Classical music calms dogs more than audiobooks, study shows

Research had previously suggested that dogs particularly preferred listening to reggae and soft rock

Does your dog relax when it hears certain types of music or even certain artists? Perhaps it likes to wag along to TAIL-or Swift?

Or, how about if you play a musical instrument, such as the trom-BONE?

If so, your pet is not alone!

New research shows that classical music calms dogs down more than listening to audiobooks, when they're away from their owners.

We want to hear from you! Does your pet love music? Does it have a favourite artist or TV theme tune?

Perhaps there's a type of music it doesn't like which sends it barking mad? Let us know in the comments below..

What did researchers find?

Does your pet enjoy a bit of music?

Sixty dogs were involved in the study with experts at Queen's University in Belfast who looked at the behaviour of the animals when they were separated from their owners for a short period of time.

A variety of dog breeds were recruited, all with the consent of their owners.

They played the dogs a classical piece of music by Mozart and the audiobook of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.

They also played the dogs nothing while they were left without their owners for a short time - this is known as the "control condition".

Each dog's behaviour was observed and recorded on video while they were played the classical music, the audiobook and nothing.

The study found that playing classical music had a "moderately-calming effect" on the pets when they were separated from their owners, unlike playing audiobooks - which didn't.

The dogs that listened to classical music were much faster to lie down and settle than those that were listening to audiobooks.

They also observed that the dogs listening to audiobooks spent more time gazing at the speaker.

Separate research had previously shown that classical music had a calming effect on dogs in rescue kennels.

Don't forget to have your say in the comments below!