Bukovza adds that, just like with humans, it’s not only genre that matters for dogs, but volume. “Music can soothe, upset, or put your dog in a playful mood, depending on the type of music and the volume,” she explains. “Also, remember that dogs’ ears are much more sensitive than humans’, so be sure not to play any music too loudly.”
The study also found that the effect of habituation — acclimation to a new stimulus, like a certain genre of music — on dogs may be reduced by increasing the variety of music. In other words, if your dog seems stressed by a certain type of music, you might want to play a mixture of different genres, says Dr. Ochoa, making sure to include the type of music you want your dog to like throughout. Then, slowly increase the number of times that specific type of music is played in the mix until your dog is okay with it.
I truly never knew that dogs listening to music was a thing until I started dog-sitting in L.A. As an owner left me with her poodle, Jimmy, she asked me to play Beethoven for him, especially if he started to bark or pace back and forth. As soon as she left, Jimmy indeed barked. And barked. And barked. But when I turned the music on, he stopped and laid on the couch. Magic. (“Moonlight Sonata” was his favorite — he’d go lie down in his bed for it — and I can’t listen to it now without thinking about him.) When Beethoven would end, Jimmy would bark, and we’d listen to it again.
When choosing music for your dog, Bukovza also says to keep in mind that, since an adult dog has approximately the intelligence of a human toddler, a good rule of thumb is to consider whether you would play this music for a baby. “Pay attention to your dog’s reaction when you’re around. Some dogs have been known to howl along to their favorite songs,” he says. “If your dog shakes, whimpers, or pants as music is played, it’s making them anxious and needs to be changed, lowered, or turned off.”
He cites other research, too, that concluded that classical music calmed down dogs more so than other types of auditory stimulation, such as human conversation, heavy metal music, and pop music. “And, from experience, here is what I know: If music can calm me down, then it can calm my dog(s) down.”
A dog’s sense of hearing
Before we talk about the music dogs like, we want to explain more about a dog’s sense of hearing. As you probably know, dogs can hear higher frequencies than we do, which is something to consider before playing your favorite song to your pup.
Humans have a hearing range of 20 to 20,000 hertz, while dog hearing range goes from 47 to 44,000 hertz. Since dogs can hear such high frequencies, it’s important to know that they’re not favorable to high volumes. It’s better to play them light music than something too loud.
You probably already noticed that your dog gets afraid of thunder, noisy vehicles, firecrackers, and other loud sounds. They commonly shiver and cling to you when they get scared of noises, so keep that in mind before playing them a noisy song.
Music can be calming for certain dogs, especially if you play them the song they like. According to a study in 2017, the music pups like the most were reggae and soft rock. Both have slower tones that calm dogs and help them to relax.
Another study, “Music’s Effect on Dogs’ Heart Rates,” had tests to see how dogs react and what happens with their heart rates when you play them the music of different genres. When they listened to classical music, the dogs had lower heart rates. They were calmer, sleeping more, and barking less. Also, the study showed that jazz music relaxed the pups while rap and rock would cause stress and make them anxious.That’s why these are some of the favorite genres of canines:
WASHINGTON — Do dogs have a favorite kind of music? A new study suggests they do.
So this time, researchers mixed it up and found the dogs reacted well to any kind of music, but on an individual basis, and professor Neil Evans said, “the response to different genres was mixed, highlighting the possibility that like humans, our canine friends have their own individual music preferences.”
Researchers from the Scottish SPCA and the University of Glasgow played a variety of genres of music — soft rock, Motown, pop, reggae and classical — for dogs at a shelter in Dumbarton, Scotland, and tracked their heart rates and behavior, the BBC reports.
Overall, the dogs’ two favorite genres were reggae and soft rock — perhaps good advice for what to leave on when leaving your four-footed friends alone at home.
This research builds on an earlier study, which found that the dogs like classical music, but only for a short time — as little as a day in some cases, the BBC reported at the time.
Soothing Music to Relax Your Dog! Calm Your Dog and Combat Anxiety!
Have you ever noticed how your dog loves listening to some songs but is not a big fan of others? Like us, dogs have music preferences, so they won’t like every tune that we do.
There have been numerous studies that have explored almost everything connected with a dog’s taste in music. Famous platforms like Spotify have even published playlists solely meant for dogs!