An explosion of dog-friendly music is available to help calm anxious dogs as the season for fireworks approaches. But who knew reggae is such a hit?.
It begins with a somber string sweep in a minor key, then transitions into birdsong before returning to ambient strings. This continues for 12 hours.
The target audience for this music is dogs, not humans; to the untrained ear, it may sound like one of the sleep playlists that have become increasingly popular in recent years. Because there are canine-friendly frequencies incorporated into this calming (or annoying) muzak to help lower stress or separation anxiety.
Dog-themed music is quickly emerging as a lucrative new genre, with the production company RelaxMyDog at the forefront of the fad. The service, which was established in 2011 by businessman Amman Ahmed and producer Ricardo Henriquez, has 10 million monthly users and 600 years’ worth of content was streamed in just September.
This is RelaxMyDog’s busiest time of the year as the fireworks season of Bonfire Night, Diwali, and Thanksgiving approaches. There are numerous drugs and herbal remedies to calm pets, but Ahmed, 31, says he wanted to create something that was entirely natural and used music instead. We initially had a team of two, but now we have 12 employees spread across Manchester, UK, El Salvador, and India, and our audience is also worldwide. We’re on track to help roughly 15 million pets this year thanks to our content. ”.
There is a devoted fanbase thanks to the positive response to their music and sister company RelaxMyCat, which was founded in 2012. “We get messages from owners saying that their dog or cat used to listen to the music and now that their pet has passed away, they want it to be played at their funeral,” says Ahmed. Our content “becomes ingrained in these animals’ lives.” ”.
When asked about the nebulous musical formula that underlies their success, Ahmed is coy. “A range of frequencies that the dogs can hear, combined with music that is designed to be relaxing to humans, because if the human is relaxed, that energy can be projected on to the dog as well,” he claims, He claims that rather than using scientific research to inform their compositions, “the best research comes from actual users,” who regularly provide feedback through their 600,000 subscribers on their YouTube channel.
One of these comments was that dogs were responding favorably to reggae music, which prompted the creation of a new series of dog reggae songs. A 2017 study by the Scottish SPCA and the University of Glasgow supports this conclusion. According to the study, while classical music initially had a calming effect on the dogs, after a few days they started to get bored. Reggae and soft rock, on the other hand, were found to be the best genres for lowering stress levels, heart rates, and barking. Gilly Mendes Ferreira, the head of research at the SPCA, hypothesizes that this is the case because “those genres have a rhythm that is similar to the dogs’ own heart rate.” This music mimics how a stressed-out puppy will cuddle up to its mother and use her heartbeat as a source of comfort. ”.
The SPCA last year worked with producer John McLaughlin, best known for his work with Westlife, Blue, and 5ive, to create Paws, Play, Relax, a charitable record created for dogs, taking the research a step further. According to McLaughlin, “I’m sure a lot of people thought this project was barking mad, but it made total sense to me.” McLaughlin even wrote lyrics from the perspective of dogs, resulting in love ballad lines like: “I was barely holding on / But I knew you were the only one / From the moment I saw you.” McLaughlin said, “Dogs need to be entertained just like humans, and everybody likes a bit of reggae, don’t they?” ”.
McLaughlin is pleased with the outcomes: “We held a listening party where a number of my friends’ dogs visited the house and it definitely works,” he says. Some of those dogs can be quite excitable, but listening to this record helped to calm them down. ”.
On November 3, Classic FM will air a special program for animals, featuring songs with pet-related themes like John Barry’s Crazy Dog. Bill Turnbull, the host of the program and owner of three dogs, claims that despite evidence to the contrary, his dogs prefer Bob Marley to Mahler: “I leave the radio tuned to Classic FM for my dogs when I go out, and they seem to enjoy it.” They’ve certainly never complained. ”.
RelaxMyDog is now aiming higher after owners reported an 87% success rate. “Our long-term goal is to establish ourselves as Petflix, which is like Netflix for animals.” ”.
