note!
Classical music has a relaxing effect on dogs, but only if your dog is used to it. Listening to classical music to a dog who has never listened to it before will not necessarily be a positive or relaxing experience for him, quite the contrary! To get him used to music, you can play classical music at low volume while he's still a puppy and during pleasant moments for him (playtime, cuddles or when he eats).In addition, the relaxing effect of classical music has its limits! Don't rely on background music alone to soothe a dog with severe separation anxiety. While music can help your dog relax in this specific case, it is far from enough. It will absolutely have to be associated with detachment behavior therapy.
Why do dogs howl when they hear certain music?
It's not uncommon for a dog to howl while your favorite song is playing on the radio or while you're playing a musical instrument. The Youtube platform also has a lot of videos where you can hear and admire the vocal prowess of our domestic canines. But why do they start “singing” when listening to a piece of music?
Well, today, we don't yet know precisely, although several hypotheses could well explain this "singing dog" phenomenon.
Dogs' and humans' hearing is about the same at low frequencies (between 20 and 250 Hz) but they hear high-pitched sounds differently than we do.
When dogs howl when listening to music, it is possible that they are only responding to sounds of the music that only they hear and that they take for howling other animals.Howling is actually a form of communication - inherited from their ancestors and cousins the wolves - with a social function (just like barking in response to the barking of other dogs). The dog then simply feels the need to respond to what it takes for a fellow howl.
The music that most often causes a dog to howl is produced by wind instruments, especially reed instruments, such as clarinets or saxophones. Sometimes dogs may howl in response to a long note on the violin or a human holding a long note while singing.
This phenomenon could be maintained by the fact that one shows enthusiasm when the dog begins to sing and that, in doing so, this encourages him to repeat.
The other probable reason is that certain noises can hurt their ears, in the same way as sirens or fireworks can also trigger howls. This signal can also be its way of telling us to turn the volume down.
The potential beneficial effect of classical music on heart rate variability in dogs used in veterinary training, LS Koster & al. Journal of Veterinary Behavior 2019.