AFP – Whether it is for Alzheimer’s patients or for those suffering from anxiety, the science community agree that music can be a therapeutic tool.
But can it also help a human “best friend”? One By One Music, a Japanese startup, is betting on that possibility.
The young company is dedicated to harnessing the many benefits of music for helping dogs unwind. After all, dogs can also experience stress.
With each dog having a unique character and circumstances, the causes of stress in an animal’s life can be numerous. But the most common include a sudden break in their daily routine, boredom and separation anxiety, for instance when the dog parent has to go away to work.
One By One Music has teamed up with veterinarians and researchers, some of them affiliated with Azabu University, in Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan, to compose pieces of music that can be used to soothe dogs.
These pieces are generated by artificial intelligence and can reportedly reduce the stress level of the dog listening to them by up to 84 per cent.
The Japanese company is offering a monthly subscription of MYR30 to “dog parents” wishing to soothe their furry friend’s distress through music.
One By One Music isn’t the only company offering a service based on animals’ positive response to music.
Last June, American firm Create Music Group acquired Music for Pet, a company specialising in the creation of songs and other entertainment content for pets.
The company’s two brands – Relax My Dog and Relax My Cat – reach over 20 million dogs and cats worldwide, according to the Music Ally website.
Streaming platforms have also got on board the phenomenon, featuring numerous playlists aimed specifically at stress-prone canines and felines. On Spotify, Relaxmydog has 89,150 monthly listeners, and Relaxmycat 111,284.
These playlists include relaxation – oriented tracks such as Relax My Cat, Chill Dogs and Snoozing Cat.
Despite all these players jumping on the bandwagon of pet music, one question remains unanswered: Do the therapeutic benefits of music work on pets? It is not clear. In a study published in 2022 in the journal Applied Animal Behaviour Science, researchers at Queen’s University Belfast claim that music does not necessarily relieve dogs’ anxiety when they are separated from their humans or people to whom they are very attached.
They found that silence soothed them more than Mozart’s Sonata For Two Pianos. That’s a welcome relief for pet parents who occasionally have to leave their pets alone.
