Do Dogs Respond to Music? What Research Suggests About Sound, Stress, and Canine Behavior

Pet owners often play music to calm dogs at home, in kennels, or during training. Researchers and animal behavior specialists say the effects depend less on the playlist and more on context, conditioning, and the individual animal.

Music is widely used by humans to regulate mood, create atmosphere, and evoke memory. Increasingly, pet owners, trainers, and shelters apply the same idea to dogs—playing classical playlists, television channels, or background audio to ease stress or boredom. Videos of dogs relaxing to slow instrumentals or howling along to songs have reinforced the impression that dogs may share humans’ emotional response to music.

But animal behavior researchers say the reality is more complex. Evidence suggests that dogs can respond to sound patterns in ways that may reduce arousal in certain environments, yet those responses are highly dependent on the setting, the dog’s temperament, prior associations, and how the sound is delivered. Music, experts say, is not a treatment for anxiety or behavioral problems but may function as a supportive environmental tool in specific circumstances.

The question is not whether dogs “like” music in a human sense, but whether predictable auditory input can alter stress responses in certain contexts—and how reliably that happens.

Music as environmental management, not therapy

Veterinary behaviorists and shelter researchers emphasize that dogs experience stress for many reasons: separation anxiety, unfamiliar environments, noise phobias, medical issues, and insufficient behavioral training. These stressors can produce barking, pacing, aggression, submissive behaviors, or withdrawal.

Seana Dowling-Guyer, a lecturer at Tufts University’s Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine who has worked extensively with shelter animals, describes music as a potential environmental modifier rather than a behavioral solution.

In shelters, where barking, movement, and confined spaces can elevate arousal levels, staff have experimented with background music to reduce stimulation. Dowling-Guyer’s interest in the topic grew from observing how debates among shelter staff over which music to play reflected a broader question: whether sound itself, rather than musical preference, influenced canine behavior.

Her conclusion, echoed by many behaviorists, is that music may contribute to a calmer setting but should never be considered a primary method for treating anxiety or behavior disorders. It is not a substitute for training, medical assessment, or professional behavioral intervention.

Why shelters often choose classical and instrumental sounds

At facilities such as High Country Humane in Flagstaff, Arizona, staff play classical and instrumental music on kennel floors to create a less stimulating environment. Shelter managers report that dogs appear less agitated when slow, predictable music is played compared with periods of silence punctuated by barking and sudden noise.

Researchers who study animal responses to sound say this observation aligns with how dogs process auditory information. Aniruddh Patel, a psychology professor at Tufts University who studies music cognition across species, notes that “dog-calming” music often resembles simplified classical music: slow tempo, repetitive patterns, predictable structure, and gentle tones.

In unpredictable environments, predictable sound may function as a stabilizing background stimulus. Rather than engaging the dog emotionally in the way music affects humans, the sound may reduce the contrast between silence and sudden noise, thereby lowering startle responses and arousal.

This is consistent with findings from shelter-based studies reported in veterinary and animal welfare research, where classical music exposure has been associated with increased resting behavior and reduced barking compared with heavy metal or silence. However, these effects often diminish over time as dogs habituate to the sound.

Habituation and conditioning matter more than genre

Lori Kogan, a professor at Colorado State University who studies human–animal interactions, argues that dogs are not born with preferences for particular musical genres. Instead, they habituate to sounds they regularly hear in association with neutral or positive experiences.

This suggests that a dog exposed frequently to certain music during calm situations may later associate that sound with safety or routine. Conversely, if a specific song is always played when an owner leaves the house, the dog may learn to associate it with separation, undermining its calming intent.

This principle parallels how animals respond to environmental cues in general. Dogs learn through repeated associations; music becomes another cue within that learning system rather than an inherently soothing stimulus.

For this reason, some behaviorists advise rotating playlists or varying audio input so dogs do not form negative associations with specific sounds linked to stressful events.

Home use: distraction, stimulation, and observation

Many pet owners leave televisions or music on while away to provide auditory stimulation. Some dogs appear to engage with moving images or sounds, as in the case of dogs watching pet-focused video channels online. Owners report that these sounds and visuals may reduce signs of boredom or agitation in certain pets.

Researchers caution that these observations, while plausible, remain largely anecdotal. There is limited controlled evidence showing that television or music reliably reduces separation anxiety. What matters more is how the individual dog responds.

Behaviorists advise owners to watch for signs of discomfort—panting, lip-licking, pacing, or avoidance—when introducing sound. If a dog settles, lies down, or rests more readily with background music, it may indicate that the sound is functioning as a calming environmental factor for that individual animal.

If there is no change, experts note, there is little harm in continuing. But expectations should remain modest.

Where caution is needed

One consistent warning from veterinary behaviorists is against viewing music as a solution to behavioral problems. Trainers or services that promote sound therapy as a cure for anxiety, aggression, or fear are considered a red flag by many specialists.

The American College of Veterinary Behaviorists advises pet owners to seek qualified professionals for behavioral concerns, noting that improper techniques can cause long-term physical and emotional harm. Effective treatment of anxiety or behavioral disorders often requires structured training, environmental changes, and in some cases medical treatment.

In this framework, music is best understood as part of environmental enrichment rather than behavioral therapy.

Why the idea persists

The appeal of music for dogs is partly intuitive. Humans experience profound emotional effects from sound, and it is tempting to assume animals respond similarly. Social media videos of dogs reacting to music reinforce this perception.

Scientific research suggests that while dogs do respond to auditory patterns, those responses are tied more to predictability, conditioning, and environmental contrast than to musical appreciation. The benefits, when they occur, are subtle and context-dependent rather than dramatic or universal.

What this suggests for owners and shelters

For shelters, veterinary clinics, and grooming facilities—environments where dogs may be mildly stressed—predictable, low-volume instrumental music may help create a less stimulating soundscape.

For owners, music or television may function as background enrichment, especially if introduced gradually and not linked consistently to stressful events such as departures.

The key variable is observation. Dogs communicate comfort or discomfort through behavior. Their reactions provide more reliable guidance than any prescribed playlist.

The limits of current research

Much of the existing evidence comes from small shelter-based studies and observational research. Researchers acknowledge that more controlled studies are needed to determine how durable and generalizable these effects are across breeds, ages, and behavioral profiles.

Current findings do not support the idea that music has a universal calming effect on dogs. Instead, they suggest that under certain conditions, predictable sound can contribute to a calmer environment for some animals.

A conditional conclusion

The research does not indicate that dogs “enjoy” music in a human sense. It does suggest that sound can influence canine behavior when it alters the acoustic environment in predictable ways and when the dog has learned to associate that sound with neutral or positive experiences.

In that sense, music may serve as a supportive environmental tool—useful in some settings, irrelevant in others, and dependent entirely on the individual animal and context.