September is Classical Music Month

Whether you have a taste for rock-n-roll, country, rap, or jazz, you know that music plays a key role in our human culture.  Music is a means of expression, it stimulates our memory, ignites our imagination, and serves as a universal language. But did you know that your dog likes music too?? And more than likely, he prefers classical music over heavy metal !

A study by Kogan, Schoenfeld-Tacher, & Simon published in the Journal of Veterinary Behavior in 2012, focused on the "Behavioral Effect of Auditory Stimulation on Kenneled Dogs."  Their results found that classical music increased the amount of time that the dogs spend sleeping and  heavy metal music increased the amount of body shaking and trembling, suggestive of nervousness and anxiety, in the kenneled dogs.

Noted Zoologist and Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist, Patricia McConnell PhD, documented in her dissertation ( Perspectives in Ethology  Volume 9. 1991), that short, rapidly repeated notes increased motor activity in working dogs and horses while long, continuous notes had a calming, soothing effects on the animals.

Although more scientific research is likely to be conducted on the benefits of certain types of music for dogs, music has been shown to decrease stress hormones, increase endorphins, facilitate healing, and decrease resting heart rates.  

Anecdotally, classical music has been used to: 

• Calm dogs in shelter and boarding environments
• Calm storm-phobic dogs
• Calm dogs who tend to get car sick and
• Calm dogs with separation anxiety

"Through a Dogs Ear" is a popular series of classical music offered at https://icalmpet.com.  If you think your dog Beethoven could benefit from the effects of classical music, check out their website.