Animal Welfare-पशु कल्याण

Effects of Music on Animal Behavior & Physiology

April 12, 2023

1665

Effects of Music on Animal Behavior & Physiology

The Effect of music on animals

As Nietzsche said, “Without music , life would be a mistake.” Music is present in nature and virtually everything has its sounds , causing the different effects in animals. Humans are not the only animals capable of sending and receiving messages using different sounds, many species communicate, warn of danger through sound stimuli and also prefer a certain type of music before others. Today we’ll talk a little about the Zoomusicology and the effect of music on animals.

The Zoomusicología

Surely you have heard little or nothing about the Zoomusicology , this is a field between Zoology and Musicology, also known as zoosemiotics . It ‘s music nonhuman animals studied , the ways in which they respond to sounds and effects that music has on them.Perhaps this may not be relevant to many, however, if we think for instance in the form in which, by emitting sounds with different frequencies , whales are able to communicate under the sea , how do the birds with their spectacular songs or as do the beasts with his guttural sounds, among others, the Zoomusicology can be really interesting. It is even more interesting when you consider that there are experiments and investigations have shown that in addition to communicating in this way , the animals may have changes in your mood or even prefer certain musical styles.About some of the experiments

In 1909 The New York Times published an article entitled ” The effects of music on animals Zoo” , which talked about the effects of music in all species Bronx Zoo , naming reptiles, primates, birds , elephants and lions while the question was asked : Do animals will appreciate the music? In our experience , it was noted that orangutans responded with a clear liking to spare Caruso and were also able to move his body following the beats to the rhythm of a swing.In other animals such as camels , also seemed to have a sense of pleasure , animals stretched his neck and approached the sound source . Moreover, canines such as coyotes and wolves showed frightened and uneasy with the same views . Today , over 100 years later , the question is still present and has been the focus of much research.Universal Music ? ?

On the other hand, many biomusicólogy have spoken of a ” world music ” and the idea that music can function almost innately , as a natural sense of animals. It has been argued that the musical language is a language that in a sense, both humans and many other animals we share.So for example mentioned whales and birds, as the sounds they emit can recognize different rhythms , lengths and musical structures used by humans when composing music. The nature itself is capable of creating pleasant sounds , for both humans and other animals, and in this regard, an interesting fact is that for example Mozart composed his Piano Concerto in G Major so that it matches the exactly with the song of his starling bird.

Monkeys and music Returning to today, just a few years ago , in 2009, a cellist of the National Symphony Orchestra , with the psychologist Charles Snowden of the University of Wisconsin, conducted an experiment in which it was found that other species are able to react emotionally to musical stimuli . It different tunes for an audience of marmosets jungles of Central America were interpreted .After studying in detail the monkeys and analyze the sounds to communicate, several pieces were composed for them. Thus, two compositions in form and structure were emitting similes to monkeys to alert danger, or they produced when they felt safe were interpreted .Given the parts monkeys reacted according to the same patterns, responding more strongly when the first composition sounded : monkeys shook his head, stuck out their tongues and constantly looked around. In conclusion , the researchers said that the results were very suggestive and could serve to emotionally understand that music can have a long evolutionary history.Undoubtedly , there is still much to understand and analyze. What do you think about ? Do you think animals really react to music or that it is a simple sound natural mechanism for survival?

Animals and music

Marked as music and pets, and music, zoomusicology, music and animals, and music therapy Animals are not only intelligent, but has the ability to perform activities that we do, for example music, today there are many cases of pets that were trained to play an instrument.And what about pets that are treated with music to recover from traumatic events? Or as a method of relaxation? believe it or not, animals and music are linked in many ways, may not appreciate music by a composer, or song in particular, may not identify the tones or notes, but one thing we are sure of is that if they identify the sounds, so that these sounds can alter or relax depending on the type of music.They even have a concept called music Zoomusicology and nonhuman animals is studied, the ways in which they respond to sounds and effects that music has on them. Two major studies stand to exemplify zoomusicology in 2009 a cellist of the National Symphony Orchestra, by the psychologist Charles Snowden at the University of Wisconsin, conducted a study with primates, which gave off different tunes, ensuring that the animals reacted to the sounds according to the intensity, ie some tunes were kept relaxed and others altered their behavior.Another study was conducted in 1909 The New York Times published an article entitled “The effects of music on Animal Zoo” where emitted music to different species such as elephants, lions, birds, even reptiles, it was found that the soft sounds but drew attention joyful sounds of most animals, they approached the sound emitting device and showed body attitudes as rapid movement of the tail and ears. But wolves and coyotes had a little afraid of any kind of music.In pets is not as different as there are music therapy for pets that have been abused, or passed through a traumatic event, consisting relax the pet through body massages while being relaxed with soft, soothing music, most times successfully.There is a study by Queen’s University of Belfast, which has been published in the journal Animal Welfare, which seems to have shown that classical music is a favorite of dogs and cats.Felix Pando, an American musician, has released CD’s with compositions adapted for dogs and cats of Beethoven, Chopin and Mozart, and it appears that the effects are obvious.In that it promotes music therapy to my pet?

