It’s hard to leave your best buddy home alone while you go to work or off to run errands. Most days my dogs probably sleep and let time pass in oblivion until I return. But, not always. Some days when I am walking out the door, the look of abandonment on their faces could just break your heart.

Well there are many dog lovers among musicians and some of them have put together collections of quiet music to help your dog stay calm and feel secure while you are away.

Songs to Make Dogs Happy is a musical CD that has research behind it. The  Laurel Canyon Animal Company involved 200 canines and assessed their responses to find out what music dogs love. The result is the Songs to Make Dogs Happy CD.  There are 12 songs including “Scratch My Back”, a smooth jazz number “Cookies”,  Sweaky Deaky featuring background squeaky toy sung in English and Spanish (perhaps for your bi-lingual dog), Adventure Dog, I’ll be back, and 7 more sure to please songs.

Musician and producer Skip Haynes worked with an "animal communicator," Dr. Kim Ogden-Avrutik to test out the music. Haynes says that by being in the room when the album is played for the first two or three weeks, owners can create a positive association with the music so that later when you are away, the music calms pets until you return.

A second highly rated option available from Amazon (customer rating 4.5 stars) is Music Dogs Love: While You Are Gone. Compiled by Bradley Joseph, the CD can be purchased for $12.99 or songs can be individually downloaded as MP3s for $.99 each. There is also a companion (no pun intended) DVD. On the CD you pet will be entertained by songs like: “Paws and Reflect”, “Wet-nosed Wonder”, “Puppy Kisses”, and “Chasing my tail”.

Now it may seem a bit much to you to get a CD just for your dog and then there are the mechanics of getting continuous play or setting a timer to play the CD intermittently. But, it is a cute idea and might make a special present for that hard-to-find-unique gift for a dog-loving friend. And, who knows, this might really be a special treat for your pooch, too.

Posted by Barbara.