Noise of the modern world is akin to second-hand cigarette smoke. It poses a danger to us and our dogs, according to
the authors of “Through a Dog’s Ear: How to Use Sound to Improve the Health and Behavior of Your Canine Companion.” Just released March 1, the book makes the argument that many of the behavior problems we now see in dogs (and possibly some health ones too) come from the stress of noise in their world. The collaboration between a psychoacoustics experts (Joshua Leeds), a veterinary neurologist (Susan Wagner, DVM, MS, DACVIM), and a concert pianist (Lisa Spector, who does agility with her dog BTW) also includes a series of music CDs designed specifically for dogs. As professional magazine writer, I was lucky enough to get an advanced copy of the book and music sample. Here’s what I want to share.
Lilly is the first dog I’ve ever known who really does hide under the bed, when noises scare her. We learned this lesson around the holidays 2004 soon after we adopted her. I madly vacuumed the rugs before guests arrived, and she spent the next few hours cowering under the bed, refusing to come out for love or money or food. That was the first indication of what life would be like with a sound-sensitive dog.
I’ve written about it before, but here’s a short list of noises that unnerve Lilly:
- Egg cartons or any food packaging that squeak
- Paper being torn or crumpled
- Skateboards, scooters, and wheelie shoes rolling by
- Noisy dogs (which is funny because she’s pretty noisy herself)
- Computer tones, especially the one a Mac makes when saving an Excel file
- Metal crashing or banging, especially competition agility teeter-totters
- Changes in tone of voice, especially if expletives are used
Long before I read Temple Grandin’s book “Animals in Translation,” I told people that Lilly was much like an autistic child. She’s easily overwhelmed by auditory and visual stimuli. She still hates the vacuum, but now she simply leaves the room until I put it away, rather than hide for the rest of the day. The sound and motion of geese flying overhead, however, is enough to cause a total shutdown when we’re training. Some public statues still freak her out. And, in the wrong context, sirens throw her for a loop.
My friendship with Lilly spans nearly 3 1/2 years. Her sound issues now second nature to me, I’ve learned to adjust her environment and to help her address the frequent scares that noises cause. So, for me, the book made total sense. So much so that I found its narrative and argument for the concepts a bit tedious. Others might need the whole package. I personally did not. I just needed a quick explanation and the music itself since I live the reality the book addresses every day.
BUT, if you have a “normal” dog without obvious sound issues, this book may open your eyes to the toll noise takes on your dog(s) nervous system (and possible immune system). To learn more about the research, how to use the music in more advanced ways, read the book or visit the website:
www.throughadogsear.com
In VERY abbreviated fashion, however, here are some basic concepts:
The “Orienting Response” is instinctual. Dogs cannot ignore sound. Their brains process everything they hear. While it takes just a few seconds for the brain to process a sound, imagine how many noises your dog hears every minute, every hour, every day (especially at dog shows, agility trials, etc). That’s a lot of interruption, and a lot of stress on the mind and body.
“Active Listening” is the process where the brain looks for a pattern in the sound. Dogs, especially when left alone, hear many sounds for which they have no context and that are intermittent. All this unresolved noise kind of piles up in the brain. It’s always trying to figure out the noise, which sets the fight-or-flight response on simmer. If that happens throughout the day, the constant nervous system response, even though its autonomic, can cause dogs to be jumpy, irritable, anxious, etc. On the other hand, it can make some wild and zoomie.
“Passive Hearing” is when the brain finds a pattern in sound and transfers processing into another area. It’s still background noise, though. And, since the dog hears it, it can either help or hinder the relaxation response.
“Psychoacoustic music” is specially designed music that takes advantage of how the brain processes sound in passive hearing mode. It relies on shifts in resonance (tone), entrainment (rhythm or speed) and pattern identification to help the brain find what it needs in the sound so that it and the whole nervous system can relax. In basic terms, music that is lower, slower and simple is much easier for the brain to process. Plus, the music is designed to calm the body’s brainwaves, heart rate and breathing.
Psychoacoustic music is used in medical clinics, classrooms, and spas. Now, this 3-person team is applying those principles to dogs. Essentially, they simplified “regular” classical music. They slowed it down and lowered the tone to make it more relaxing.
Music Research Results
Dr. Wagner tested 4 CDs of psychoacoustic classical music vs regular classical music, like what’s played on the radio. She tested it in veterinary hospitals, animal shelters, boarding kennels and private homes.
One of the four CDs stood out for its
calming effect. This music featured solo piano simplified
arrangements at 50-70 beats per minute. It tested far better than the other
psychoacoustic music options as well as a selection of music from a classical
radio station play list.
Overall, the psychoacoustic music was 20-35 percent
more effective at inducing canine relaxation than regular classical music.
In the kennel (or group) environment, a little more
than 70 percent of dogs became calmer while listening to this music.
In the
home test environment, 85 percent of dogs became calm, and more than half fell asleep.
Since this one CD of music worked so well
for dogs with average arousal issues, Wagner tested it on 10 dogs with specific
anxiety issues. These at-home tests show that 70 percent of anxiety behaviors were
reduced with the psychoacoustic music.
This super relaxing music is on a 60-minute CD sold as “Music to Calm Your Canine Companion.” Here’s an MP3 The trick, with really anxious dogs like
Lilly, is to play the special music initially when the dog is
already calm. Otherwise, you could establish a connection between being
upset and the music, which is NOT what you want. So, start off by
playing it when your dog is already mellow. Then, when you use it to
help calm later, that association is already there. I can see this helping with Dr. Karen Overall’s Relaxation Protocol that I’ve talked so much about.
That warning is probably not as important if your dog is “normal.”
Since Lisa Spector, the pianist, also does agility with her dog, I asked her about using the music in the crating area. She thinks it would work for dogs that need to calm down at trials. Her goal is to amp her dog up to get maximum speed, so she personally doesn’t use the music that way.
While interviewing her last week for a trade magazine article on the research, I joked about more music in the future aimed at performance dogs. Using psychoacoustic principles you could just as easily increase a dog’s arousal. Maybe there’s another CD in her future — “Music for Agility.”
