Music for Dogs??

Freckles is an attentive boy, a beagle-mix rescued from sure death on Sixth Street some five years ago. He retains a strong food motive from his days of wandering the urban wilderness. So, Freckles was, as usual, at hand when my husband and I put a CD in the player and sat down on the designated doggie couch in our dog/media room.
The CD was "Songs To Make Dogs Happy," billed as "the first musical CD for dogs, approved by dogs."
Canine focus groups, selected from 250 dogs nationwide, were assembled and questioned by animal communicator Kim Ogden of Chicago on their music and lyric preferences.
This study guided a further two-year test of the CD, which indicates that canines detest the Rolling Stones, think Johnny Cash is depressing and would always opt for a samba.
The happy-dogs CD, released in 2003, includes the hit song, "Squeaky Deakey" and 11 other tracks said to help reduce separation anxiety, calm shelter animals and speed surgical recovery.
Our goal was to see if the doggie CD lived up to its claims.
I pushed play.
Now, Freckles is vocally talented. He does an eerie imitation of an ambulance siren. We were not surprised that he tipped his head and grinned with "Squeaky Deakey." Nor were we surprised that our second dog, Nick, was nowhere to be seen.
Nick, a phlegmatic mutt whose idea of heaven is a nap, was (he thought) secretly napping on the absolutely off-limits couch two rooms away.
However, "Squeaky Deakey" galvanized Nick to stroll 50 feet to see what was happening. We took this massive expenditure of energy as a definite endorsement of the efficacy of the CD.
Both of them enjoyed and actively listened to the repetitive ballad "You're a Good Dog." They seemed pleased with the soothing "I'll Be Back." Even Freckles closed his eyes.
The upbeat blues tune "Scratch My Back" had a certain sensual appeal and started a four-for-all paws-on session. It begins: "Scratching. Oooo, yeah …"
The relentlessly cheerful "Hap, Hap, Happy" was a paws-down.
But keep "Songs to Make Dogs Happy" handy. If an evening comes when you are grumpy, depressed, overwhelmed, too tired to make dinner or feed the dogs, just push play.

The complete story, by Diane Heilenman, appeared in today's Louisville Courier-Journal. Check it out!!