Choosing the right music

Choosing the right music to play during a PetMassage session can be confusing. What would your dog want to hear? What music would be most relaxing and “therapeutic” for the PetMassage experience? Would the dog benefit more from the Pachelbel “Canon” or “Kind of Blue” by Miles Davis? How about smooth jazz, or classical music, or country, or R and B, or rap? Maybe working in silence is the way to go.

What we have determined, is that dogs entrain with our moods, emotions and quality of presence. So, when choosing music, select sounds that calm you. (In ambience and music selection, it’s all about you.) And, the dog will follow.

Do not select music that you know very well. Your mind will be following it and anticipating the upcoming passages. When you are connected to the music, you disconnect from the dog. Stay connected, my friend.

We have found that animals tastes in music are not very discriminating. In fact, in an experiment with horses, comparing and contrasting their responses to various radio stations, we concluded that the most calming sound for them was a slightly staticky male voice from Christian radio broadcast.

We know that dogs are easily distracted by nature sounds i.e., thunder, waves, birds, crickets, and frogs. Oh, and of course there are the lions, tigers and bears, _ __! So we do not play anything that have these sounds on them. Percussive sounds of drums, rattles, and bells are also distracting.

We invite you to visit us at www.petmassage.com While there, download the FREE PetMassage music that was commissioned to celebrate PetMassage for Dogs Day. The link is on the left side of the screen under the poster of the dog on the massage table ($15).

We are continually updating our course listings and products such as the new “Unleash your inner puppy” T-shirt($15). Would you like a fresh hard copy of our Petalogue? Just email us and we’ll send one to you.

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