Through A Dog's Ear

Through A Dog's Ear CD's

The Dog’s Ear CD series – a clinical breakthrough in the use of music with dogs!

Each album is an hour in length and is built upon the clinically-tested principles of resonance, tone, and pattern identification. For research data, go to the BARD Research Executive Summary. All recordings are performed by The Apollo Chamber Ensemble, featuring Lisa Spector, pianist. Produced, with psychoacoustic arrangements and sequencing, by Joshua Leeds.

The Music

What’s Going on with this Music, Anyway?

The music of Through a Dog’s Ear builds on the ground breaking psychoacoustic research of Dr. Alfred Tomatis (1920-2001). Known as the “Einstein of the ear,” Tomatis discovered the extraordinary powers of sound as a “nutrient for the nervous system.” His therapeutic discoveries redefine modern psychoacoustics — the study of the effect of music and sound on the human nervous system.

These recordings are psychoacoustically designed to support you and your dog’s compromised immune or nervous system function. When the immune or nervous system is heavily taxed, a natural reaction is to self-limit the amount of auditory or visual stimulation coming into the system. However, the “nutrients” of sound are needed the most when life energy is at a low ebb or when neurodevelopmental (including sensory) issues are present. To facilitate maximum sound intake while conserving energy output, the method of simple sound has been created.

The Psychoacoustic Rationale Behind Dog’s Ear Recordings

Auditory cognition in humans, as well as in dogs, is complex. When exposed to music, our brains methodically analyze every interval, rhythmic nuance, instrumental density, and melodic turn. When we’re young and healthy, we have abundant cerebral processing power to attend to many streams of sensory stimuli — be it sound, sight, touch, or smell. However, as we age, sensory tolerances decrease. When life energy is at a low ebb or when neurodevelopmental issues are present, music and sound can be a valuable source of arousal responses. However, the intricacies of conventional music often are too much for a depleted system to take in; music and sound may become mentally distracting, annoying, and even painful. This may lead to the individual retreating from auditory stimulation, therefore being deprived of sound’s beneficial vibrating effect.

The over-arching psychoacoustic theory informing Through a Dog’s Ear is summed up in just two words — simple sound. This term refers to the process of minimizing intricate auditory information found in most music. The music of Dog’s Ear is intentionally selected, arranged and recorded to provide easeful auditory assimilation. Three primary processes are used to accomplish this effect:

1. Auditory Pattern Identification. To create less demanding arrangements, melodic and harmonic complexity has been considered and edited based on the desired relaxation or arousal response. Complexity encourages active listening; simplicity facilitates passive hearing. The recordings for dogs favor passive hearing as we believe that many of our canines suffer from over-stimulation.
2. Orchestral Density.It is far less stressful on the nervous system to differentiate fewer instrumental colors than to interpret a full symphonic score. Therefore, solo piano provides a source of rich, full spectrum frequencies; additionally, duos and trios create a pleasing variety of easily assimilated orchestral colors.In our two years of clinical testing, the solo piano arrangements scored the highest in every category for the deepest canine relaxation.
3. Resonance and Entrainment. To enhance mind/body states conducive to healing and wellness, the natural principles of resonance (tone) and entrainment (rhythm) are applied to every composition.

The CD Series

There are 5 CD's in the series, each one designed to specifically target certain aspects of helping to calm your dog.

Volume 1 - 3 "Music To Calm Your Canine Companion" have been clinically tested to calm dogs, and in many cases, reduce anxiety. The instrumentation is simple — solo piano. The individual pieces have been selected and/or rearranged to gradually reduce the heart rate. This is accomplished naturally by progressively slowing rhythms and simplifying auditory data.  The compilations are designed to deeply relax your dog, perfect for when you want your dog to rest, when your dog is left alone or when anxiety or excitement in your dog is anticipated (fireworks, thunderstorms, arrival of guests etc). They will make you relax too so there is a warning not to listen to them while driving or operating heavy machinery!

There is also one for driving in the car: "Driving Edition - Music To Calm Your Dog In The Car" . Having your dog listen to twenty minutes of Travel Prep – a special 20 minute track included with this album – before getting in the car, and then listening to Driving Edition during the trip, will help keep you alert and your dog relaxed.

The last Cd in the series is "Music For The Canine Household" - Uplifting and psychoacoustically designed classical music can be played for the enjoyment and relaxation of people while simultaneously creating a positive sound environment for dogs. The selections from Music for the Canine Household are not as deeply calming as the music found on the Music to Calm Your Canine Companion series; however, given that dogs and people live together, there are times when you want your animal to relax without falling asleep yourself. Music for the Canine Householdis a little more stimulating, with quicker tempos and slightly more complex arrangements and orchestration.

Check out the Through A Dogs Ear website for more information, scientific data and research and testimonials on this fantastic product.