Does your dog really like music? The truth according to science
I’ve frequently worried about whether or not my dog likes Bruce Springsteen, because if he doesn’t, he must hate living with me.
If you’ve had a puppy before, you know how difficult the initial period after you bring them home is. Whenever you aren’t in the room, whether that’s because you’ve gone to the toilet, another room, or tried to go to sleep, you are met with a chorus of whimpering and scratching at the door. We constantly try to embed independence within them, given you don’t want to raise a dog with separation anxiety, but you also don’t want to hear them crying all the time.
If you’re a dog owner like me, then your internet history will have been littered with questions about the best way to calm your dog down during this stressful period. Some people say that you should do things in small stages. For instance, if you want them to sleep in a crate, you should put the crate in your room, then the hallway, then a different room altogether. Other sources suggest leaving an item of your clothing in the crate so they still have your scent. Then other sources suggest you leave some music on for your dog.
These little bastards used to hunt. They used to live in the wild, essentially wolves, forced to fend for themselves, find food, shelter and generally survive. Now, thanks to evolution and a crippling fear of loneliness, I’m sat next to a dog who has a cage full of my clothes and cuddly toys, trying to pick the perfect playlist for it to listen to. What’s happened to us?
It begs the question, though, is there any science to back the idea that music can help soothe dogs? Expanding on that, as well as merely finding something soothing, can a dog recognise the difference between music that they like and music that they don’t? Are there some pooches who will only listen to Bon Jovi? Do they like the song ‘Who Let The Dogs Out’? Or do they find it derivative? So many questions, so little time.
So, does your dog actually like music?
The short answer is yes, your dog does like and dislike music in the same way that you do. Amy Campbell, the co-founder of Behave Atlanta, said that “Some dogs may like one type of music but not another.” Your dog will likely form listening habits depending on what their owner listens to, as such, every animal has their own distinctive taste. That being said, there are some genres of music that do better with dogs than others.
Classical music is the genre that seems to appeal to dogs the most. It has been proven to soothe an anxious dog in certain instances. However, as Campbell quite rightly points out, it does depend on the kind of classical music you play your dog. “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.” Generally speaking, the classical music would need to be sweet sounding and soft.
There are also some genres that dogs seem to respond most negatively to. Anything too heavy such as rock music and metal tend to make dogs stand up and start barking. As previously mentioned, it does vary on a case by case basis, but generally speaking, dogs are more drawn to calm and soothing classical music.
