Vet School 101 Through a Dog’s Ear: Music therapy goes to the dogs

You heard right. It’s music arranged for dogs and orchestrated to ease their stress. It’s being employed specifically in veterinary settings where barking dogs, discomfort and pain are the rule. Psychoacoustic researchers and holistic veterinary practitioners swear by it.

An interesting collaboration between a sound researcher Joshua Leeds, a veterinary neurologist Susan Wagner DVM (no relation to the master, I presume), Juilliard trained musicologist Lisa Spector and the Apollo Chamber Ensemble has led to a novel therapy for stressed dogs. Discussion of the research, a book and recordings are available at throughadogsear.com.

Dogs are a species uniquely attuned to audio cues. As such, they may well benefit as much from music therapy in hospital settings as humans do—or more. Though human music therapy is still spotty in its use, its acceptance is broad and its popularity is surging.

Human studies conclusively find that pain and anxiety level reduction both result from peri-procedural implementation of music therapy. Benefits are also significant for ventilated patients and for those who have suffered brain injuries, presumably helping reestablish neural connections lost to trauma.

So why not bring it to the dogs?

Narda Robinson DVM, complementary medicine columnist for Veterinary Practice News urges us to consider it. “More than merely a relaxant, music causes changes in brain activity, neurohumoral, cardiovascular and immune responses…”

Of course, home settings are not exempt from stress or wellness needs either. Thunderstorms, new pet interactions and generalized anxiety are increasingly evident in our pets as we become more finely attuned to their angst and seek new ways to assuage it. And what better for those first days post-hospitalization or surgery?

In fact, turning off the television (a confirmed stressor and recently cited in happiness studies as detrimental to human contentment) and tuning in to the strains of a chamber music ensemble may be just the ticket for all of us. Check it out. As a classical music lover and ex-‘cellist I know I’ll be ordering my recording ASAP.

April 13th, 2008

Add Comment11 Comments

Whoa.. Thanks for the advise.. I have a 3 yo cockapoo that has major separation anxiety.. and isn't left home often enough.. I notice he shakes when I leave, and wouldn't hesitate to bite my feet when I'm walking out the door.. He does the same for my mom, who has him during the day(due to my overwork).. I'm willing to try anything..
Thanks
Barri, and Socrates

barri April 13th, 2008 07:23:00 PM

I recently bought the book and CD to read and try on my dog. Although he doesn't have separation anxiety, I am gone usually from 8-5 every day at school (although I usually come home for a bit for lunch) and I like to leave the TV or something on for him while I am gone because he does have some fears of loud noises (the neighbor's motorcycle, garbage trucks, cars with loud stereos) and I don't want him to feel anxious when I am away.

Since starting to use this CD, I have noticed that his behavior is much calmer - I use it now even when I study to keep him calm when I am practically ignoring him. When I come home at the end of the day, he seems relaxed and happy to see me, versus overly excited and manic.

I haven't gotten around to reading the book yet (finals are in two weeks), but so far I am convinced that it works... now I'm just interested to figure out the how and why behind it.

1st Year April 13th, 2008 07:38:00 PM

Our pack's been listenin' to music for generations (literally) since Alpha Human Mom is a piano teacher and sometime church musician. I prefer blues and jazz while Dad likes classical. When she's gone she lets us listen to conservative talk radio, 'tho, and we've never had separation anxiety or felt the urge to rip the house apart. I figure all those humans who have problems with their canines just aren't startin' 'em out right as pups.

Harrison April 13th, 2008 10:24:00 PM

NPR I can understand but conservative talk radio?...;-)

Dr. Patty Khuly April 14th, 2008 08:42:00 AM

And so where is the research demonstrating the effect? Because I would hope, especially in the light of recent research showing lab primate dislike the music we play for them, that evidence would be required before vet hospitals etc started playing this stuff. There are several researchers already showing how different music effects stress in shelter dogs and it would seem simple for these epople to donate a few CDs to those researchers. Until then I am going to remain sceptical. I have seen far too many lab animals basically cowering in the back of cages as music is played "for them" normally far too loud and during what should be their resting period and I am now highly sceptical fo the whole things (despite having previously written a review cautiously in support of using music with animals).

emily April 14th, 2008 09:12:00 AM

Primates do indeed seem to dislike the music. No one's been able to determine why. The information on their website references this but it's true--some animals react negatively and it varies a lot by species and classes of animals. Avians, for example, seem very positively responsive. It's clear more research needs to be done but I think you'll find a high level of sophisticated discussion in their work.

