Don’t worry, be yappy! The benefits of playing reggae music to dogs
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Success Story:
Calder Vets
Background
Stress and anxiety are caused by many things, and being ill is often one of those times when we feel the need for some calm and relaxation.
Music can ease anxiety and also aid recovery time after a stressful situation, but what about for animals?
Could music also help during those times when they feel scared and anxious?
We spoke to Lead Veterinary Surgeon at Calder Vets, Natalie McQuire, about the effect music can have on the cats in her care, and how her surgery uses music to help with their recovery.
About Natalie McQuire
Natalie graduated from the Royal Veterinary College in 2006, and has worked in small animal practice since. This included a year back at the college hospital working with the emergency and critical care team.
She started working for Calder vets in 2010 and her current role involves working at the Wakefield and Sandal branches. Natalie obtained an RCVS certificate in veterinary diagnostic imaging in 2012 and has a particular interest in this area.
In conversation with Calder Vets
How do you use music?
We saw the article from 2018 where the practice spoke about how they have been using music for in-patient cats, how did the use of music for the animals recovering come about?
Published research has demonstrated that playing cat-specific music significantly reduces stress levels in our feline patients.
This has huge benefits on their wellbeing and the additional bonus of allowing vets to conduct better examinations.
I would say that the music seems to have a calming effect on our human team members too.”
What are the benefits of music?
Is it just cats that you have noticed react positively to the playing of music, or do you have other inpatients who it helps to calm? How about dogs?
We do use music in our dog wards but I believe there is less evidence to support this.
Studies have shown dogs have slightly more varied music taste and may prefer classical, reggae or soft rock.
What physical or psychological changes did you notice in the cats when music was played? Is there a particular genre that has a more beneficial effect? Or even a particular track that seems to be most popular?
We use an online streaming service to obtain the cat music, so have no control over quite what is played although the music tends to have quite a classical bias.
It does make it a little difficult to ascertain whether a particular track or genre if preferred by the cats. I would say that the music seems to have a calming effect on our human team members too. We can often find someone hiding out it the lovely calm atmosphere of the cat ward while writing up their clinical notes.
Hopefully if the music can reduce stress in one patient and reduce the release of stress pheromones it may reduce stress in others through the day too!”
Would you recommend TheMusicLicence?
If you were asked by another vet about using music within the practice, what advice would you give?
I would recommend it use both in the waiting room and wards.
It does need to be tailored to our patients and cat/dog specific though. Just having the radio on will not help them.
Download the full interview
How a visit to the vet impacts an animal’s senses? What does a positive reaction look like for other animals when playing music?
Download the full interview with Natalie McQuire from Calder Vets today to find out the answers to these questions and much more.
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We have spoken to both cat and dog specialists about the effect music can have, how owners and those responsible for pet care can use music to ease issues such as separation anxiety and
scared and frightened pets on bonfire night.
A visit to the vets can be a stressful situation for all animals and music can be a welcome distraction for both the animal and the anxious owner. Playing music or the TV in waiting areas, recovery rooms and, where appropriate in treatment rooms could help to make a visit to the vets more enjoyable.
Find out more today about the benefits of playing music in your veterinary practice or other animal wellbeing business.
Complete our Get TheMusicLicence Form to request a quote or call us on 0116 290 0525.
(8am to 6pm Monday to Thursday and 8am to 3pm Friday)
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