Eliminates stress caused by your pet loneliness, dependence owner or stress caused by unknown people or other animals.
It works as a muscle relaxant, because when you feel calm, the pet stops tightening muscles, guard down and allowed to relax to enjoy the sounds.
Helps fade your pet’s anxiety, it was found as already mentioned that classical music helps to calm and relax significantly animals.
The set of gentle massage and calm music, helped animals in rehabilitation allow the management of rehabilitation and therapy to be better accepted by the pet, reducing stress and anxiety associated with rehabilitation.
It was also found that animals enjoy music that has been created with drums, violins and guitars.
It has been observed that when a dog sees his own dance, plays that are playing, and playing pet releases endorphins that make you happy.Anyway, whatever the role of music in the animals, it would be interesting you’ll try with your pet, learn which it is the one you like, so that in stressful situations you can help you get ahead without fear or anxiety.

Animal welfare has become a widely discussed issue. In an era of intensive animal farming, modern agriculture seeks to improve the welfare of reared animals while ensuring good quality of the resultant animal products. There is also increased focus on the satisfaction of consumers, who increasingly tend to follow consumer trends (e.g., “mindful eating” or “respect for animals”) and have become more discerning about the perceived quality and origin of their food . Just as often, the choice of animal products is driven by ethical and environmental considerations, which is best exemplified by the increasing popularity of organic products .However, there is a large segment of price-conscious consumers who tend to choose cage-laid eggs or conventional milk rather than buying organic due to limited household income. To meet the demands of today’s consumers, new methods of improving animal welfare have been sought in order to convince the segment of the public that questions the use of intensive farming systems .

The concept of well-being refers to a state where an individual is able to cope with environmental pressures . Under optimal rearing conditions, animals are expected to maintain an adequate level of physical and mental health. Breeders and producers achieve this through balanced feeding, constant access to fresh water, use of enclosures, interaction with other animals, and prevention/treatment in accordance with the principles of Five Freedoms , New methods are being sought to reduce the impact of stress triggers, which cause multiple problems, including reduced yields. Methods used to improve well-being include various toys for pigs ,mechanical brushes for cattle , functional feed additives or limited contact with humans . Recently, there has been growing interest in the subject of sound waves as a way to alleviate the negative effects of stress in animals kept in intensive production systems. The first trials on the effect of music on animals were reported in the 20th century .Cattle is the most popular subject for such research, but successful trials have also been conducted with horses, and even carps and trouts . In addition to musical genres, there have also been publications focusing on specific soundwave frequencies as determinants of animal health .

Though there have been many definitions of music, it is usually defined as “an art of sound in time that expresses ideas and emotions in significant forms through the elements of rhythm, melody, harmony, and color” or “the tones or sounds employed, occurring in single line (melody) or multiple lines (harmony), and sounded or to be sounded by one or more voices or instruments, or both” . It can also be certainly defined as a combination of various elements, such as rhythm, tone, frequency, loudness, and lyrics . For thousands of years, music was viewed in the same light as medicine. In Ancient times, the Greek god Apollon was both the patron of music, and of healing/medicine. Thus, prior to the Medieval period, much significance was attributed to musical scales (ratios between sound intervals, which are used as the basis to compose and perform music representative of the given age/culture) such as the Doric or Phrygian scales, which were thought by ancient philosophers (such as Boethius) to elicit specific behaviors—such as inebriation—depending on the scale used. Sisthaltic, disthatic and hesicastic compositions were seen as depressing, “uplifting”, and soothing, respectively . It was claimed that music could help not only the soul, but the body as well, by influencing the physiology of the human body . Today, it is used to distract patients from their pain, as well as to treat depression and cardiovascular disorders . However, it has been shown that appropriately chosen sounds can confer health benefits, e.g., by increasing the level and activity of natural killer (NK) cells—one of the immune system’s lines of defense . Data from various studies on humans have been used to develop methods of using sound waves on animals.

