Classical cuts: a pilot study of classical music’s effects on dogs in grooming settings

doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-6750545/v1

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Classical cuts: a pilot study of classical music’s effects on dogs in grooming settings

https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6750545/v1

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published 23 Jul, 2025

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Grooming procedures are often stressful for dogs due to exposure to loud noises, unfamiliar individuals, and the absence of their owners. This study aimed to assess whether classical music could reduce stress-related behaviours in dogs during grooming. Fifteen companion dogs of various breeds, aged 2 to 8 years, were observed during three grooming sessions: a control session without music, and two experimental sessions featuring classical piano compositions—Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata and Chopin’s Nocturne in E-flat major. Music was played at 75 dB to mask ambient salon noise. Stress-related behaviours were rated on a 5-point scale during bathing, drying, clipping, and nail trimming. Results showed that male dogs exhibited significantly calmer behaviour in the music conditions (p < 0.01). Female dogs showed similar trends, though differences were not statistically significant between stages. These findings suggest that classical music is a simple, effective, non-invasive enrichment method that can enhance dog welfare in grooming environments.

dog grooming

stress

music

welfare

Grooming procedures can be highly stressful for dogs. During grooming, animals are exposed to various aversive stimuli, including unfamiliar people, the absence of their owners, lingering scents or the presence of other dogs, and loud noises. These stressors often trigger anxiety-related behaviours. While habituation can reduce stress responses over time, not all dogs adapt easily. Consequently, groomers increasingly seek effective, low-cost strategies to improve canine welfare during grooming.

One promising approach is auditory enrichment through music. This method is inexpensive and easy to implement. The influence of music on animal welfare depends on several factors, including sound frequency, volume, duration, species, and individual history of exposure (Castelhano-Carlos and Baumans, 2009). In humans, music genres can differentially affect behaviour—classical music is typically calming, while fast rock music is arousing (Dalton and Behm 2007). Music’s analgesic and anti-anxiety effects are well-documented in humans and may be relevant for non-human animals despite perceptual differences (McCaffrey and Good 2000).

Research suggests that music can improve the welfare of various animal species by masking ambient noise and reducing stress (Patterson-Kane and Farnworth, 2006). In dogs, classical music has been shown to reduce vocalisations and tremors, while increasing restfulness. In contrast, heavy metal music may exacerbate stress responses (Kogan et al. 2012).

This study aims to investigate whether classical music can serve as an effective, non-invasive enrichment tool to reduce stress in dogs during grooming and enhance their overall grooming experience.

The behaviour of dogs during grooming procedures in a grooming salon was evaluated. The study included dogs that underwent grooming every 2–3 months: 15 adult dogs of various breeds aged 2 to 8 years. The dogs’ behaviour was assessed during bathing, drying, clipping, and nail trimming using a 1–5 point scale (1 point – the dog shows strong signs of stress; behaves in a way that significantly hinders the procedure; 5 points – the dog is completely calm and relaxed). Calm behaviour that does not hinder the procedure was scored higher.

Evaluations were conducted during a control session (0), in which the only sounds present were those emitted by the grooming equipment, without the use of additional sound stimuli. Two test sessions (S and N) were carried out during subsequent visits to the salon, where additional acoustic stimuli were introduced: Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor, Op. 27 No. 2 ("Moonlight Sonata") during session S, and Frédéric Chopin's Nocturne in E-flat major, Op. 9 No. 2 during session N. The sound level of both pieces was set at 75 dB. Music was played using a Philips BTM 2310 audio system.

Since the distributions of the dependent variables significantly diverged from normality, nonparametric (rank) tests were employed to analyse the significance. The Kruskal-Wallis test was used to compare mean scores between groups. The description of the distributions was based on the measures of the position of the mean value. The multiple statistical analysis of the research results was done using the Statistica 13.1 package.

When evaluating the impact of music playback depending on sex, it was found that during bathing there were no significant differences in the reactions of male and female dogs between the experimental conditions (p > 0.05) (Table 1). However, during drying, clipping, and nail trimming, a significant effect of music was observed, particularly in male dogs. In these three procedures, the dogs' stress responses were significantly lower in the condition without music compared to the conditions with music (p < 0.01), as confirmed by the letter markings (a ≠ b). In female dogs, statistical significance was also found for the overall model (p < 0.05) in the cases of drying, clipping, and nail trimming. Still, post hoc tests did not reveal differences between individual conditions, which may be due to the small sample size and limited test power.

