Comforting your Pet with Music
How to Comfort Your Pet with Music
Can music in our daily lives comfort our pets and make them happier? Pets are emotional creatures with moods that swing every now and then. Therefore, if you want to keep your pet happy and at ease, then music therapy is the way to go and as a musician, you can provide this for your pet at any time.
My Dog Stella:
I have a golden retriever named Stella and she loves music. She comes roaring into the house every time one of us plays the piano. Immediately she plops down and rests her head and attentively listens. So, it got me thinking, 'is music therapeutic for Stella?' For instance, is it just as important for Stella to get a daily dose of music, as it is for her to have a daily exercise routine?
How Does Pet Music Therapy Work?
There’s no better way to say this: pets are sensitive. Meaning, they get anxious, nervous, or upset about various things. Therefore, that’s a problem common to all pet owners. For example, think about it, hasn’t your dog ever gone nuts when thunder crackles? Exactly, this is the problem we face as pet owners: how do we soothe our pets with minimal effort.
As far back as 2002, an animal behaviorist Dr. Deborah Wells conducted research and discovered that classical music soothes dogs. Her research is pretty significant as it was carried out on 50 dogs housed in one rescue shelter. Further research highlights music genres with sustained notes, slower tempo, steady rhythm, and few instruments as a major contributor to pet music therapy.
The reason music therapy works for pets is that animals often have every strong sensory nerves, especially to sound. This is why dogs bark at thunder and fall asleep at piano practice. It’s all about the sound…
Benefits of Pet Music Therapy
Pets are delicate beings. Their erratic behavior is a result of the accumulation of nervousness, anxiety, and fear, which have negative effects on their health and quality of life. Music therapy allows us the opportunity to curtail our pets’ excesses in a safe and very effective way.
There is plenty of music therapy can do for our pets. We list them out as follows:
- Soothes and relaxes pets.
- Helps your pet sleep better
- Alleviate pain in pets, allowing them to recover faster from chronic injuries.
- Help pets bond with their owner.
Music therapy can help relax pets a lot on a couple of occasions such as:
- Waiting in a lobby
- At the vets
- While driving
- On a long-distance trip
- In the occurrence of unexpected noises like thunderstorms
- Around strangers
- At their homes
How to Deliver Music Therapy to Your Pet
Like we said, not any music will soothe your pet. You need something smooth and silky, like classical music. Like it or not, pets perceive most of the human music as unrecognizable. This is why most times when we put on our favorite music, our pets just show a total lack of interest.
There’s a method of delivering music therapy as long as the music is gentle and soothing. According to the Washington Post, dogs respond well to reggae or soft rock. You could maybe queue up some Bob Marley songs—on repeat. Anyways, if you aren’t into all that, but you’re a keen lover of music, then why not take up music practice.
Learning a musical instrument while your pet hangs around is a win-win for both of you. As you polish your skills, your music can soothe your pet, creating a very relaxing atmosphere for you as well. Nothing's better than having the warmth of your pet at your feet while you play the music you love. I know when Stella's listening to me play the piano it's my favorite time of day. Watch your pet during your practice sessions and monitor their reaction. You’ll be most pleased with the results.