Jump to content
BC Boards

Guitar music


Recommended Posts

I am just so amazed by this. I recently bought a cd of Christmas music guitar solos. This is the second time I've listened to it, and it's had the same effect on the dogs both times. They immediately proceed to fall asleep. Practically snoring even, and it's during a time of day when they're generally not napping. :rolleyes: Other cds I've played do not have this effect, just this one. Has anyone else had this experience with music?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Growing up with two metal heads in the house, Ouzo has learned to sleep tightly on Testament, Slayer, Megadeth and Judas Priest. We even took him to a Motley Crue concert this summer - true, we all listened from outside the amphitheatre since we didn't want to pay for the tickets :rolleyes:

 

When I was in highschool I tried to teach Blackie, my first dog, to bark when hearing pop music and relax on heavy metal. That experiment didn't quite work.. I guess she just wasn't cut out to be a rocker :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have found that lullabies really work on dogs - especially puppies. Sugarfoot's bed is by the head of my bed, and if she is restless, or sometimes even if she's not, I'll sing the song from "Babe" that farmer Hoggatt sings to Babe when he's sick. She immediately curls up, tucks her nose into her tail, heaves a big sigh and crashes. I started doing this when she first came here at 6 mos. she was nervous and a little afraid of her crate, but when I started singing very softly to her she would be out in seconds - no waking up later and crying either. Not once.

 

It worked on my Doberwoman when she was a pup too.

 

There is a very funny YouTube video of a man singing CW to a litter of piglets, and those little guys practically topple where they're standing. It's a riot!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hah. Music does nothing but rev up Duncan; he harbors musical pretensions, and participates most enthusiastically (if not particularly tunefully) whenever given the chance. He's especially inclined to join in if my older son is playing scales on the piano or (better yet) if my younger son is doing anything on clarinet (scales are best but anything on the clarinet is worth joining in).

 

It reminds me of the scene in one of Donald McCaig's books ("Eminent Dogs, Dangerous Men") when he's talking about one of Amanda Milliken's dogs, Hazel, who's a particularly enthusiastic musician. I think my pup is a distant relative; maybe he inherited his musical tendencies from her?

 

Anyone else have musical Border collies? Neither of my previous Border collies seemed to care a whit about music. For what it's worth, Duncan also "sings" on command, and also greets us with jubilant aarooos! - the same joyful song he utters when I let him know it's time to go for a walk. He scared a student to death today at work, who thought (when he greeted her with a prolonged yodel) that he must be some sort of werewolf.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Correction: the Donald McCaig book in question was "A Useful Dog", and the quote was:

 

"I'm drinking coffee in Amanda Milliken's motor home on the second morning of the two-day Blue Ridge Open trial held outside White Post, Virginia. It's mid-May, the light is clear, dogwood is blooming. Faint whistles drift from the bowl-shaped trial field, where another dog is making its try. Amanda's dog Hazel is a black-and-white smooth-coated Border collie. She is rather musical and will sing along with "Oklahoma!" but her favorite tune is k.d. lang's song about the old coyote, especially the chorus, where she gets to howl."

 

Lesson: never trust your memory once you have teenage kids. By then your brain has turned to mush.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ceana loves it when I sing to her. :rolleyes: That is how we know she is crazy; I am not a good singer! Seriously though, when she freaks out in what we can only describe as mental "bad space," singing to her is one of the few things that brings her back to the real world. After a bad episode or a very stressful day Ceana and I will go sit on the ground in the study, turn on I tunes, and snuggle and sing. There is something about the whole situation that calms her and eases all of her fears.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I knew a Lhasa once who had a very strange habit. His owner was a piano teacher, and if anyone played a piece in A minor, he'd come running, plant himself directly under the piano where the sound was loudest, and HOWL along! He always got a treat for it. How he was able to distinguish the key of A minor from others keys I'll never know.

 

Kit despises all live music. She goes running into her crate when I get out my violin. Some yo-yo showed up to the dog park once with a set of bag pipes and started playing. The other dogs all ignored him, but she went right up to him and started barking her head of: "Hey dude! This place is for DOGS and we don't like your music. Get outta here!"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I pulled a lovely BC puppy from a local shelter two weeks ago. As I was waiting in the van to meet her fosterer, I had her on my lap. She was busy kissing, wiggling, wagging her tail, and nibbling on my ears. I turned on a classical music station and she was transfixed! She sat quietly on my lap, cocking her head and looking at the speakers for at least ten minutes. I've never known a dog that was so responsive to music, and a puppy at that. Her fosterer named her Classy for her musical taste.

post-5909-1258572636_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Vala has a theme song I made up, which she seems to know is about her, and really loves to hear me sing. I sang it to her a lot in the car when she was still afraid of car rides (she's not anymore).

 

Also, on the topic of music, she hates psychedelic / electronic rock (which I'm a fan of - sadly - she'll leave the room if I turn it on), but she sure doesn't mind the Bob Dylan.

 

My old cat, Jupiter, adored Tori Amos. And only Tori Amos.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Kit despises all live music. She goes running into her crate when I get out my violin. Some yo-yo showed up to the dog park once with a set of bag pipes and started playing. The other dogs all ignored him, but she went right up to him and started barking her head of: "Hey dude! This place is for DOGS and we don't like your music. Get outta here!"

 

Sure it's not genetic memory? Ancient hatred of Scots? :rolleyes:

 

- Mary, whose last name begins with Mc....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sure it's not genetic memory? Ancient hatred of Scots? :rolleyes:

 

When played well and in the right context, bagpipe music is inspiring, but alas, the bagpipes are pure torture when played badly. Oddly enough, a guy playing bagpipes appeared at a dog park we visit occasionally -- none of the dogs seemed to notice, though. But then they also ignore the two tone deaf C&W singers at the same park, so maybe they've just got used to bad music.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sure it's not genetic memory? Ancient hatred of Scots? :rolleyes:

 

LOL, maybe so...never thought of that!

 

I'll say this, though: Kit was already housetrained when I got her, and the one and only time she has EVER (to this very day!) had an accident involving #2 she was reacting to live music. I had just gotten her and I was going to a friend's house for our weekly jam session. It was way too soon to leave her home alone, so I took her with me thinking she'd have a good time playing with the other dog. Well, she did, but she also ran and hid when we got out the instruments, which were not bagpipes. Someone found the mess she made a little later, and then upon leaving, she also did #1 (after a 10 minute potty break with no results). I was mortified to say the least, and that was the night I learned that she hates live music. The interesting thing is that she hates/fears nothing else in this world (with the possible exception of black bears), so it's very out-of-character for her.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...