Multiple studies suggest listening to music can have a positive effect on our stress response, particularly our autonomic nervous system. This system is the part of the peripheral nervous system responsible for adjusting our unconscious body functions including blood flow, breathing, heartbeat and digestion.
So if listening to music can help our stress levels, what about our beloved canines?
Jenny Webber, executive director of The Humane Society of Hobart, a no-kill shelter in northern Indiana, was asking herself the same question.
The director was always looking for ways to reduce the stress of shelter staff and volunteers. She had read studies coming from the University of Wisconsin-Madison on using music as a tool in helping to reduce human stress.
Classical music, a favorite of Jenny’s, was one of the types of music researchers had said helped to reduce human stress. So she started piping classical music into the rescue facility and almost immediately the staff and volunteers responded favorably.
But the director wasn’t sure the dogs were getting any benefits from the music. During this time, she had also been watching social media videos of musicians singing to dogs. Shelters could be stressful for the canine residents. Strange people, animals, noises and the like can add to the stress level of a dog living there.
Jenny began to think about bringing a singer/musician into the shelter. About the same time, her cousin, Lisa Goodnight, was thinking about activities her husband, Lee, a retired professor and high school teacher, could do.
Since age 12, Lee has always had a love for music as a singer and guitar player. Over the years, he has sung as a band member and soloist. He was performing afternoons in a local coffee house, where his “folk” play list included music from John Denver, Simon and Garfunkel and Jim Croce.
Besides performing at the coffee house, Lisa suggested to Lee that he might want to talk to Jenny about volunteering at the rescue shelter. Lee, who with Lisa has adopted many rescue dogs over the years, wasn’t opposed to the idea, so at a wedding the three were attending, he approached Jenny about volunteering.
When the two got together to sign him up, Lee assumed he would be walking the dogs or cleaning individual kennels. Little did he know, Jenny had something else in mind.
Jenny told Lee about the videos of performers singing to dogs. She thought his style of music would be perfect for what she had in mind. Lee was a little hesitant and unsure he was the right performer for the job. At the end of their discussion, they both agreed Lee would play Mondays around 1 p.m. for about an hour and a half.
Each Monday, as soon as Lee starts, the dogs quiet down. They relax, lying in their kennels facing him. Jenny describes the dogs as “calm, laying peacefully.”
Lee said whether he is singing at the coffee house or at the shelter, “it’s all about the audience.” He wants to bring both humans and canines a little “joy” during their time together.
Jenny calls the shelter performances “Magical Music Mondays.” And I think the title describes the weekly performances beautifully.
Karin Spicer is a member of The Dog Writers Association of America. She lives with her family and two furry animals who inspire her. She can be reached at spicerkarin@gmail.com.
Music genres that may reduce stress
1. Classical
2. Nature
3. Film scores or cinematic
4. Pop
5. Reggae
6. Jazz
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