Dr. Patty Khuly April 14th, 2008 09:20:00 AM

From what I see it is sophiscated but not self-critical or scientific in the falsifiability-seeking sense of the word--I see allusions to the Rauscher theories about music which I believe to be unproven at best ('scientifical' as an anology ot 'truthy'). Even when musical is beneficial it depends very much on how it is used and simple loud sound masking is still one of the most likely explanations. In fact I see music and TV as very similar stimuli from the point of view of a dog--it's a sound, it breaks silences, it is intermittently interesting and intermittently stressful, responses and duration, content and volume dependent. I worry that pets will go down the route lab animals and human infants did leaving animals exposed to unavoidable, inappropriate sound which we assume is good for them because its neuro-something or Mozart. Silence is also important as a part of our daily soundscape

emily April 14th, 2008 10:10:00 AM

My mom used to leave on an easy listening muzak station for her greyhound when she left the house--my dad took to calling that kind of music "dog music" and though the dog has lived out her life and left us, the name has stuck. It really did seem to soothe Fancy, who as a former track dog really was unaccustomed to long periods of silence. She was fine at night, because people were home, but if she was alone, the music kept her calmer (as evidenced by her not destroying things, howling, etc.). So I don't have much trouble buying the effectiveness of music for some dogs.

regina April 15th, 2008 10:01:00 AM

Silence is so rare in our modern culture and something I value highly. There's nothing better than this and an aromatherapy candle when I'm way stressed (other than my yoga where silence is a big part of the practice). However, boredom is a problem with so many dogs. I'm willing to bet some degree of acoustic stimulation can be beneficial--but how much is the right amount? Interesting question.

Dr. Patty Khuly April 15th, 2008 03:23:00 PM

One postscript: The folks at Through a Dog's Ear just FedExed me a whole package of CDs and the book--how sweet! I've been playing the CDs in my home an at work ever since (yesterday). So far, Dusty (my severe Ehrlichia case) has responded with a reduced amount of barking. Though I think it might have more to do with her aversion to Country music than her affinity to Mozart. We'll see.

Dr. Patty Khuly April 18th, 2008 08:10:00 AM

I am the pianist on the referenced Through a Dog's Ear CD series. Of course, it's impossible for me to be objective. But, I do want to make clear, that we are not suggesting that this music be blasted at loud volumes to mask other disturbing noises. We actually suggest it is played at a soft volume. When played at a soft volume, it has the ability to calm the canine nervous system, which then makes the dogs less reactive to outside noises. It may not work on every dog, but I have been receiving emails from all over the world telling me stories that even I can barely believe. One women was about to give her dog away because she had such a difficult time leaving for work due to her dog's separation anxiety. Now he just goes to his bed, lies down, and enjoys listening to music played softly. Another said that her neighbors thanked me as much as she does because her dog no longer barks all day. We are starting to find that the dogs who are most sound sensitive have the greatest reaction to the music. For anyone who is still skeptical, please know that we offer a full 100% money back guarantee at www.ThroughADogsEar.com

Lisa Spector May 8th, 2008 02:01:00 AM

Add Commment

Virtual Vet Hospital

Got a sick pet? Visit our Virtual Vet Hospital and admit your own pets as patients in Dolittler's unique pet healthcare forum.

The Virtual Vet Hospital is temporarily unavailable as we transition to a new web site platform.

Careerists

Did you always want to be a vet or vet technician? Thinking about it? Working on it? Need some Help?

"The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated."

- Mohandas Gandhi