Albright, J. D., Seddighi, R. M., Ng, Z., Sun, X., & Rezac, D. J. (2017). Effect of environmental noise and music on dexmedetomidine-induced sedation in dogs. PeerJ, 5, e3659.
Alves, J. C., Santos, A., Lopes, B., & Jorge, P. (2018). Effect of auditory stimulation during early development in puppy testing of future police working dogs. Topics in companion animal medicine, 33(4), 100-104.
Amaya, V., Descovich, K., Paterson, M., & Phillips, C. J. (2021). Effects of Music Pitch and Tempo on the Behaviour of Kennelled Dogs. Animals, 11(1), 10.
Amaya, V., Paterson, M., Descovich, K., & Phillips, C. J. (2020). Effects of Olfactory and Auditory Enrichment on Heart Rate Variability in Shelter Dogs. Animals, 10(8), 1385.
Amaya, V., Paterson, M., & Phillips, C. J. (2020). Effects of olfactory and auditory enrichment on the behaviour of shelter dogs. Animals, 10(4), 581.
Bowman, A., Scottish, S. P. C. A., Dowell, F. J., & Evans, N. P. (2015). ‘Four Seasons’ in an animal rescue centre; classical music reduces environmental stress in kennelled dogs. Physiology & behavior, 143, 70-82.
Bowman, A., Scottish, S. P. C. A., Dowell, F. J., & Evans, N. P. (2017). The effect of different genres of music on the stress levels of kennelled dogs. Physiology & behavior, 171, 207-215.
Brayley, C., & Montrose, V. T. (2016). The effects of audiobooks on the behaviour of dogs at a rehoming kennel. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 174, 111-115.
Cyroń, S., Czyż, K., & Patkowska-Sokoła, B. (2018) Wpływ muzyki klasycznej na behawior psów w schronisku. (The influence of classical music on the behavior of dogs in a shelter.) Wiadomości Zootechniczne, R. LVI, 3: 137–147.
Engler, W. J., & Bain, M. (2017). Effect of different types of classical music played at a veterinary hospital on dog behavior and owner satisfaction. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 251(2), 195-200.
Epstein, J., Dowling-Guyer, S., McCobb, E., Glotzer, C., & Dodman, N. H. (2021). Addressing Stress in Dogs in Shelters through a Novel Visual and Auditory Enrichment Device. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 105215.
Georgiou, S. G., Sideri, A. I., Anagnostou, T. L., Gouletsou, P. G., Tsioli, V. G., & Galatos, A. D. (2023). Effect of Classical Music on Depth of Sedation and Induction Propofol Requirements in Dogs. Veterinary Sciences, 10(7), 433
King, T., Flint, H. E., Hunt, A. B., Werzowa, W. T., & Logan, D. W. (2022). Effect of music on stress parameters in dogs during a mock veterinary visit. Animals, 12(2), 187.
Kinnaird, R. F., & Wells, D. L. (2022). The effect of auditory stimulation on pet dogs’ reactions to owner separation. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 254, 105688.
Kogan, L. R., Schoenfeld-Tacher, R., & Simon, A. A. (2012). Behavioral effects of auditory stimulation on kenneled dogs. Journal of Veterinary Behavior: Clinical Applications and Research, 7(5), 268-275.
Köster, L. S., Sithole, F., Gilbert, G. E., & Artemiou, E. (2019). The potential beneficial effect of classical music on heart rate variability in dogs used in veterinary training. Journal of Veterinary Behavior, 30, 103-109.
Pennington, E., Springer, C., Albright, J., & Castel, A. (2023). Evaluation of different methods of environmental enrichment to control anxiety in dogs undergoing hemilaminectomy after acute intervertebral disc extrusion: a randomized double-blinded study. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 10, 1124982.
Tuna, B., Kisadere, İ., & Dönmez, N. (2018). Influence of Music Intervention on First Wake up Anesthesia Period, Some Physiological and Hematological Parameters in Dogs. Manas Journal of Agriculture Veterinary and Life Sciences, 8(1).
Wells, D. L., Graham, L., & Hepper, P. G. (2002). The influence of auditory stimulation on the behaviour of dogs housed in a rescue shelter. Animal Welfare, 11(4), 385-393.
Table
The following table lists the papers in chronological order and summarizes what types of music/sound were compared, what was measured to determine the dogs’ response, and the outcome.
