Classical, reggae or soft rock: which music calms dogs?

Classical music has the most evidence behind it. In shelter and kennel studies it was linked to dogs resting more and barking less. But it isn't the whole story. In the one study that compared five genres, soft rock and reggae showed the biggest change in heart-rate variability. In another, an audiobook beat every kind of music. And no study has found that music made specially for dogs does better than ordinary classical.

Here is what researchers played, genre by genre, what changed, and what that means for the music you put on at home. If you want the short version on whether dogs enjoy music at all, start with do dogs like music?

How these studies work

Almost all of the research comes from rescue shelters and boarding kennels. The set-up is similar each time: a speaker plays one kind of sound to a room of kennelled dogs for a few hours, and an observer records what each dog is doing at regular intervals. Is it lying down, standing, pacing, barking? Some studies also measure heart-rate variability (HRV), where a higher reading usually means lower stress, and the stress hormone cortisol.

Two things follow from that. First, "calming" in these studies means more resting and less barking, not a happier dog in any deeper sense. Second, every result below comes from speakers in a kennel. None of it tested pet dogs at home with a device on the collar.

Genre by genre

Classical: the most tested, and the most consistent

The first shelter study played five conditions to 50 dogs for four hours each: human conversation, classical music, pop, heavy metal and no added sound. With classical music, dogs spent more time resting, less time standing and more time quiet than with any of the others.¹

A later study of 117 kennelled dogs found the same pattern. With classical music, dogs spent more time sleeping and less time vocalizing.²

A Scottish study added heart-rate measures. On the first day of classical music, kennelled dogs showed HRV changes consistent with lower stress, and they sat and lay down more and barked less. Cortisol didn't change in a consistent way.³

A review of nine studies drew the same line: classical music appears to have a calming influence on dogs in stressful environments.⁴

The caveat is size. In a study of 60 pet dogs left in an unfamiliar room without their owners, dogs that heard a Mozart sonata lay down sooner than dogs that heard an audiobook, and settled sooner than dogs with no added sound. The authors called it "only a moderately calming effect", and said sound seems to have little value in short, acute stress.⁵

Heavy metal: the one to skip

Heavy metal is the one genre with a clear downside. In the shelter study, dogs barked more with heavy metal than with any other sound. In the kennel study, it was linked to more body shaking, a sign of nervousness.¹²

Pop: no standout effect

Pop turns up in three studies and doesn't stand out in any of them. Classical beat it for resting and quiet in the first shelter study. In the five-genre study, pop had a smaller effect on heart rate than soft rock and reggae.¹⁶

Soft rock and reggae: promising, with a catch

This is where the reggae headlines come from. A team in Scotland played 38 kennelled dogs five genres over five days: soft rock, Motown, pop, reggae and classical. Dogs spent more time lying down and less time standing with every genre. Heart-rate variability rose most with soft rock and reggae, a sign of lower stress, with a smaller effect for Motown, pop and classical.

Two findings complicate the picture. Cortisol was higher during soft rock than in the silent period before the music started. And the music didn't change how much dogs barked while it played, but dogs were more likely to bark once it stopped.⁶

So soft rock and reggae deserve a place in the conversation. They don't yet deserve a verdict: this is one study of 38 dogs, and its two stress measures pointed different ways for soft rock.

Music made for dogs: no better than classical

Several products sell music composed or arranged "for dogs". The research hasn't found that this helps. In the kennel study, a classical track designed to relax dogs had minimal effect. The nine-study review found no additional benefit from music designed for dogs.²⁴

Audiobooks: a surprise in one study

The most striking result isn't music at all. A study at a rehoming centre in England played 31 dogs five conditions for two hours each: an audiobook, classical music, pop, music designed for dogs and no added sound. With the audiobook, dogs spent more time resting and less time sitting or standing alert than with any of the other four.⁷

A human voice may be reassuring in a kennel. But the effect didn't carry over to pet dogs away from their owners. In that study, the audiobook showed no apparent benefit, and dogs spent more time looking at the speaker.⁵

Why the same playlist stops working

In the 2015 study, the calming effect of classical music on the first day was gone by day 7, when dogs had heard the same playlist every day. Researchers call this habituation: the sound stops registering as anything new.³

In the 2017 study, the team played a different genre each day, and the changes held across all five days. They suggest that more variety may reduce habituation.⁶

That makes variety the most practical finding in this research. Whatever you play, don't play the same few tracks on a loop every day.