In order to better engage the dogs, Petflix features dog-themed visuals like walks through a forest with a purple filter, along with, of course, their favorite music. Its success is still unknown since it only debuted in October, but for the time being, Ahmed is concentrating on a more well-known, seasonal objective: “We’re releasing a Christmas album and I want it to reach No 1.” ”.
She enjoys reading, hiking with her two Cardigan Welsh Corgis, and paddleboarding when she’s not obsessing over dogs.
As Preventive Vets dog behavior expert and lead trainer at Pupstanding Academy, Cathy focuses on helping humans and their pets build a strong relationship based on trust, clear communication, and the use of positive reinforcement and force-free methods. With over 13 years of experience, she has had the opportunity to work with hundreds of dogs on a wide variety of training and behavior issues. Her specialties include dog aggression, resource guarding, separation anxiety, and puppy socialization.
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Cathy holds the CPDT-KA and CBCC-KA certifications from the Certification Council of Professional Dog Trainers. Cathy is a member of the Association of Professional Dog Trainers, the Pet Professional Guild, and the Dog Writers Association of America. She is also a Fear Free Certified Certified Professional.
Is There Music Made to Soothe Dogs?
Here are some options for relaxing music for dogs:
Some music is created specifically for canines and contains frequencies that can only be heard by canines. Although each dog may have their own musical preferences, the most significant calming elements in music are the tempo, length of the notes, simplicity of the tones, and regular rhythms.
RelaxMyDog is now aiming higher after owners reported an 87% success rate. “Our long-term goal is to establish ourselves as Petflix, which is like Netflix for animals.” ”.
Petflix entails dog-themed visuals, like walks through a forest, with a purple filter to engage the dogs further, paired of course with their favourite music. Having only launched in October, its success remains to be seen, but for now Ahmed is focusing on a more familiar, seasonal goal: “We’re releasing a Christmas album and I want it to reach No 1.”
When asked about the nebulous musical formula that underlies their success, Ahmed is coy. “A range of frequencies that the dogs can hear, combined with music that is designed to be relaxing to humans, because if the human is relaxed, that energy can be projected on to the dog as well,” he claims, He claims that rather than using scientific research to inform their compositions, “the best research comes from actual users,” who regularly provide feedback through their 600,000 subscribers on their YouTube channel.
On 3 November, Classic FM will be broadcasting a one-off show for pets, featuring themed numbers such as John Barry’s Crazy Dog. Despite the evidence of dogs’ preference for Bob Marley over Mahler, the show’s host (and owner of three dogs) Bill Turnbull says, “I leave the radio tuned to Classic FM for my dogs when I go out, and they seem to enjoy it. They’ve certainly never complained.”
With such an enthusiastic response to their music, and sister company RelaxMyCat founded in 2012, there is loyal fanbase: “We get messages from owners saying that their dog or cat used to listen to the music and now their pet has died they want it to be played at their funeral,” says Ahmed. “Our content becomes an ingrained part of the lives of these animals.”
FAQ
Does music calm dogs anxiety?
For your dog’s stress relief, you can turn on some music or some sort of white noise. Recent studies have demonstrated that playing music at animal shelters reduces stress in dogs, as evidenced by less barking, slower breathing rates, and lower cortisol levels
Do dogs prefer music or silence?
Research indicates that when dogs are stressed, music may help. A seminal study in 2002 compared how shelter dogs reacted to conversation, silence, heavy metal, pop, and classical music. Researchers discovered that dogs could be calmed by classical music.
Does music give dogs anxiety?
Dogs of all breeds frequently react negatively to stressful situations or a range of loud, abrupt noises. Dogs can become anxious and fearful due to thunderstorms, fireworks, extremely loud music, and separation anxiety.
Is it good to leave music on for dogs?
Not only will background music make them feel less alone, but it can also help block out outside noises that might stress your dog out when they are alone. Overall, you don’t need to modify your musical preferences to suit your dog.