Reggae ‘calms dogs in distress’

Concerned about your pooch’s wellbeing as annual fireworks season fast approaches?

It seems a dose of UB40, or perhaps some Bob Marley, is likely to make your mutt feel irie.

With Diwali and Guy Fawkes celebrated in the first week of November, concern by pet owners over the safety of their animals usually reaches fever pitch around this time of the year.

But if the University of Glasgow’s research is anything to go by, reggae music and a bit of soft rock are most likely to soothe frantic mutts afraid of the noise emitted from fireworks.

Dogs at a rehoming centre in Scotland were initially played classical music for one week, to determine the long-term effect.

“Interestingly, following seven days of treatment the positive effects of classical music seemed to wear off, possibly indicating that the dogs had habituated to the auditory enrichment,” researchers said.

In a follow-up study, 38 dogs were played five different genres of music, including classical, soft rock, Motown, reggae and pop.

“Positive effects were detected for all genres, but were slightly more noticeable during the soft rock and reggae playlists,” the study found.

Farrah Khan Maharajh, of Durban-based NPO Feeding the Furballs, said her animals preferred the likes of Muse and Linkin Park.

“We play certain music and they become accustomed to those particular songs. I think they become familiar with the beat and it calms them.”

Maharajh advised poochlovers to select music that will “drown out the bangs”.

“But start playing it now so that they become used to it. It’s also important to be with your pets, especially if they get very scared. Talking to them will also help sooth them,” she said.

According to the NSPCA, more family pets “will run away from home during holidays involving fireworks than any other days of the year”. “To avoid distress you should take appropriate measures to ensure the wellbeing of your petss,” said NSPCA spokesperson Meg Wilson. — Times Select