In my webinars on canine and sound, I talk about the evident inadequacies of the canine and music research. The issues at the moment are being coated intimately by students within the discipline as properly (Kriengwatana et al., 2022; Kriengwatana et al., 2025; Lindig et al., 2020; Snowdon, 2021). For my part, an important concern is that the research designed to evaluate whether or not canine profit from music have used whole items of music earlier than testing canine’ skills to understand the fundamentals. Music is complicated. No researcher began with easy melodies; nobody individually examined whether or not canine can distinguish between consonance and dissonance, which is essential to the western classical and pop music they normally take a look at. Nobody separated out rhythm to see what canine may discern. Nobody examined to see if there have been sure devices or vocal sounds the canine responded to. In different phrases, nobody separated the variables. As a substitute, they in contrast canine’ responses to entire playlists of, for instance, “classical” music, pop, rock, or reggae.
The numerous different points with the research can’t be addressed till that one is.
The fundamentals I listed above (and much more) have been examined with different species, however not canine. I imagine individuals had been in a rush to search out one thing that would assist canine in distressing conditions, resembling in shelters or the vet’s workplace. However the results of testing entire playlists earlier than exploring canine’ responses to the constructing blocks of music is that even when we had been to discover a piece of music that strongly and positively affected canine, we wouldn’t know why. We wouldn’t know what facet of the music was affecting them, as a result of all variables had been lumped collectively.
Though not a take a look at of music, per se, I ought to point out the wonderful work of Dr. Patricia McConnell (1990), who discovered that 4 brief, quickly repeating rising notes had been simpler at prompting a canine to return when referred to as and elevated motor exercise ranges. That is the kind of work we’d like when investigating canine’ responses to music.
Two units of music researchers have now carried out some extra primary research. First, I’ll overview what we find out about canine’ skills to discriminate sound from older research, then I’ll report on the excellent news.
What Info Do We Already Have?
Right here are some things we find out about canine’ listening to skills as they apply to music. I cowl this in a little bit extra element in my weblog publish, “How Does Canine’ Listening to Evaluate To People’?”
Pitch
There’s robust proof that canine can discriminate pitch right down to tiny variations, a lot smaller than the Western diatonic music “half step” (Andreyev, 1934; Dworkin, 1935). The half step is mostly the restrict for testing human pitch discrimination or excellent pitch.
Pace/Rhythm
Andreyev (1934) additionally examined canine’ potential to discriminate between completely different speeds of the ticks of a metronome, and so they may detect a distinction of two beats per minute.
Timbre
There’s analysis proof that canine can discriminate variations in timbre. Timbre is outlined as:
a sensory attribute of sound that allows one to guage variations between sounds having the identical pitch, loudness, and period (Gelfand 2010, p. 227).
Timbre is the standard that allows you to inform (or have the ability to be taught) the distinction between an oboe and a clarinet taking part in the identical sequence of notes.
A research in 1929 confirmed that canine may discriminate the distinction between the identical notice performed on a tuning fork or a keyboard instrument (Razran & Warden).
The power to discriminate timbre is current when canine can inform their relations’ voices aside.
These research inform us nothing about canine’ preferences in sound and music. However solely by figuring out that canine can discriminate between these facets of sound can we hypothesize that they could have preferences between them. So they’re a begin.
The “Trendy” Research on Music for Canine
These research began in 2002 with a research by Wells et al. I’ve an inventory of 23 of them right here. In most of them, playlists or particular person items in sure genres had been performed within the presence of canine and their responses had been recorded in numerous methods.
Most of those research are the type I disparaged above as a result of they lumped collectively means too many variables.
However a research in 2020 and one other in 2024 used higher strategies.
The Comfortable Exceptions
Listed here are the researchers who lastly broke the development.
The Amaya et al. research from 2020 performed entire items of music however separated out variables to vary one after the other. The Pinelli et al. research (2024) examined the flexibility of canine to discriminate a constructing block of music: a brief sequence of tones.
Amaya et al.
The research, “Results of music pitch and tempo on the behaviour of kennelled canine,” separated the variables of pitch and tempo when exposing canine to playlists of music (Amaya et al., 2020). They used complicated items of music, which is problematic for the explanations I acknowledged above. However they confirmed good observe in some ways.
