Isn’t music the antidote to a bad mood, loneliness or
just a gloomy day? Music has the ability to soothe, to energize and to
rejuvenate moods. It works like magic, right?
Is this the same for dogs? Have you ever wondered do
dogs like music?
So, you’re sitting in your room, playing music, doing
some work, and suddenly your dog starts howling. Don’t freak out, this is the
way your dog responds to music it likes.
After all, doesn’t it feel marvelous to have music
playing in the background and your dog is humming along to it? And it is just
you and your furry friend enjoying each beat of the song, making memories.
Indeed, wonderful.
It can be surprising but this isn’t new. Dogs have a
long history of liking music and there have been so many researches conducted on
this as well.
Dogs are one of the smartest animals on earth. But
this differs from breed to breed as well. But they can hear music and they have
favorite genres too!
Keep on reading to find out Do Dogs like Music? And
more about it!
S>Signs That Your Dog is Hearing Music
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Your dog will react differently to different types of
music.
Dogs have this trait of associating sounds to
situations. The same goes for music. Interestingly, this is how memories are
made in their heads.
Sounds guide them, help them in predicting what will
happen next. And as goes with dogs, you know they love to be ready for what’s
next.
If you both having a good time and there’s music
playing in the background your dog will get happy and excited every time that
song plays on.
Dogs exhibit behavior like panting or jumping
excitedly or even barking when they listen to that particular song.
Research says dogs react to the tunes in the music in
a similar way that humans do. Dogs and heavy metal music are known enemies as
this makes them anxious and frustrated. Dogs start to bark very loud when heavy
metal music is played.
Dogs are big fans of classical music. It is known to
make dogs peaceful and calm and often put them to sleep.
With classical music playing in the room, you’ll see
that your dog is barking lesser and not as rambunctious. Dogs do not respond to
normal human conversations or pop music.
Dogs are very alert and attentive in their daily
surrounding but these songs do not make much of a difference. Your dog might
perk its ears for a brief moment and then continue doing what they were doing.
There is a change in their body language when they are
listening to music. Dogs will be alert, bark, howl, perk their ears up or pant
excitedly.
They also appear less anxious, become quiet and stop
what they are doing. If you see your dog doing any of these, it’s reacting to the
music.
His> History of Dogs Listening to Music
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As we all know,
dogs are direct descendants of wolves. Dogs are, in fact, domesticated wolves.
Over 150 centuries ago, there were two species on this planet who were
independent of each other.
The humans and the wolves then got together and the
wolves were the first animals to be domesticated by humans.
Wolves have an impressive sense of smell and hearing.
Wolves can hear sounds from more than six miles away.
However, dogs do not have the same hearing abilities
as the wolves but that is mostly because they don’t need it.
Hunting dogs have higher hearing abilities such as the Labrador,Dachshund and the English Setter than normal dogs.
But that does not mean dogs have unbefitting hearing.
Dogs can hear sounds between 67 Hz to 40,000 Hz. Humans can only hear between
20 Hz to 20,000 Hz.
Dogs have much better hearing than humans and are
capable of hearing specific things. When they listen to music, they hear each
instrument played in the song at its particular frequency.
This is exactly why they react to different types of
music differently.
The Scien>The Science Behind Dogs Listening To Music
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The science part of this can be quite fascinating. Did
you know dogs have a total number of eighteen muscles in their ears? That’s twelve
more than the human ear muscles!
These muscles are adjusted according to the sound they
are hearing. They also adjust their ears to the direction of the sound they are
listening to. These features exist in dogs for a really long time and make them
alert and agile.
Dogs are very well versed in associating sounds with
moods and events. With the help of this, they can easily predict what is going
to happen next. They can even derive the meaning of a situation from a song,
once they’ve heard it a lot of times.
Can I Train M>Can I Train My Dog To Listen To Music?
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Dog training is extremely vital. It helps stimulate
them mentally and also increases their intelligence and brain capacity further.
Dogs who are well trained are smarter and sharper even with age. They are also
alert and understand their environment better.
But the bigger benefit here is that is increases
closeness and trust between you two, making a bond that is unbreakable.
If you want to train your dog to listen to, or baby
steps, react to music; the first thing to do would be to introduce them to it.
If you want to make your dog listen to the new song you have just discovered,
playing it often can create positive associations while the music plays, the
dog understands you’re having a good time.
Try swaying confidently and acting as if you are
having such a good time listening to music. Well, you don’t have to act if it
is your favorite song. But let your dog know that this is your jam.
Teach your dog to imitate you by dancing around him or
smiling too much and playing with him. This way, your dog will react happily
after seeing you happy.
With time, your dog will be able to link this music or
song with these fond memories that you both when this music plays.
