Pet playlists are the latest hit on Spotify and it turns out dogs love reggae!
Research confirms that dogs have musical preferences and react differently to particular types of music.
The kind of music that the dogs listened to made a difference. When the researchers played heavy metal music, the dogs became quite agitated and began barking. Listening to popular music, or human conversation, did not produce behaviors that were noticeably different from having no sound at all. Classical music, on the other hand, seemed to have a calming effect on the dogs. While listening to it, their level of barking was significantly reduced and the dogs often lay down and settled in place. Researchers have concluded that, “It is well established that music can influence our moods. Classical music, for example, can help to reduce levels of stress, whilst grunge music can promote hostility, sadness, tension and fatigue. It is now believed that dogs may be as discerning as humans when it comes to musical preference.”
In the last few years Spotify, Apple Music and other streaming services have released dedicated pet playlists – and they are loving it.
Find a playlist  your dog likes or create your own.
Click to enlarge pics and for slide show view
Users can generate playlists for dogs, cats, iguanas, hamsters or birds, and use sliders to reflect character, such as how energetic, friendly or curious their pet is. An algorithm will then choose tracks the person likes which align closely with their pet’s traits, so the music can be enjoyed together.
Musicologist David Teie, a solo cellist with the National Symphony Orchestra and founder of Music for Cats, originally teamed up with animal scientists to determine what sort of music each pet type might like, and then worked with Spotify for the service.
Music for Stress & Anxiety
Not surprisingly, the effects of music on calming animals have been well-documented. Particularly, classical music has been shown to lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol in rats and other animals. But this comes with a caveat: over time, the soothing effects of symphonies and quartets begin to wane.
- Researchers found that music had a significant effect on dogs across the board. Firstly, all dogs spent more time lying down when music was being played, regardless of genre. Secondly, music was not found to have any effect on barking. However, the majority of the dogs were more likely to bark in response to music being stopped.
- There were some very interesting results, however. Heart rate variability was notably higher, signaling decreased stress, when the dogs listened to soft rock and reggae. Alongside that, cortisol levels in the pups were also higher after listening to soft rock and in the silent control period following.
Music for traveling in cars
Researchers evaluated music that can lower stress levels in dogs who become anxious riding in cars. So they curated the best and worst playlists for stressed canines when traveling.
For the best songs to help anxious dogs, the playlist includes:
- “How Deep Is Your Love” – Bee Gees
- “No Woman No Cry” – Bob Marley
- “(Everything I Do) I’ll Do It for You” – Bryan Adams
- “I Want to Know What Love Is” – Foreigner
- “Dark Side of The Moon” – Pink Floyd
- “One In 10” – UB40
- “Hounds of Love” – Kate Bush
- “Desperado” – The Eagles
- “Many Rivers to Cross” – Jimmy Cliff
- “Love is King” – Sade
As for the worst songs to help your dog stay calm while traveling, the list is:
- “Black Dog” – Led Zeppelin
- “Back In Black” – ACDC
- “Paranoid” – Black Sabbath
- “Chop Suey!” – System Of A Down
- “Duality” – Slipknot
- “Enter Sandman” – Metallica
- “Smoke on the Water” – Deep Purple
- “Runnin’ with the Devil” – Van Halen
- “Ace of Spades” – Motörhead
- “Master of Puppets” – Metallica
Another researcher after seeing the positive effects that music had on dogs founded Music for Pets and Relax my dog. “We knew we were onto something and realized the effect of our music on wider issues for dogs — such as anxiety, sleep problems, while they’re with a petsitter, and general loneliness,”  The researcher realized there was a gap in the market for a natural solution — as opposed to medication – to help dogs in these situations, and RelaxMyDog was born. The company specializes in music for dogs to help them with everything from depression to separation anxiety. Although they’ve created many modified music types, from soft rock to classical piano, their top three genres are reggae, classical, and Oriental. RelaxMyDog has a YouTube Channel with over a half-million subscribers. The secret musical formula for their programs are based on seven years’ worth of feedback research and many millions of dogs (and cats) listening.
Of course what works for one dog may not work for another and the only way to know is through trial and error. “Be cognizant of how your dog responds and go from there.”
[Link to Study] Â [Link to YouTube]