The Problem of Stress in Livestock

There is no doubt that the intensification of livestock farming has exasperated stress among animal species grown for various products. The father of the concept of stress—Hans Hugo Selye—has said that stress is a natural part of everyday life, and should be treated as a normal response of the human body (with a specific pattern) to a particular stressor . Walter B. Cannon further expanded this definition to encompass disruption of homeostasis and the body’s attempt to revert to optimal conditions through a series of physiological reactions . Crucially, almost every physiological process is predisposed towards maintaining homeostasis, so the term “stress” should be restricted to unexpected situations that involve loss of control . The popular concept of stress refers to the exposure to unpleasant conditions that ultimately produces deleterious effects—poor health and discomfort in general, and reduced yields and product quality in livestock specifically . The term “distress” can also be distinguished, tentatively defined as “state in which an animal cannot escape from or adapt to the internal or external stressors or conditions it experiences, resulting in negative effects on its well-being” . The concepts of “distress” and “stress” are similar to each other, which results from the authors’ frequent blurring of the boundary between them. However, the factors differentiating these two terms include, among others, the duration of the response and the intensity of the stressor .Distress manifests itself in physiological and biochemical changes in the organism of animals, which in turn follow both chronic and acute stress, which ultimately leads to the organism being overloaded .This means that stress can turn into distress, which puts a greater burden on the organism, which begins to use the available reserve resources to return to homeostasis . An additional feature of distress is that it is difficult to diagnose solely through behavioral observations, e.g., subclinical pathological lesions (e.g., hypertension) that are not visible from the outside .

The stress response is mediated by two key factors—the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis (HPA). When suddenly exposed to danger, the sympathetic nervous system activates, inducing a fight or flight response in the body. The reaction starts in the adrenal glands, which are stimulated to release adrenaline and noradrenaline (catecholamine) resulting in increased heart rate, pupil dilation and increased blood pressure. The body is prompted to use up its energy stores in muscles and the liver, increasing blood glucose by way of glycogenolysis .

If the stressogenic factor does not subside within about 15 min, the HPA is activated. This response begins in the hypothalamus, which secretes corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH). This, in turn, stimulates the release of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) in the pituitary gland . ACTH is responsible for inducing the adrenal cortex to secrete glucocorticoids-hormones that play an important role in metabolic processes. The primary stress hormone in mammals is cortisol, followed by aldosterone and cortisone, whereas corticosterone is the dominant stress hormone in birds .Acute spikes in the levels of these hormones induce lipolysis and proteolysis, and can even raise blood glucose levels .During prolonged bouts of stress, the high blood levels of glucocorticoids lead to disorders that reduce organ weight (e.g., lymph nodes, spleen). As a result, the animal suffers from a weakened immune system and becomes more susceptible to pathogens .

