We’re reposting this original blog from September 30, 2013 because sound therapy is something that we can incorporate during the holiday season to help everyone in the house relax.
Not only is the holiday season stressful for us but it can be a lot for our pets to manage. The change in schedule, frequent visitors and more crate time can often lead to unwanted behaviors. So here’s a YouTube playlist we create of calming music. Please note we are not affiliated with any of these musician and do not profit from these recommendations. However, our pets have spent hours listening to these tunes relaxing with a stuffed kong in their crate.
ORIGINAL BLOG:
An important part of kennel enrichment is managing the soundscape of kennel. Sound affects all animals, humans included, on a primal level. The ding of a dinner bell triggers our body to respond in hunger, the siren of a fire alarm triggers our bodies to respond in flight and we've all seen dogs wake from a sleep when they hear tires in the driveway. The ASPCA has a great article that provides tips that you can use improve the soundscape of your shelter.
Through a Dog's Ear has a shelter program that enables shelters to obtain copies of calming music cd's at no charge (only pay $5 for shipping and handling). Calming music is defined as music with a tempo of 50bpm or less. Studies have shown playing music at 50bpm will slow the heart rate of the listener and thereby providing a calming effect. When played in a kennel environment calming music is shown to decrease persistent barking in shelter animals. In our enrichment program, we combine sound therapy with scent therapy and clicker training in order to engage shelter animals on mental, physical and sensory levels.
Here's an informative Ted's Talk about the 4 ways sound affects us.