The research found that while classical music had an initial calming effect on the dogs, after a few days they became bored. Instead, reggae and soft rock came out as the best genres for reducing stress, barking and heart rates.
Soft music with a slow, steady rhythm helps calm agitated puppies. It can help arthritic pets relax their muscles and increase their range of motion. It takes about 10 or 15 minutes for the music to take effect. Many pets enjoy Mozart or other classical music.
Dog preferences point to classical music which has calming effects and has been shown to significantly reduce stress levels. It's not just classical music that can have a soothing effect on your pooch, though.
The shelter environment can be very stressful for most dogs. A study from Colorado State University found that music playing for dogs living in these stressful situations worked to calm them. The researchers used classical music for 45 minutes and recorded observations every five minutes.
Keep them Occupied. Keeping a favouirite “sleepy time” toy in their crate can be useful way in case your puppy gets bored during the night. Chewable (and preferably indestructible) toys can be soothing to pups (especially if they're teething) - but avoid toys with a squeaker (for obvious reasons!)
Introduce a white noise machine
While this helps your puppy turn into a good guard dog in the future, their ability to hear also keeps them up at night. A white noise machine will provide a blended sound by producing all the frequencies at the same soothing tone.
“Calming points are primarily located on your pet's head,” says Dr. Barrack. Start at the top of your dog's nose, where there's an acupressure point associated with calming and healing, says Dr. Barrack.
Research indicates that when dogs are stressed, music may help. A landmark study in 2002 compared how shelter dogs responded to classical, pop, and heavy-metal music as well as conversation and silence. Researchers found that classical music had a calming effect on dogs.
A 2002 study conducted by animal behaviorist Dr. Deborah Wells confirmed the relaxing effect on dogs of classical music. In this study, the dogs spent more time resting and being quiet, and less time standing when exposed to classical music compared to heavy metal music, pop music, or conversation.
When dogs experience anxiety, music or white noise can help calm them down. This provides a soothing and calming environment, and it can naturally reduce their stress and anxiety levels. White noise or music can also drown out the unpredictable noises from thunderstorms or fireworks that trigger anxiety.
By constantly responding to your dog's barking, either by yelling, shushing, or petting, you are essentially encouraging their behavior. Even if they quiet down temporarily after you yell, shush, or pet, it's not a long-term solution.
Use dramatic body language such as turning away from your dog or folding your arms across your chest and completely ignore her to indicate to your dog that her attention-seeking whining won't work. In addition to not reinforcing whining behavior, you need to reward your dog for being quiet.
White noise has been shown to help people fall asleep in noisy environments like cities and hospitals. Pink noise may help you stay asleep through the night and get deeper sleep. Brown noise is also said to be relaxing and helpful when falling asleep.
If you have a puppy who is easily woken, then white noise can help muffle those sounds so that you all get a peaceful night's sleep. Just like in humans, white noise for puppies provides a buffer between the outsides crashes, bangs, twit twoos or meows that can keep our puppies, and us, up at night.
It Can Help Keep Them Calm
If you are worried that your dog is home with anxiety all day, keeping the TV on can help to keep them calm. You might find that your dog seems much less stressed out when you get home at the end of the day when the TV has been on.
Dogs notoriously love their blankets. Whether it's at home or on the road, it gives them a place to snuggle up and be comfortable. No matter your lifestyle, this is an easy investment that every pet owner can make to improve the quality of life for their animal.
There's a chance your pup may not like the TV at all. “Signs that dogs may not enjoy TV are if they leave the room when the TV is on or actively avoid it, appear stressed and lunge or jump at the TV,” Dr. McCullough explains. Don't worry if the television doesn't calm your pet.
Soft touches to the neck, gentle scratches at the base of the tail, and rubs to the sides of the body are calming for most dogs. Petting the top of the head, ears, and legs usually irritates dogs. Touching these spots can cause upset. Furthermore, some dogs may be more sensitive in these areas than others.
But in all honesty, there's no 'right time' for a puppy to go to sleep, as long as it's the same every night. While this may be the case, do note that your puppy will need, on average, around 8-10 hours of sleep per night.
We would never recommend ignoring your puppy when they cry at night, especially in their first few nights.
Typically, dogs between 7-16 weeks can sleep 6-8 hours, but they still need to take a potty break at night. So if your dog wakes up at night, it means it needs to pee. Do not play or pay attention to it during this time.
Pink noise is a mix of high and low frequencies, like the sound of failing rain or gentle ocean waves, making it soft and calming. It also has more power in the lower frequency bands than white noise does, and those strong bass tones make it sound less harsh to the human ear.
Brown noise triggers relaxation because of its similarities to the brain's resting state, Sarow says. The low frequencies of brown noise create a deeper sound that many people find soothing. There are even brown noise playlists curated with babies in mind because it's said to mimic the sound inside a mother's womb.