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We’ve learned a lot about our four-legged canine friends as of late — like the fact that they’re actually pretty into hugs and why they like sticking their heads out the window. Now, we’re learning something else about the personal preferences of (wo)man’s BFF: like which genre of music they dig most.
A new study by the Scottish SCPA and the University of Glasgow showed that when it comes to music, dogs actually prefer reggae and soft rock to all other types.
The study was carried out by doing the obvious and playing five different types of music — reggae, soft rock, Motown, pop and classical — to a group of pups in a rehoming center.
Researchers found that it was the first two types of tunes that seemed to have the most positive behavioral impacts on the animals, with the dogs more inclined to lie down and relax and showing decreased heart rates when grooving to Bob Marley-esque jams.
That being said, there was the rogue dog or two in the bunch that had its own unique personal preference of one of the other aforementioned genres. “Overall, the response to different genres was mixed, highlighting the possibility that like humans, our canine friends have their own individual music preferences,” one of the study’s professors, Professor Evans, was quoted as saying.
No matter what type of tunes were music to the dogs’ ears, PhD student Amy Bowman, who was also involved in the study, said that “It was clear that the physiological and behavioral changes observed were maintained during the trial when the dogs were exposed to a variety of music.” (Huh! We wonder if they’ll be into the new Taylor Swift vid?)
Who knew?
What types of tunes does your pooch enjoy? Share with us @BritandCo.
(h/t Noisey, photos via Robyn Beck + Luis Rabayo/AFP/Getty)
