Dogs are happier listening to soft rock and reggae, study finds

Research has clearly shown that music has an effect on a dog's behaviour. Photo / 123RF

It might be supposed that dogs like Bach, but a new study suggests they prefer something with a little bit more bite.

Far from enjoying the strains for classical music, dogs are happier listening to soft rock or reggae, according to the University of Glasgow and the Scottish SPCA.

Reggae music and soft rock were found to provoke the most positive changes in behaviour and the animal charity is now planning to install sound systems in all its kennels to play Bob Marley and Jon Bon Jovi to their unsuspecting charges.

Neil Evans, professor of integrative physiology at the University of Glasgow's Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, said: "Overall, the response to different genres was mixed, highlighting the possibility that, like humans, our canine friends have their own individual music preferences.

"That being said, reggae music and soft rock showed the highest positive changes in behaviour.

"There is some evidence from work in humans that suggests that the relaxing effects of music are related to aspects of tempo or repeated motifs that can be present in the music.

"Possibly the reggae and soft rock have that more overtly expressed."

Listening to Bon Jovi has been found to relax dogs. Photo / File

The latest research follows a 2015 study by the same institutions that found classical music had a calming effect on dogs.

One group of dogs was observed in silence for a week while another had classical music played into their kennels.

The conditions were then switched in the second week and results showed that in both groups the dogs' stress levels decreased significantly after listening to music.

PhD student Amy Bowman said: "The research, which took place at the Scottish SPCA centre in Dumbarton, clearly shows that music has an effect on a dog's behaviour.

"We were keen to explore the effect playing different genres of music had and it was clear that the physiological and behavioural changes observed were maintained during the trial when the dogs were exposed to a variety of music."

Gilly Mendes Ferreira, Scottish SPCA head of research and policy, said: "At present, both our Glasgow and Edinburgh centres are able to pipe music into their kennels and in the future every centre will be able to offer our four-footed friends a canine-approved playlist, with the view to extending this research to other species in our care."

The research was published in the journal Physiology and Behaviour.

First published in Telegraph UK