Table 1

The effect of music playback on dogs' reactions during grooming procedures by sex (mean/median; (Q25–Q75), Kruskal-Wallis ANOVA) (0- control session; S- Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Sonata; N- Frédéric Chopin's Nocturne)
Grooming procedures	Sex	0	S	N	p-value
Bathing	Male (n = 10)	2.9/3.0 (2.0–4.0)	3.6/3.0 (3.0–4.0)	3.8/4.0 (3.0–4.0)	0.0836
Bathing	Female (n = 5)	4.0/4.0 (3.0–5.0)	4.6/5.0 (4.0–5.0)	4.6/5.0 (4.0–5.0)	0.4735
Drying	Male (n = 10)	2.2/2.0^a (2.0–3.0)	3.3/3.0^b (3.0–4.0)	3.4/3.0^b (3.0–4.0)	0.0005
Drying	Female (n = 5	3.0/3.0 (3.0–3.0)	4.0/4.0 (4.0–4.0)	4.0/4.0 (4.0–4.0)	0.0067
Clipping	Male (n = 10)	2.4/2.0^a (2.0–3.0)	3.4/3.0^b (3.0–4.0)	3.4/3.0^b (3.0–4.0)	0.0011
Clipping	Female (n = 5)	3.2/3.0 (3.0–4.0)	4.4/4.0 (4.0–5.0)	4.4/4.0 (4.0–5.0)	0.0384
Nail trimming	Male (n = 10)	2.7/3.0^a (2.0–3.0)	3.8/4.0^b (4.0–4.0)	3.9/4.0^b (4.0–4.0)	0.0007
Nail trimming	Female (n = 5)	2.9/3.0 (2.0–4.0)	3.6/3.0 (3.0–4.0)	3.8/4.0 (3.0–4.0)	0.0836

^ab values marked with different letters differ significantly (p < 0.05; post hoc test).

Stress in dogs can be assessed using physiological measures and behavioural observations. Behavioural indicators involve vocalisation, panting, lowered posture, paw lifting, body shaking, and stereotypic behaviours (Beerda et al. 2000).

Environmental enrichment has been increasingly studied to enhance the welfare of kenneled or confined dogs (Wells 2009). Auditory enrichment reduces stress, supports species-specific behaviours, and minimises abnormal behaviours. Wells et al. (2002) reported that dogs exposed to classical music had more resting, less standing, and reduced vocalisation than other auditory stimuli, suggesting a calming effect. Bowman et al. (2015) confirmed that classical music can reduce behavioural and physiological stress responses in shelter dogs. Their findings also suggest sex-based differences, with males being more responsive to auditory enrichment. These results are consistent with the findings of this study.

Several factors should be considered when implementing auditory enrichment. Music must not contain extreme frequencies and should remain below 60 dB (Patterson-Kane and Farnworth, 2006). In noisier environments, such as grooming salons, the volume may need to be increased to mask aversive sounds. Dogs show elevated blood glucose levels in response to noise above 80 dB (Treptow, 1966), indicating a stress reaction (Kuo et al., 2015).

Not all auditory stimuli have calming effects. Harsh or abrupt sounds may increase arousal or fear (Köster et al., 2019). Individual variability plays a significant role in auditory response. Hearing ability, which may decline with age or differ by breed, also influences effectiveness (Fefer et al., 2022).

This study selected Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata and Chopin’s Nocturne in E-flat major due to their slow tempo, soft dynamics, and absence of vocals or abrupt changes. These piano pieces, with frequencies between 104 Hz and 1.3 kHz, fall within the auditory range of dogs and humans. Although the study examined differences in dogs' responses to minor and major keys, no statistically significant differences were found. Both pieces, with tempos around 60–80 BPM, may entrain biological rhythms and contribute to stress reduction.

Auditory enrichment by music effectively reduces stress-related behaviours in dogs across every phase of the grooming process. Their calming effect arose primarily from gentle, consistent rhythmic structure rather than key or emotional character. Since male dogs experienced a significantly greater stress reduction, sex‐specific differences in auditory sensitivity or stress physiology may need further investigation. These findings support the integration of playlists into grooming salons as a low‐cost means to promote dogs' relaxation and improve their mood. Future research should broaden the investigation to include additional timbres, dynamics, and tempo variations. This work confirms that targeted auditory enrichment is a practical strategy for managing stress during canine grooming.

Author Contributions: All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by W. K., P. C., K. K., M. K. and J. L. The first draft of the manuscript was written by W. K and P. C. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Funding: This research received no external funding

Institutional Review Board statement: The research was carried out as part of routine nursing activities. Therefore, ethics committee approval is not required.

Informed Consent Statement: Not applicable.

Data Availability Statement: The datasets generated during the current study are available from the corresponding author on request.

Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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No competing interests reported.

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Journal Publication

published 23 Jul, 2025

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Editorial decision: Revision requested
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You are reading this latest preprint version

Classical cuts: a pilot study of classical music’s effects on dogs in grooming settings

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