If you want to take it to the next level and want your
dog to learn a command when a song play, grab some treats and give him a pat on
the back if they follow it!
There are a few people who teach their dog to dance on
songs with certain choreographies. But this could take a while, it is worth the
effort though.
Start small by introducing your dog to music. Doing so
in the puppy years will definitely be easier but that does not mean you cannot
do this later. Dogs are capable of learning new, different things all their
life.
If you want to succeed in this mission, you have to be
consistent though. No off days. Ending these pieces of training with treats,
hugs and some games of fetch can really as it will form positive memories. It
will also strengthen the bond you two share.
Dogs tend to respond very poorly to negative treatment
or punishments. They understand when you are happy with them and it is much
better for both of you.
Understand that dogs love to be loved and they are
mentally much better when they are treated and trained positively.
What Type of Musi>What Type of Music Do Dogs Like?
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A study was
conducted by the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty of Animals
(SPCA) where the researchers from the University of Glasgow played songs from
different genres of music.
This was done in a shelter home in Dumbarton,
Scotland. These results show that dogs spent most of the time resting on the
floor whilst the music was being played, despite the genre.
But some dogs had their own preferences too. Their
reactions to the genres are were mixed and this brought to light the
possibility that dogs can have different tastes in music.
The behavioral and psychological changes that were exhibited
by dogs were very prominent when they were introduced to different variations
in music.
Rock
Dogs like rock music. Rock music has two variants:
Hard Rock and Soft Rock.
Your dog will not like hard rock music. It is said
that hard rock music makes dogs stressed and anxious. It is almost the same as
their reaction to death metal.
Dogs like soft rock music. It is calm, soothing and
will not cause any harm to the ears of dogs. Soft rock music induces feelings
of ease and lowers their heart rate by 40-60 beats per min and also makes them
happy.
But be careful that you introduce them to soft rock
music. They will definitely love to groove to some soft rock music tunes.
Reggae
Chances are your dog will LOVE Reggae. It is a given.
Whilst curating a playlist for your dog, make sure it is ninety percent Reggae.
No settlements.
In the study conducted by the SPCA, when they played
Reggae music, dogs were more relaxed and chipper.
They were lying down on the ground with their eyes
which was a telltale sign that these pooches loved this music.
So, you know what that means right? Your dog is a Bob
Marley fan. This is literally the coolest thing ever!
Heavy Metal
Dogs and Heavy Metal are two things that do not get
along at all. Studies indicate that listening to heavy metal makes dogs shaky
and extremely anxious.
This also makes them bark very loudly, disturbing
others. This also means that if you are a Black Sabbath or Metallica fan you
will have to jam to your loud and obnoxious music through earphones only.
Pop
Pop music is like a white noise machine for dogs. They
are completely unaffected by it. It isn’t revolting nor calming; hence they do
not react to this genre of music.
Pop music could be playing in the background and your
dog will go on about his business. It doesn’t stress them out but it doesn’t
induce any peace either.
Experts suggest that dogs identify pop music with
human conversations and hence remain unbothered with it. Also, this genre of
music is more commonly played and hence it does not alarm or alert dogs.
Motown
Dogs love Motown music. Motown music has a strong and
steady four drum beat. It has a lot of strings and horns sounds and complex
chord changed with sophisticated melodies.
They love this music because it is similar to reggae.
Dogs also dance to Motown music sometimes!
Classical
music
This is hands
down the all-time favorite music genre of dogs. Remember the movie, Beethoven?
The Saint
Bernard in the movie howls along to the music that plays on
the television. Adorable!
Classical
music helps in reducing stress and anxiety levels, improve their mood, reduce
blood pressure. There is a significant positive change in their behavior.
The effect of
classical music doesn’t last too long. Once the song is over, your dog might
bark and howl as a sign that you must play the music again.
It also
regulates their reactions. The melodies and rhythm of the classical music that
dogs are fond of.
So, you can
say that dogs are old-school that way.
The Playlist
The Playlistspotify aligncenter wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-spotify wp-embed-aspect-9-16 wp-has-aspect-ratio">
Overview
>Overview on, do dogs like music?
Yes! Dogs
like to listen to music. They like to howl or softly growl to their favorite
tunes.
You can
introduce your dog to music in a lot of different ways. But make sure you the
music is calming and soothing. They get very anxious when introduced to music
that is loud and fast.
Fret not
while exposing your dog to Bob Marley, Toots and the Maytals or Augustus Pablo.
Your dog will certainly be into that. You can find few playlists for dogs on Spotify
too.
Music can
really bring you and your dog together. Dogs use sounds and associate them with
memories.
So, if you
had a good time, played a few games of fetch or treated your dog whilst
listening to music, your dog will remember the song. Dogs are very intelligent
and have relatively higher hearing capabilities.