| Date | Title | What interventions were compared | Metrics | Outcome | N= |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | The influence of auditory stimulation on the behaviour of dogs housed in a rescue shelter. | human conversation, classical music, heavy metal music, pop music, control | positions in kennels, movement, vocalization | Dogs rested more and less time standing during classical music; barked less in classical music. Dogs barked more during heavy metal. | 50 |
| 2012 | Behavioral effects of auditory stimulation on kenneled dogs. | classical, heavy metal, Through a Dog’s Ear | activity level, vocalization, body shaking | Classical music resulted in dogs sleeping more and barking less. More body shaking during heavy metal. Through a Dog’s Ear had “minimal” effect. | 117 |
| 2015 | ‘Four Seasons’ in an animal rescue centre; classical music reduces environmental stress in kenneled dogs. | classical music, no music | heart rate variability, behavior, salivary cortisol | No difference in cortisol. Heart rate and behavior showed less stress during music. Calming effects disappear after 7 days (habituation) | 50 |
| 2016 | The effects of audiobooks on the behaviour of dogs at a rehoming kennels. | audiobook, classical music, pop music, psychoacoustically designed dog music (Through a Dog’s Ear), no auditory control | dogs’ behavior | Dogs appeared least stressed during audiobook. Through a Dog’s Ear was less effective than audiobook and classical. | 31 |
| 2017 | Effect of environmental noise and music on dexmedetomidine-induced sedation in dogs | moderate noise, loud noise, Through a Dog’s Ear, background noise | sedation level using three different measures | exposure to music did not improve sedation | 10 |
| 2017 | The effect of different genres of music on the stress levels of kennelled dogs. | Playlists of Soft Rock, Motown, Pop, Reggae, Classical | heart rate variability, behavior, salivary cortisol | Trying to prevent habituation with variety. Least stress per heart rate with reggae and soft rock. No effect on barking. Cortisol problematic. | 38 |
| 2017 | Effect of different types of classical music played at a veterinary hospital on dog behavior and owner satisfaction. | classical, Through a Dog’s Ear (same pieces as classical), no music | dog’s behavior as assessed by owner and tech (re: anxiety), body temperature, heart rate | No statistically significant difference between no music and either the classical music or Through a Dog’s Ear. | 74 |
| 2018 | Influence of Music Intervention on First Wake up Anesthesia Period, Some Physiological and Hematological Parameters in Dogs | control, Sufi music, heavy-metal music | during/after ovariohysterectomy: heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen saturation, respiratory rate, and multiple blood-chemistry metrics | both types of music were found to be uneffective, except that heavy metal shortened the wake-up period | 24 |
| 2018 | Wpływ muzyki klasycznej na behawior psów w schronisku (The influence of classical music on the behavior of dogs in a shelter) | no control; varied classical playlists | behavior survey by shelter workers | small amount of improved behavior over 5 months (but no control group and no data analysis) | 22 |
| 2018 | Effect of auditory stimulation during early development in puppy testing of future police working dogs | control, varied auditory stimulation including music, talk shows, and environmental noise including cars, sirens, gunshots | skills test at 7 weeks of age | the auditory stimulation had a negative effect overall and particularly on some tests | 67 |
| 2019 | The potential beneficial effect of classical music on heart rate variability in dogs used in veterinary training. | control; Through a Dog’s Ear | heart rate variability | mixed results, but some heart rate variable were reduced in the music group, indicating higher stress | 16 |
| 2020 | Effects of olfactory and auditory enrichment on the behaviour of shelter dogs. | music, lavender, dog appeasing pheromone (DAP); control | ethogram of 40 behaviors | those exposed to Music lay down more with their head down; all three enrichment treatments seemed to have positive effects; control stood more on their hind legs with their front legs on the exit door compared to those exposed to Music and DAP | 60 |
| 2020 | Effects of Olfactory and Auditory Enrichment on Heart Rate Variability in Shelter Dogs. | music, lavender, dog appeasing pheromone (DAP); control | heart rate variability | dogs in music group had higher heart rate variability parameters (less stress) compared to the lavender and control groups. DAP didn’t show cardio benefit. | 60 |
| 2021 | Effects of Music Pitch and Tempo on the Behaviour of Kennelled Dogs. | same classical pieces at high pitch, low pitch, fast tempo, slow tempo, white noise, control | 23 behaviors | low pitch music had statistically significant outcome of increasing the level of alertness of the dogs (higher tail carriage); least lying down, most standing and walking of all the treatments | 10 |
| 2021 | Addressing Stress in Dogs in Shelters through a Novel Visual and Auditory Enrichment Device. | in-kennel pet videophone unit (DogTV) with video, music, natural sounds; control | salivary cortisol; ethogram of 35 behaviors | no difference in cortisol; dogs in the treatment group spent less time in the back of the kennel, more time grooming, and less time walking | 47 |
| 2022 | Effect of music on stress parameters in dogs during a mock veterinary visit. | control; bespoke classical music which mimicked the tempo of their resting heart rate | Salivary cortisol, IgA, infrared temperature, core body temperature, behavior and body language, and the odds of ‘relaxed’ lips | certain measures increased over time, indicating that dogs became increasingly stressed. Music was not shown to have a demonstrated effect across measures, | 38 |
| 2022 | The effect of auditory stimulation on pet dogs’ reactions to owner separation. | control (the normal environment of the university research room), (2) classical music (Mozart’s Sonata K.448) and (3) an audiobook (Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone) | behavior via ethogram | Only speaker-directed gaze differed significantly between conditions, with animals spending more time looking at the speaker in the audiobook and classical music conditions than the control. Overall, findings point to only a moderately calming effect of classical music… on dogs separated from their owners. | 60 |
| 2023 | Effect of Classical Music on Depth of Sedation and Induction Propofol Requirements in Dogs. | Chopin, Mozart, and no-music | sedation scores and propofol dose requirements for the intubation of the trachea | exposure to classical music resulted in higher sedation scores and approximately 20% lower propofol dose requirements | 20 |
| 2023 | Evaluation of different methods of environmental enrichment to control anxiety in dogs undergoing hemilaminectomy after acute intervertebral disc extrusion: a randomized double-blinded study. | After hemilaminectomy for acute intervertebral disc extrusion, dogs were either in a standard environment: intensive care room; or an enrichmed environment: a separate quiet room equipped with white noise and classical music (TADE), dog-appeasing pheromones, essential oil scents, positive human interactions, and provided meals through food toys. | modified Glasgow Composite Pain Scale (mGCPS) scores, the latencies to receive the first methadone and trazodone doses and to eat the first meal, the number of methadone and trazodone doses, and the number of meals ingested in the first 24 and 48 h post-surgery | median mGCPS scores did not differ between the groups. Compared to SE dogs (n = 10), EE dogs (n = 6) received trazodone earlier, were administered fewer methadone injections at 24 h, and ate more at 48 h post-surgery | 20 |