First, slightly than selecting a style of music, which may cowl a broad vary of tonality, rhythm, instrumentation, and extra, they stipulated traits of the music that they deemed fascinating. They filtered Spotify to search out such items. They chose items with a tempo of 70 or fewer beats per minute, a “optimistic/euphoric valence” as decided by Spotify’s score system, and “low vitality,” once more decided on a numerical scale by Spotify. As well as, they chose items by (normally) one instrument, the piano, and chosen items that each one began at roughly the identical pitch to be uniform when the pitch was modified.
However the standout attribute of this research is that they took the identical items of music and adjusted just one variable at a time. They performed the music/sound for canine below six circumstances: a management (unaltered playlist), white noise with no music, the playlist at each a sooner tempo and a slower one, and the playlist with raised pitch and lowered pitch.
This research had stunning outcomes. Just one situation appeared to have an effect on the canine’ conduct. The lowered pitch situation was accompanied by conduct indicating the canine weren’t as relaxed. It was speculated that canine might affiliate decrease pitches with growling.
A number of of the “music for canine” corporations promote that their canine music is lowered in pitch to advertise leisure. Maybe now they’re scrambling to vary their claims.
One other beauty of this research is that the alterations to the music had been described properly and had been replicable. I replicated them myself.
I discovered one of many items from their playlist: Lavender Hills by Brian Crain.
I lowered the pitch utilizing Audacity as they described within the paper and provide this excerpt below honest use for academic functions. You possibly can evaluate it to the total authentic on the hyperlink within the earlier paragraph. Be aware the very low frequencies while you take heed to the altered model. That is the transformation which will have aroused or bothered the canine.
Their descriptions of the classical items weren’t as exact as they need to have been. They used titles like “etudes” and “piano sonata” with out additional specifying the composer and different figuring out data. That makes replication not possible as a result of there are a whole lot of items with these names. Maybe they supplied extra data on the items in supplemental supplies, however I didn’t discover them.
However this research is superior to the opposite playlist research as a result of the researchers used the identical items of music in numerous circumstances, separating one variable at a time. They described their strategies properly. And the potential for lower-pitched music inflicting stress slightly than leisure to canine is a crucial discovering.
Pinelli et al.
“In ‘Tone’ with Canine: Exploring Canine Musicality” is the primary analysis I do know of that used a small constructing block of music in its research of canine’ perceptions (Pinelli et al., 2024). The aim of the research was to find out whether or not canine may possess a capability referred to as relative pitch.
Regardless that this research is groundbreaking in a number of methods, there are some irritating issues. The researchers by no means outlined relative pitch (see under for some definitions); they only claimed that if a canine may make sure discriminations, they’d the flexibility. Additionally, due to sure traits of the tone sequences they used, there may be one other potential clarification for the canine’ potential to discriminate apart from relative pitch. I’ll get to that. Even so, something we find out about canine’ primary skills with sound and music is helpful.
You possibly can learn an honest definition of relative pitch right here, however I’ll elaborate. Most musicians have relative pitch. A method it’s examined for musicians is {that a} notice is performed, and the individual is informed the id of the notice, e.g., “the D above center C, or “D4.” Then, one other notice is performed. An individual with relative pitch can inform you the id of that notice due to the audible relationship between the 2. In the event that they know the start notice, they will write in musical notation a sequence of notes you play for them. These methods of testing require the individual to grasp some music principle.
However individuals with out this music principle data may be examined, as properly. A method could be to introduce a sequence of some notes, a melody. Ask the individual to sing or whistle it a couple of occasions. Then give them a distinct beginning notice, and ask them to sing or whistle the melody beginning on that notice as a substitute. That is referred to as transposition. An individual who can transpose can hear the relationships (intervals) between completely different tones. Folks with relative pitch transpose with out desirous about it in the event that they begin to hum or whistle a tune in a variety that’s increased or decrease than they will execute. “Oops, I can’t attain these excessive notes, I’d higher begin decrease.” Here’s a web page the place people can prepare and take a look at their relative pitch skills.
The researchers examined the canine utilizing transposition as properly.
First, they began by instructing the canine to discriminate between two sequences of 4 notes.