What the studies can't tell you

• Which pieces work best. These studies compare genres, not individual pieces, so they can't tell you which sonata to pick.
• Whether it works at home. Shelter kennels are loud and unfamiliar. The one study of pet dogs found a smaller effect.
• Whether it treats anxiety. None of these studies tested dogs with separation anxiety or noise phobia. If your dog panics when left alone or during storms, talk to your vet.

For all the studies in one place, see does music calm dogs?.

How to build a calming rotation

1. Make classical the base. Slow piano and strings are closest to what the studies played.
2. Skip heavy metal and anything with sudden loud parts.
3. Rotate. Change the order and the mix from day to day, and add a second genre, such as soft rock, if your dog settles to it.
4. Start at calm times, like naps and quiet evenings, so the music becomes part of settling down.
5. Watch your dog. Look for the things the studies measured: lying down sooner, settling for longer, barking less. If your dog gets up and leaves the room, change the music.

What's on our playlists

The playlists on our music page mix classical pieces, such as Satie's Gymnopédie no. 1 and Bach's Air on the G String, with Barkwoo originals: soft, slow instrumentals. There's no reggae or soft rock on them today. We should be clear that no study has tested our originals, and the research above hasn't found that music made for dogs beats ordinary classical. You can listen to the calming playlist or the home-alone playlist and judge for yourself.

The Barkwoo Music Box clips onto any standard collar and plays calming music from there, so the sound stays with your dog as they move around the house. One button starts hours of preloaded music, with no phone, WiFi or app. To build your own rotation, plug it into a computer and drag your own MP3s in alongside the preloaded tracks. The studies above used speakers in kennels, not our device, so we point you to what they found rather than claim more.

Quick answers

Is classical music good for dogs? It has the most evidence. In shelter and kennel studies, classical music was linked to dogs resting more and barking less. In pet dogs away from their owners, the effect was moderate.

Does reggae calm dogs? In one study of 38 kennelled dogs, reggae and soft rock showed the biggest change in heart-rate variability of five genres. It's a single study, so treat it as promising, not proven.

What music should I avoid for my dog? Heavy metal. It was linked to more barking in one study and more body shaking in another.

Is music made for dogs better than classical? Not so far. A dog-designed track had minimal effect in one study, and a review of nine studies found no extra benefit.

Do audiobooks calm dogs? In one shelter study, dogs rested more with an audiobook than with any music. In pet dogs away from their owners, the audiobook showed no apparent benefit.

Should I play the same music every day? Better not. The calming effect of one classical playlist faded within a week, while a daily change of genre kept the effect going.

References

1. Wells, D.L., Graham, L. & Hepper, P.G. (2002). The influence of auditory stimulation on the behaviour of dogs housed in a rescue shelter. Animal Welfare, 11, 385–393. doi:10.1017/S0962728600025112 ↩︎
2. Kogan, L.R., Schoenfeld-Tacher, R. & Simon, A.A. (2012). Behavioral effects of auditory stimulation on kenneled dogs. Journal of Veterinary Behavior, 7(5), 268–275. doi:10.1016/j.jveb.2011.11.002 ↩︎
3. Bowman, A., Scottish SPCA, Dowell, F.J. & Evans, N.P. (2015). 'Four Seasons' in an animal rescue centre; classical music reduces environmental stress in kennelled dogs. Physiology & Behavior, 143, 70–82. doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2015.02.035 ↩︎
4. Lindig, A.M., McGreevy, P.D. & Crean, A.J. (2020). Musical dogs: a review of the influence of auditory enrichment on canine health and behavior. Animals, 10(1), 127. doi:10.3390/ani10010127 ↩︎
5. Kinnaird, R.F. & Wells, D.L. (2022). The effect of auditory stimulation on pet dogs' reactions to owner separation. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 254, 105688. doi:10.1016/j.applanim.2022.105688 ↩︎
6. Bowman, A., Dowell, F.J. & Evans, N.P. (2017). The effect of different genres of music on the stress levels of kennelled dogs. Physiology & Behavior, 171, 207–215. doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2017.01.024 ↩︎
7. Brayley, C. & Montrose, V.T. (2016). The effects of audiobooks on the behaviour of dogs at a rehoming kennels. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 174, 111–115. doi:10.1016/j.applanim.2015.11.008 ↩︎