The Use of Music

Music and Silence

Although environment enrichment with music can be an effective tool for stress reduction in livestock, periods of no auditory stimulation should also be provided . Interspersing slow-paced and fast-paced music with approx. 2 min pauses (without any auditory stimulation) may be an effective way to treat cardiovascular disease. Music has been shown to improve breathing control in patients, whereas the pauses decreased blood pressure, heart rate and respiration rate. Furthermore, the subjects exhibited deeper relaxation during pauses after auditory stimulation, rather than the silent period preceding the music . It has also been shown that Depth Relaxation Music Therapy (DRMT) in tandem with Hypnomusictherapy (HMT) and the quiet of the natural environment encouraged much deeper post-session relaxation among the subjects . Sutton (2005) points out that silence can be a way of promoting engagement in patients under music therapy. Silence is as important to a song as sound—the pauses, known as “rests”, serve to punctuate the musical piece, allowing the musician and the listeners to take a moment to breathe and relax . Kemp (2019) has found that some genres of music (such as country, classical music, lullaby) had a beneficial effect on bovine welfare, resulting in lower heart rates (HR) and respiration rates. Nevertheless, the highest milk yields were recorded for the control group, which was not exposed to any music . In turn, Crouch et al. (2019) noted that auditory stimuli lessened to frequency of irregular behaviors in cattle (such as tongue rolling or vocalizations) and even promoted social interaction within the herd. Notably, however, lack of auditory stimulation proved to be just as important, prompting deeper rest among the animals, as well as intensified rumination, which seems to signify deeper relaxation and higher productivity . A study by Ekachat and Vajrabukka (1994) showed that pigs exposed to light music (slow rhythm music) performed similarly to those kept in silence (no-music control). Final liveweight did not differ significantly from the no light music control . There are studies that have used relaxing music . While researchers have been unable to find a definition of this type of music, they have analyzed selected compositions defined as the relaxation genre from the repertoire of Enya (“Only Time”), Vangelis (“Conquest of paradise”) and Yanni (“Prelude and Nostalgia”)—the works of these composers were used in the study by Khalfa et al. (2003) (the article does not mention the titles of the compositions used; sample items were selected for the analysis). After an auditory analysis, it was found that relaxing music merges the warmly sounding instruments such as: flute, classical guitar, violin. It is played at a tempo of approx. 60–65 bpm (beats per minute), and the melody line is performed with the use of legato—articulation with which the notes are played smoothly, which creates the impression of a “melody wave” with the use of low rather than high notes. In the mentioned research work, Khalfa et al. (2003) showed that people without musical auditory stimulation had a higher salivary cortisol (stress hormone) level when exposed to a psychological stressor compared with subjects treated with relaxing music (from the repertoire of Enya, Vangelis, and Yanni) . In the music-treated group, salivary cortisol levels abated much quicker . These findings substantiate the positive effects of relaxing music, while also showing that the benefits of silence are more pronounced when used intermittently with auditory stimuli (music). Therefore, it should be remembered that it is good practice to intersperse periods of music with breaks, both in humans, as noted by Bernardi et al. (2006), and in livestock, as mentioned by Crouch et al. (2019). These authors report that serene, slow-tempo music produces a relaxing effect, which is even more evident during breaks between auditory simulation . It should be mentioned here that maintaining silence at the place where animals are kept and in the vicinity is also important for their welfare. This is possible by reducing the external noise of farm tractors, self-propelled machines and other devices, including garden devices used at farms, but also elements that may, for example, hit the building wall on windy days, or an unlubricated door to a livestock building, which is opened several times a day by workers and thereby can stress the animals. The analysis of year-round noise exposure, depending on the production profile, showed that by far the highest exposure to noise occurs at farms with crop production (90.3–91.4 dB), but also at those focused on livestock production . Cattle, especially dairy cows, are animals that require silence during rearing. Their prolonged exposure to high-intensity noise may adversely affect the quantity and quality of milk produced, which then translates into economic losses on the part of the producer .

The Influence of Sound WAVES on Animals

The application of music therapy in humans has shown that well-selected sounds improve health and can even be regarded as a non-pharmacological treatment for various conditions . Apart from increasing focus, acoustic waves of some musical pieces may alleviate pain, change heart rate (HR, HRV), reduce anxiety, reduce stress hormone (e.g., cortisol) production, and even significantly improve NK cell levels and activity . Sounds used for music therapy should be carefully selected so as not to cause stress for the animal. Though music can certainly be used as environmental enrichment for many species, the genre is a significant factor as well. According to research, the most health-promoting genres include classical music (such as Mozart, Bach), relaxing music, and meditation music, whereas listeners of techno and heavy metal are at risk of higher stress, or even heart arrhythmia.

The Effect of Sound Waves on Cattle

Cattle are exposed to various types of stress (e.g., thermal, chronic). Avoiding stress is particularly crucial for dairy cows, since milk yield maximization is a priority. High-yielding cows are taxed by metabolic and psychological processes, which leads to problems such as reduced milk production, as well as lower protein and fat content . Noise is one of the major stress triggers. Cattle must be raised in a quiet environment, since abrupt, loud sounds may negatively impact milk yields . Cows exposed to sounds of 80 dB feed less, become restless, and have higher heart rates . Noise can also cause reproductive disorders—disrupting the estrus cycle, conception, and reproductive system function .

