Join today and you can easily save your favourite articles, join in the conversation and comment, plus select which news your want direct to your inbox.
Join today and you can easily save your favourite articles, join in the conversation and comment, plus select which news your want direct to your inbox.
If there's throbbing bass and a herbal-ish plume coming from your dog's kennel, be afraid: it's not "just a phase".
A new study from the University of Glasgow and the Scottish animal welfare charity SPCA has found that dogs "prefer reggae and soft rock" to other music genres.
'Same problems as London': Morrison doubles down on negative gearing
High property prices in the UK show that Australia's housing affordability crisis is not related to negative gearing, Treasurer Scott Morrison told business leaders in Marylebone, in the UK.
In a joint news conference at the White House with British Prime Minister Theresa May, U.S. President Donald Trump says he thinks Brexit will be "wonderful" for the UK.
Up Next
Plane crashes into river during Australia Day celebrations
A trade accord that will boost global exports by $1 trillion should come into force within two weeks, the head of WTO says, just as the rhetoric of U.S. President Donald Trump clouds the outlook for global trade.
Up Next
Former Mexican president slams Trump's 'useless' wall
Former Mexican president slams Trump's 'useless' wall
Outspoken ex-Mexican President Vicente Fox tells Reuters that U.S. President Donald Trump needs to be checked, blasting his plan for a border wall as a waste of money.
Up Next
The world is moving closer to catastrophic peril, scientists say
The world is moving closer to catastrophic peril, scientists say
Scientists have moved the hands of their metaphorical 'Doomsday' clock closer to midnight, warning of the increasing threats of nuclear weapons and climate change.
Although every pup is different, a new study finds dogs prefer soft rock and reggae to pop, Motown and classical music.
Cat people, you can start laughing hysterically now.
The study set out to explore the effect different genres of music had on a dog's behaviour (and not, surprisingly, whether dogs and second-year uni students should date), testing various playlists that also included Motown, pop and classical music.
Every dog's favourite, apparently: Bob Marley in 1980.
Researchers measured the dogs' heart rates and found that stress levels decreased when they were played any music, but particularly reggae and soft rock.
"Overall, the response to different genres was mixed highlighting the possibility that, like humans, our canine friends have their own individual music preferences," the study's professor Neil Evans said.
Advertisement
"But reggae music and soft rock showed the highest positive changes in behaviour."
It's perhaps bad news for owners, since dogs aren't really able to control their own Spotify accounts. Owners, time to make lil' Rover a smooth playlist heavy on the Bob Marley, REO Speedwagon and Ed Sheeran (Golden Retrievers, obviously) and blast it.
Digging a bit of reggae perhaps? Photo: Peter Long
The SPCA said they planned on fitting all of their kennels with sound systems as a result of the findings, and "extending the research to other species".
While perhaps the oddest, it's not the first study to explore the relationship between pets and tunes.
A 2015 study by researchers at the University of Wisconsin found that cats similarly respond to music.
The study led to an album of "classical music for cats", composed by America's National Symphony Orchestra cellist David Teie, that climbed to number one on the iTunes Classical Music Chart last October.
Save articles for later.
Subscribe for unlimited access to news. Login to save articles.
Return to the homepage by clicking on the site logo.