Volume 143, 1 May 2015, Pages 70–82
‘Four Seasons’ in an animal rescue centre; classical music reduces environmental stress in kennelled dogs
Highlights
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- Classical music increases HRV in kennelled dogs.
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- Dogs display more relaxed behaviour when exposed to classical music.
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- Dogs habituate to calming effects of music as soon as the second day of exposure.
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- Male dogs have a more positive response to classical music than females.
Abstract
On
admission to rescue and rehoming centres dogs are faced with a variety
of short- and long-term stressors including novelty, spatial/social
restriction and increased noise levels. Animate and inanimate
environmental enrichment techniques have been employed within the kennel
environment in an attempt to minimise stress experienced by dogs.
Previous studies have shown the potential physiological and
psychological benefits of auditory stimulation, particularly classical
music, within the kennel environment. This study determined the
physiological/psychological changes that occur when kennelled dogs are
exposed to long-term (7 days) auditory stimulation in the form of
classical music through assessment of effects on heart rate variability
(HRV), salivary cortisol and behaviour. The study utilised a cross over
design in which two groups were exposed to two consecutive 7 day
treatments; silence (control) and classical music (test). Group A was
studied under silent conditions followed by 7 days of test conditions
during which a fixed classical music playlist was played from
10:00–16:30 h. Group B received treatment in the reverse order. Results
showed that auditory stimulation induced changes in HRV and behavioural
data indicative of reduced stress levels in dogs in both groups
(salivary cortisol data did not show any consistent patterns of change
throughout the study). Specifically, there was a significant increase in
HRV parameters such as μRR, STDRR, RMSSD, pNN50, RRTI, SD1 and SD2 and a
significant decrease in μHR and LF/HF from the first day of silence
(S1) to the first day of music (M1). Similarly, examination of
behavioural data showed that dogs in both groups spent significantly
more time sitting/lying and silent and less time standing and barking
during auditory stimulation. General Regression Analysis (GRA) of the
change in HRV parameters from S1 to M1 revealed that male dogs responded
better to auditory stimulation relative to female. Interestingly, HRV
and behavioural data collected on the seventh day of music (M2) was
similar to that collected on S1 suggesting that the calming effects of
music are lost within the 7 days of exposure. A small ‘9-Day’ study was
conducted in attempt to determine the time-scale in which dogs become
habituated to classical music and examination of the results suggests
that this occurs within as soon as the second day of exposure. The
results of this study show the potential of auditory stimulation as a
highly effective environmental enrichment technique for kennelled dogs.
However, the results also indicate the requirement for further
investigations into the way in which auditory stimulation should be
incorporated within the daily kennel management regime in order to
harness the full physiological and psychological benefits of music.
Keywords
- Stress;
- Heart rate variability (HRV);
- Behaviour;
- Cortisol;
- Dogs;
- Classical music
Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
