When the Barking Drives you Crazy....
Animal welfare workers are well aware of the effects of stress on the animals in their care. Animals that have been lost, abandoned or surrendered by their owners are confused and overwhelmed to find themselves in a strange environment with people they don't know and surrounded by other animals, the results are clear and telling:-
- Separation Anxiety
- Increased barking
- Fearfulness and timidity
- Restlessness
- Reduced immune function
- And many other symptoms of stress
While there are many ways to deal with the animals' stress, one method that is gaining more public support is music therapy.
Scientific research in humans over the years has clearly demonstred the ability of music therapy to reduce the symptoms of stress in humans including lowering the blood pressure, reducing the heart beat and improving the immune function. Now scientists are starting extend that research into the animal world and it has become clear that many animals stress symptoms can be alleviated in a similar manner to humans when the right type of music is played.
Researchers at the School of Psychology of Queen's University in Belfast studied the effect of playing various kinds of music to dogs and compared the results with those exposed to human conversation.
- Classical music resulted in clear relaxation of the dogs, less barking and increased resting periods;
- Heavy metal music has the opposite effect, the dogs became markedly more agitated, barked more and spent more time standing;
- Pop music had little effect on the dogs' behavior
- Human conversation had little effect on the dogs' behavior
In study situations it appeared to take approximately 3 minutes for the effects of soothing music to demonstrate themselves upon dogs and within 10-20 minutes, most of dogs were clearly relaxed with many sleeping soundly. The effects of the music on the dogs seem to extend well beyond the period during which the music is played but there is a warning not to play music continuously as some dogs can become desensitised to it.
There are a couple of companies that provide CDs of soothing music for use with animals, click here to order your free copy of a CD from Canine Lullabies. Artful Touch Music has also provided CDs to animal shelter personnel resulting in testimonials that can be read by clicking here.
"If music be the food of love, play on"
There is no doubt that Shakespeare was thinking about the effects of music on the human “heart” when he wrote this line in Twelfth Night. But if music can have a positive physiological effect on animals, perhaps it can play a role in offering you another way to show love to the animals in your care. |
The Pethealth Family |
