From responding to different commands to understanding their own name being called, dogs can recognize a fair share of stuff. Pups are also excellent at differentiating sounds. Whether you’re playing a melodious verse or heavy metal, different genres of music have different influences on your furry pet.

Most researchers have ensured dogs particularly enjoy soft music rather than high-pitched sounds or loud drums or bass. Experts discovered listening to the beats of soft music had a calming effect on dogs. When the music played, their restlessness vanished and the barking went down as well. 

The effects of Metal and Classical music on Dogs 

A study executed in 2017, that looked into dogs’ psychological and behavioral issues, reported the different genres of music that dogs like the most. For this, researchers played five unique genres of music to 38 participating dogs for five days straight. Soft rock, Motown, pop, reggae, and classical melodies were played and when pups liked the music they spent their time lying down, revealing they felt relaxed. 

The results determined dogs’ admiration for reggae and soft rock. 

Another study from 2012, done by a team of researchers from Colorado State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine recorded dogs’ responses to certain types of music including heavy metal. Over the course of four months, 117 canines were observed, and it was specified that heavy metals caused dogs the most distress. The dogs even experienced some nervous shaking when metal music played. Some canines even chose to stand up and walk away the minute they started feeling agitated. So if you ever decide to play Rock or Thrash metal around the house and find your dog barking and howling you might as well keep the music away from the pups. 

Even though there’s so much good reputation surrounding classical music and dogs’ attraction towards it, one study strongly suggests otherwise. 

This research from Betway using a fitness tracker showed that even though the dogs who listened to classical music stayed relaxed ​for about 35 minutes, their anxiety levels surpassed 141 points. Compared to Folk and Jazz, where stress levels remained as low as 66 and 90, this was clearly high. The same research however validated canines’ distaste for metal music. As anticipated, paying attention to heavy metals the four-legged furry babies’ anxiety skyrocketed. The average anxiety points of 87 peaked at 166 points, revealing the dogs felt a maximum amount of irritation, stress, and uneasiness. One dog in particular scored an impressive 290 points.