Chat or sing all day

White noise, in the form of both words and music, can keep your pet company when you can't

MetPet.com Staff Writer

If you're leaving your pets home alone for long stretches at a time, try finding ways to liven up their audio environment.  One of the best we've found is a good radio station.  Some days we try a combative AM talk station and at other times we find something more mellow like National Public Radio.  We have found that the more commercial the station, the louder it tends to be.  If you can't find something you like in your hometown, you can stream it online.

If our dogs were more nervous and jumpy, we would find a good classical music station.  Mozart seems to have a calming effect on us and our pets as long as we play the music at a reasonably low level.   For bored dogs we suggest a good pop station for a good mix of upbeat music, news and raucous commercials.

Once you select your station, try going outside of the house or apartment just to make sure it's not too loud or sets the dog to barking or the birds to squawking.  Sometimes a house that is too quiet on the weekdays when the humans aren't home is disturbing and even frightening to pets who are used to company.  Some background music that masks the sound of doors creeping or people walking is just the thing to keep pets quiet and calm.

One possibility is to make recordings of your own voice interspersed with soothing music and other sounds.  Try recording yourself reading something very much 'to the point' like Lassie or The Incredible Journey.  Another possibility is to make recordings of your pet's friends, both human and animal to add to the mix.  You may find that pets who aren't interested in sounds from TV shows are very much amused by the sounds of people and animals they know. 

It's fun to experiment and see how various sounds affect your pet's disposition.  When you're sure of your pet's audio tastes, you can make a mix tape or CD just for them.  If you can hook up your computer to speakers or to your stereo system, you can run a continuous mix of random sound clips through your PC's jukebox.