Impact of Sound Waves on Poultry

The sense of hearing is essential to birds and is highly sensitive to the frequency range of 10–12,000 Hz . In hens, the region of best sensitivity to sound ranges from 3000 to 5000 Hz . The ear must adapt to process complex auditory stimuli to accurately recognize temporal and spectral information contained in the vocalizations of other similar birds . Chick hearing starts to develop as early as at the embryonal stage. The 20th century consensus held that chick embryos could “hear” as early as day 10 of incubation , but later research failed to find auditory activity at such an early stage . Studying the ganglion neurons innervating the basilar papilla of chicken embryos between 12 and 18 days of incubation, Jones et al. (2006) found that cochlear ganglion neurons showed profound insensitivity to sound between 12 and 16 days of incubation, which the authors referred to as the “prehearing” stage . Afterwards (starting at about day 15 of incubation, and most likely from day 16 to 18), responses to external sounds and frequency selectivity begin to emerge, with a CF (characteristic frequency range) of 170 to 4478 Hz—the embryonic cochlea detected and encoded outside sounds .

The Influence of Sound Waves on Pigs

The effects of music on health and behavior have also been commonly studied in pigs. These animals are known to vocalize to communicate, each vocalization having distinctive acoustical characteristics, such as (D—duration; P—main energy-resonance frequency) :

Isolated piglets: D—0.34 s; P—3500 Hz.
Piglets processed by humans: D—0.81s; P—3700 Hz.
Sows during nursing: D—0.15 s; P—1000 Hz.
Sows during farrowing: D—0.1 s; P—3000 Hz.

Pigs react to sounds from 42 Hz to 40.5 kHz, with a region of best sensitivity from 250 Hz to 16 kHz . High-volume sounds that meet the definition of noise lead to aggressive behavior and weakened immunity in pigs . Researchers studying the effect of music on pigs have been particularly keen on piglets as a subject of study, with a large body of research having been published on the topic . Removal from the sow is a critical and highly stress-inducing moment in rearing piglets. Piglets exposed to music pre-weaning developed a conditioned response. Piglets that then listened to music post-weaning were quicker to return to relaxed play behavior, which translates to improved well-being and lower number of injuries . Despite the lack of success in obtaining information on the music genres used in past research, it is clear that researchers favor classical music—primarily compositions by Mozart and Vivaldi, i.e., sounds of piano and violin accompanied by a symphony orchestra. For example, Sonata for Two Pianos in D (K.448) by W. A. Mozart, played at 60–70 dB stimulates behavioral activity in pigs—promoting tail movement, exploration and play, though these behaviors diminished with time. Reduced cortisol secretion was also observed during the 8-day music treatments, interpreted as a sign of low stress. Furthermore, pigs exposed to Mozart for 60 days had a stronger immune response, with higher levels of IgG (immunoglobulin G), IL-2 (interleukin-2), IFN-γ (interferon gamma), and lower levels of IL-4 (interleuikn-4)

What is the effect of music on animals?

How much music, despite being a human cultural phenomenon, it can also be recognized and even enjoyed by other complex animals? This field of study continued to make progress, and two of the most recent coming at the hands of various investigations directed to the cats and birds respectively.

It is widely accepted that, in humans, the music provides numerous psychological benefits. There is even research, the results suggest that these benefits extend to patients under general anesthesia, promoting in them a reduced perception of pain and anxiety and lower stress.

According to research by a team that includes veterinarians at the University of Lisbon in Portugal, the music is equally beneficial for cats in a surgical environment. But not all music is equal in this respect: cats seem to benefit more from the classical music genres like standard pop and heavy metal.

Miguel Carreira’s team studied 12 cats, pets that were being surgically intervened, and recorded their breathing rate and diameter of your pupils at various times in order to measure the extent of anesthesia. Cats, who were equipped with headphones, meanwhile were exposed to two minutes of silence, or two minutes of music from one of various styles.

The results showed that the cats were in a more relaxed state (determined by their lower values of respiratory rate and pupil diameter) under the influence of classical music. Pop music generated intermediate values. As for the Heavy Metal, this was the style that produced the highest values, indicating a more stressful situation for the animals.

Although music perception and practice are well preserved in human evolution, the biological determinants are virtually unknown. In another recent study, conducted by the team of Irma Järvelä, University of Helsinki in Finland, where a musician plays (in the case of the experiments of the study, professional musicians playing classical music during a recital than two hours) they activated genes which are known to contribute to its avian versions perception and production in the birds chirping. This striking coincidence, linking human musicians with songbirds, suggests a potential evolutionary conservation in the molecular mechanisms associated with the processing of complex sounds in birds and humans. This research joins others on the relationship between songbirds and human music, a phenomenon that has aroused great interest since ancient times, and is beaded with fascinating anecdotes, like the songbird that Mozart had a pet and She sang some sequences of notes music composed by him.

