I received a new blog suggestion yesterday which got me excited and interested in doing my research.  One being that I’m helping a friend acclimate to owning a new dog and helping the dog acclimate to her new home and the other being just out of curiosity.  So this topic works perfectly with what is going on in my life right now. I always turn on country music for Jake and Maggie when I leave the house but according to a new study published in the journal of Physiology and Behavior, dogs prefer the sounds of reggae or soft rock more than any other genre.

In an article from Reader’s Digest titled “The Most Soothing Music for Dogs Is NOT Classical” by Lauren Rearick, helping your dog relax starts with what music you are listening to.  It turns out that reggae music and soft rock showed the highest positive changes in behavior.

For the study, conducted by the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), researchers with the University of Glasgow turned on six-hour playlists of five different genres of music for shelter dogs. During the duration of the study, the dogs heard classical, soft rock, reggae, pop and Motown. While the dogs were listening, researchers took note of their heart rate, cortisol levels and behaviors that measure stress levels, like barking or lying down.

“Look at this sweet face!”.  “I was trying to change the blankets on the bed but Maggie had  other plans”.  “She wanted to take her nap”. “No anxiety in this house; just two spoiled puppy dogs”