For most people, music is a part of everyday life. Just one song can turn a rough day into a great one. Because music has such power over our moods and feelings, we’ve put together a list of 4 musical activities to do with your pet.
How to Pick the Right Music
Music elevates your mood, and the same happens with your pets as well. The trick is that you have to figure out what kind of music your pet likes. Humans and dogs process sound differently, and so what’s engaging for you may be grating for your pet.
Dogs can hear a much wider range of frequencies that people can. This is why dog whistles are basically silent to humans but do a great job of getting the attention of dogs. A dog whistle is just beyond the level that humans can hear, so they don’t bother us at all.
Another difference is that because dogs can hear such a large range of frequencies, they sometimes have difficulty distinguishing notes that are close. If you played a song in a certain key that then switched keys, your dog might not know the difference. You may have seen videos or even had your own experience with a dog howling at music. This could be because they like the song, or it can be because the music is in tones that the dog understands and wants to communicate with.
Just remember that pets are usually a reflection of their owners. That means that the way music might affect you could be reflected in your pet. If a certain genre energizes you, you’ll probably see the same result in your pet. They might not get the same feeling from the music alone, but they may feed off your energy when you listen to it. The most important thing is to try different types of music and see how your pet responds to it.
4 Musical Activities to Do With Your Pet
Once you narrow down what kind of music your pet might like, you can start to incorporate this into different activities with them. Take a look at our suggestions below.
Watch TV
While this might be the easiest suggestion, watching TV with your pet can be a great way for them to experience music. Television is usually a little more effective with dogs than cats, but it can be a tremendous helper if your pet has anxiety.
The ASPCA has actually been using TV that is specially formulated with pets in mind. These shows are played quietly and have sounds of praise, pleasing human voices and even squeaky toys. These shows seem to help many of the animals in their care with anxiety. However, shows like these are not played 24/7. They only use them for a few hours every couple of days. Over use of this can lead to over exposure.
If you are interested in finding a television show for your pet, just search around the internet. There are many places where you can find programming meant for animals. You can also try watching your favorite musical with your pet and see how they respond to it.
Relieve Stress with Music
We know that music can affect your mood, so why not take away some of your pet’s stress with music? Some of the best music for stress relief includes:
- Reggae
- Soft rock
- Classical
These genres are often softer and have deeper tones. Just remember that an animal’s size will likely affect how they react to music. Smaller animals will have a faster heartbeat and so slow music might not speak to them. Likewise, large animals will have a slower heartbeat and may want to chill tunes to relax with.
Prevent Barking with Music
You might have a dog that has separation anxiety. If this is the case, they probably bark while you are out of the house. To try and stop that barking, you can try playing calm music to relax them. While you’re gone, your dog might be on high alert. Playing music can help to drown out some external stimuli that will keep our dog on edge. If you don’t feel like finding an entire playlist for your dog, you can also just try a white noise machine. These machines usually just generate a gentle whirl of sound that help to tune-out outside sounds.
Help Your Pet Get Over Scary Noises
If your pet is fearful of sounds like fireworks or thunder, you can use music to help them there too. With the assistance of a certified dog trainer, you can play music for your dog that has possibly triggering sounds mixed with it. These triggering sounds can be car horns, fireworks or other loud noises. These extra sounds are very gently added to the music with the idea that your dog will listen to the music and quickly be desensitized to the extra sounds. When your dog then hears those sounds for real, it will not be triggering to them as they are used to the sounds.
Music doesn’t just have to be just for people. With a little creativity, your pet can begin enjoying all that music has to offer, and in some cases, music can be used as a therapeutic method for calming anxiety.