Shelters are often stressful environments for dogs, where unpredictable noise and confinement can lead to high arousal, behavioral issues, and reduced adoption chances. Identifying effective enrichment strategies is crucial for improving welfare in these settings. One promising tool is heart rate variability (HRV), a non-invasive physiological measure of stress.
Amaya, Paterson, Descovich, and Phillips (2020) investigated how sensory enrichment—through music, lavender, and dog appeasing pheromone—influences HRV in shelter dogs. Sixty dogs were divided into treatment groups, with usable HRV data collected from 34 individuals. Each stimulus was applied daily for three hours across five days, with HRV measured using chest-mounted monitors.
Results showed that music exposure uniquely activated both the sympathetic and parasympathetic branches of the autonomic nervous system. This balance reflects not only stress reduction but also improved arousal regulation, suggesting that music may counteract both stress and boredom in kennelled dogs. By contrast, lavender and pheromone treatments had less pronounced effects on HRV.
These findings highlight the role of auditory enrichment in enhancing welfare in stressful environments. Music, unlike other tested methods, may provide a dual benefit—calming stress responses while maintaining engagement. For shelters, integrating music could be a low-cost, impactful intervention to support canine well-being and adoption readiness.
Source: Amaya, V., Paterson, M. B. A., Descovich, K., & Phillips, C. (2020). Effects of Olfactory and Auditory Enrichment on Heart Rate Variability in Shelter Dogs. Animals, 10.