Listed here are the unique sequences. I generated them as sinusoidal waves as described within the research and with the period of the notes and silence stipulated there.
CAUTION: These may scare some canine who’re triggered by high-pitched digital sounds.
The canine had been skilled to go to a bowl on one facet of the proprietor for a deal with when listening to one sequence and to a bowl on the opposite facet when listening to the opposite. Coaching discriminations is difficult, and solely 2 out of the 16 canine that began the research mastered that train and went on to the transposition section.
Here’s a pattern transposition of each sequences.
The notes have the identical relationship to one another (that’s the “relative” half), however they’re completely different notes. Each canine may reply to the transposed sequences and go to the proper dish at a share higher than probability. If the transposed sequences sound awfully excessive to you—that’s one other good transfer by the researchers. Canine’ prime listening to vary is increased than ours (and even increased than these notes).
The researchers go into some element concerning the challenges within the research, and it’s an fascinating learn. Amongst different issues, they detected a Intelligent Hans impact, so that they included a situation the place the house owners had been hidden behind a barrier.
The scientists seem to have missed the implications of 1 attribute of the sequences they selected. That’s that the four-note sequences both go completely up in pitch (every notice increased than the final) or completely down, the reverse. So, I don’t imagine they dominated out the likelihood that the canine had been merely detecting the distinction between a sequence that rose in pitch or fell. A canine may hear that facet with out detecting the relationships between the notes. That might not be an illustration of relative pitch. The researchers might have chosen the sequences as a result of they might in all probability be simpler to discriminate than a four-note sequence that didn’t go in the identical “route.” However even that discovering could be worthwhile. And maybe a future research may discover completely different sequencs.
Conclusion
I’ve been finding out the canine and music papers since 2012. I’ve branched out into studying the research about all animals and music and touched on the human music remedy literature as properly, since it’s extremely related and sometimes uncared for. As I discussed above, I current intimately in my webinars the issues within the canine and music research, and I’m fairly intense about reaming out some corporations. The baseless claims the businesses make are merely astonishing.
I’ll be writing extra about this, however I made a decision to begin by highlighting these higher research earlier than diving into the issues. So keep “tuned”!
Copyright 2025 Eileen Anderson
References
Amaya, V., Descovich, Ok., Paterson, M. B., & Phillips, C. J. (2020). Results of music pitch and tempo on the behaviour of kennelled canine. Animals, 11(1), 10.
Andreyev, L. A. (1934). Excessive limits of pitch discrimination with increased tones. Journal of Comparative Psychology, 18(3), 315-332. METRONOME & PITCH DISC
Dworkin, S. (1935). Alimentary motor conditioning and pitch discrimination in canine. American Journal of Physiology-Legacy Content material, 112(2), 323-328. PITCH DISC.
Gelfand, S. (2010). Listening to: An introduction to psychological and physiological acoustics. Informa Healthcare.
Lindig, A. M., McGreevy, P. D., & Crean, A. J. (2020). Musical canine: A overview of the affect of auditory enrichment on canine well being and conduct. Animals, 10(1), 127.
Kriengwatana, B. P., Mott, R., & ten Cate, C. (2022). Music for animal welfare: A essential overview & conceptual framework. Utilized Animal Behaviour Science, 105641.
Kriengwatana, B. P., Nager, R. G., South, A., Ullrich, M., & Doolittle, E. L. (2025). Enjoying music to animals: An interdisciplinary strategy to enhancing our understanding of animals’ responses to music. Animal Behaviour, 221, 123074.
McConnell, P. B. (1990). Acoustic construction and receiver response in home canine, Canis familiaris. Animal Behaviour, 39(5), 897-904.
Pinelli, C., Scandurra, A., Giacoma, C., Di Lucrezia, A., & D’Aniello, B. (2024). In “Tone” with canine: exploring canine musicality. Animal Cognition, 27(1), 38.
Razran, H. S., & Warden, C. J. (1929). The sensory capacities of the canine as studied by the conditioned reflex methodology (Russian faculties). Psychological Bulletin, 26(4), 202.
Snowdon, C. T. (2021). Animal alerts, music and emotional well-being. Animals, 11(9), 2670.