What happens to the animal listening music?

Physically, music therapy helps reduce the heart rate and breathing slow down, so it is advisable and healthy for those convalescing from an operation or pets sick.

It also improves the immune system of the animal, which is less likely to fall ill. Raises the level of endorphins, improving mood of our friends. It can also be used in dogs and cats hyperactive and fearful.

Monkey and music

Returning to our days, just a few years ago, in 2009, cellist of the National Symphony Orchestra, alongside the psychologist Charles Snowden at the University of Wisconsin, conducted an experiment in which it was found that other species are able to emotionally react musical stimuli. In it different tunes to an audience of marmosets of Central American forests were interpreted.

After studying the monkeys in detail and analyze the sounds to communicate, several pieces were composed for them. Thus, two compositions in form and structure were emitting similes to monkeys to alert danger or who cast when they felt safe were interpreted.

Given the pieces, monkeys reacted according to the same patterns, responding with greater intensity when the first composition sounded: monkeys shook his head, stuck out their tongues and looked incessantly around. In conclusion, the researchers said the results were very suggestive and could serve to understand that emotional music can have a long evolutionary history.

Moreover, I must say that some pets such as dogs or cats, seem to respond emotionally to human music. Research conducted by Deborah Wells, a psychologist at Queen’s University in Belfast; It shows that dogs can distinguish between the different kinds of human music.

“Our research has shown that dogs behave differently in response to different types of music, for example, showing more suggestive behaviors of relaxation in response to classical music and suggestive behaviors of agitation in response to heavy metal music”

More experiments …

In 1909 The New York Times published an article entitled “The effects of music on Animal Zoo”, in which they talked about the effects of music on all kinds of species Bronx Zoo, naming reptiles, primates, birds, elephants and lions at the time the question was asked: Do animals will appreciate music? In our experience, it was noted that orangutans responded with a clear liking to parts Caruso and they were also able to move his body following the beats to the rhythm of a swing.

In other animals such as camels, also seemed to be a sense of satisfaction, the animals stretched his neck and approached the source of the sound. Moreover, canines such as coyotes and wolves showed frightened and uneasy with the same views. Today, over 100 years later, the question remains present and has been the focus of much research.

Does music have a calming effect on pets?

While more research is needed, music is widely viewed as beneficial for dogs and cats in kennels, shelters, and veterinary settings

Many have heard the old cliché, “Music hath charms to soothe the savage beast,” and it is widely believed to be true. Many of my clients and colleagues swear by music as a tool to reduce anxiety in dogs and cats, whether in the veterinary hospital, the shelter or boarding kennel, or at home when all the humans are away. As always, of course, it is a good idea to take a look at the evidence for even the most obvious and widely held beliefs.

To begin with, the cliché is a misquotation. In his play, The Mourning Bride, written in 1697, William Congreve actually wrote, “Musick has Charms to sooth a savage Breast.” The line is spoke by a distraught woman in mourning, and is followed by a complaint that even though inanimate objects can be moved by music, her grief is untouched by it.

The common misquotation substitutes “beast” for “breast,” and is often used to suggest music has calming effects on animals. While the provenance of the misquotation is, of course, irrelevant to the claim, it is always interesting to find such a widely known expression of it is, itself, an error.

The healing power of music

Regardless of how the belief is expressed, the therapeutic benefits of music are assumed by many pet owners and veterinary professionals. Music is cited as a possible therapy for fear and aggression in the most recent issue of the ubiquitous reference book, Blackwell’s Five-Minute veterinary Consult: Canine and Feline.¹

Music streaming services and devices designed for companion animals are certified and recommended as a “preferred product” by the popular Fear Free organization. Such endorsements would suggest the verdict is in on the value of music for canine and feline behavior problems. Alas, the reality is, not surprisingly, less definitive.

The Standards of Care in Animal Shelters, promulgated by the Association of Shelter Veterinarians, mentions the use of music in the shelter environment, but the discussion reflects the uncertainty in the evidence:

“Music has been used to reduce animal stress in a variety of different setting. While anecdotal reports support this finding, little data exist to recommend its use for shelters. Music or other sounds as a form of enrichment need to be considered carefully, particularly if animals have no way to move away or control their exposure. Many animals, including dogs, are able to hear frequencies above what humans can hear. Therefore, if music is introduced, radios or other sound systems should not be placed directly on cages and the volume should not exceed conversational levels.”

