Phenomenal Ways Music Affects Animals

Dogs, well before being bred for humans, maintained their acute sense of smell, sight and hearing from their wild ancestors. Due to that fact, as written in the Journal of Veterinary Behavior, Lori R. Kogan, Regina Schoenfeld-Tacher, Allen A. Simon, scientists at University of Colorado, tested the theory that music has an indelible impact on dog’s behavior. The premise that dogs in kennel environments are prone to extreme stress, in which the animals exhibit obsessive compulsive behaviour (o.c.d.), aggressiveness, withdrawal and numerous other psychological problems; moreover, due to the continuous, varied types and amounts of extraneous noise from kennel handlers, external machine sounds, doors opening and closing, dogs vocalizing and many other noticeable auditory sounds stress related behaviours tend to increase exponentially.

The researchers noted, in the study, that those stressors are unwanted for physiological, moral and ethical reasons. Kogan and co. focused on the effects of classical music and heavy metal on kennelled dogs sleep patterns; how active the animals remained; further, how their obsessive compulsive behaviour of head and body shaking increased.

Their conclusion at the end of the study, not surprisingly, confirmed that classical music had a more calming effect on the dogs which enabled the animals to sleep more consistently and curtailed nervous barking and other vocalizations. On the other hand, heavy metal tended to increase such unwanted behaviours as nervous shaking and constant vocal expressions through barks, whines and whimpers. Metal music also adversely affected the ability to rest through the night.

It appears that the motives of Lori R. Kogan, Regina Schoenfeld-Tacher, Allen A. Simon to conduct the study was for noble reasons. The scientists appeared to have a genuine concern for dogs to be kept humanely under inhumane conditions. Since it is unavoidable for strays to be held captive in shelters and that some owners must, occasionally, put their dogs in kennels, this behavioural study might help to make the conditions more favourable. Further, their concern for research animals perpetually enclosed in cages are subjected to unnecessary stress according to the Journal of Veterinary Behaviour. Because dogs are social animals, these restrictive environments are counter-intuitive to the nature innate nature. Sadly, Kogan and co. emphasized that, according a study done by Dreschel, 2010, in their article, "The effects of fear and anxiety on health and lifespan in pet dogs," the adverse conditions of impounded animals drastically cuts their lifespan short.

The researchers who conducted the study stated that the negative effects of heavy metal music had a similar effect on humans as well as dogs due to the fact that it exacerbated stress and caused subjects to sleep less and exhibit, overall, unsettled behaviour. Contrary to the sounds of heavy metal, classical music provided a more tranquil atmosphere that lead to more calm and relaxed research subjects. Kogan and co. realized that the sounds of classical music also had a positive effect on kennel employees and, residually, on customers who come to adopt dogs. Apparently, classical music aids in a more positive work environment. In sum, the experimenters reported that it is in the best interest of the animals and workers to emphatically avoid playing heavy metal music.

According to a web article at Phys.org," Classical music calms shelter dogs," Lori Kogan suggested that she will conduct her next study on the effects of music in veterinary centers and how it impacts recovery from surgical procedures as well.

I look forward to reading about the results of Kogan’s new study and plan to share them with you soon.