Dogs Like It With Reggae
I would love to get paid to do this kind of study, a study that involves music and animals? It has to be cute and fun! There is a new research published by the Scottish SPCA, Scotland’s animal welfare charity in partnership with University of Glasgow, that reveals that dogs have a favorite when it comes to music, and it may surprise you: it’s soft rock and reggae!
PhD student Amy Bowman explained: ‘The research, which took place at the Scottish SPCA centre in Dumbarton, clearly shows that music has an effect on a dog’s behavior. We were keen to explore the effect playing different genres of music had, and it was clear that the physiological and behavioral changes observed were maintained during the trial when the dogs were exposed to a variety of music.’
These different genres were soft rock, Motown, pop, reggae and classical music and the study suggests that dogs spent ‘significantly more time lying and significantly less time standing’ when music was played, regardless of genre, which means they were more relaxed when they were hearing music. Then, by measuring their heart rate, researchers found a decrease in stress levels when music was played, particularly when it was soft rock or reggae!
The Scottish SPCA now wants to invest in sound systems for all its kennels, but there is also this more nuanced analysis proposed by Professor Neil Evans: ‘Overall, the response to different genres was mixed highlighting the possibility that like humans, our canine friends have their own individual music preferences..That being said, reggae music and soft rock showed the highest positive changes in behavior.’
It means more studies are needed! May be we will soon see music in kennels everywhere, with a variety of genres according to dogs’ tastes. I wonder if German Shepherds have the same tastes than Huskies or Border Collies or French Poodles or Chihuahua….? Does it vary according to the dog variety? I want to know.