Granted, these guidelines are more than 10 years old, and a new edition is due out later this year. Most of the research evidence regarding the use of music in dogs and cats has been published since these guidelines were issued, so perhaps there is now a case for a stronger recommendation?

The most recent assessment of the available evidence does not suggest this is the case. This systematic review, published in 2020, comprehensively identifies and critically evaluates the available research on music as a source of auditory enrichment for dogs. Despite acknowledging this use of music has “great potential,” the authors cannot conclude there is strong evidence for meaningful benefits:

“Interest in the use of music therapy as a behavioral enrichment tool in veterinary medicine is growing. Indeed, an industry has formed around the development of ‘dog music,’ which has been purposely designed to relax dogs. Despite enthusiastic uptake of the idea, there is little empirical evidence supporting the design of such tools. [Though] animals appear less stressed or anxious when exposed to classical music than to control conditions…This field is relatively under-researched, and more rigorous studies must be conducted before species-specific recommendations can be made. Such studies must reflect individuals’ and species’ preferences for different genres and songs, taking care to avoid habituation.”

Details

Available studies are generally small, short-term, and applicable only to dogs in kennels or veterinary settings, not the home. They consistently show behavioral effects of music, and there is inconsistent and more limited evidence for measurable physiologic effects, such as changes in heart rate variability or cortisol levels.

What they do not show is meaningful impact in the prevention or amelioration of behavioral pathologies, improved health outcomes, improved quality of the human-animal bond, or reductions in relinquishment or euthanasia attributable to behavior problems. Admittedly, these represent a high bar for the impact of music as an enrichment tool, but these are the kinds of outcomes that matter to dogs and their owners, and if these are not affected then the value of musical enrichment is doubtful.

As is often the case, one notable challenge in evaluating the research evidence is the heterogeneity in the treatment employed and the outcomes measured. While general labels, such as “classical music” or “rock music” are employed, these obviously represent broad categories with significant variation in the individual pieces of music included.

Such terminology also assumes human aesthetic categories will be relevant to dogs, and this is a doubtful assumption given the uniqueness of the human species in the production and appreciation of music. More specific focus on pitch, tempo, volume, timbre, and other variables might make the research data more useful.

It is also often assumed in studies of music enrichment that an increase in “calm” behavior, such as lying down, and a decrease in movement or vocalization represents a positive effect. However, don’t humans use music to raise our level of arousal and activity as often as to reduce it?

If music can benefit us by psyching us up for a workout or driving us onto the dance floor with our friends as much as to relax after work, why would this be a less valuable application for our pets? Such anthropomorphic assumptions complicate the investigation and use of music as a form of enrichment or behavior therapy.

Like any intervention, music has to be considered in terms of its risks as well as its benefits. There is relatively little evidence looking at potential harms, largely because of the assumption embedded in the design of many studies that music is likely to be benign.

Having been trapped and forced to endure music played by others that I found excessively loud or inherently unpleasant, I am inclined to wonder if we might not be just as likely to be torturing our hospitalized patients or our pets left home alone by playing music at them. This aspect of the issue deserves more thorough and explicit attention.

Regular readers will not be surprised to hear there is considerably less evidence regarding the impact of music on the behavior of cats than on dogs. A few recent studies have tentatively suggested music designed for cats, and possibly that generic category of “classical music,” may have some impact on behavioral manifestations of stress in cats in a veterinary context.

As with dogs, however, the research is limited by small studies, lack of replication, mixed and often statistically insignificant results, and other factors precluding any confident conclusions about the benefits of various kinds of music enrichment for cats even in the veterinary setting, much less in the home.

Conclusions

This review of the available literature demonstrates that music can be used to enrich the living environment of livestock. With the right choice of music genre, sound level and tempo, music can alleviate the adverse effects of noise and, thus, reduce stress. It should be kept in mind that silence is equally important and necessary for the well-being of the animals, and that playing loud music to animals—such as rock’n’roll or heavy metal—should be avoided, as it can negatively affect their health. The use of properly selected music in intensive livestock production improves welfare. Intensively housed livestock have to deal with more stress triggers, which weakens their tolerance to stress-inducing factors and, thus, leads to compounding health problems. One interesting line of inquiry would be to create a set of specific musical items and tracks composed specifically for a given species of livestock, tailoring the sound of the instruments, the tune of the song and the sound frequency appropriately.