I met Thomas at Meet The Breeds (http://www.akc.org/meet_the_breeds/), and stopped at his booth for a while to ask him about his new Music My Pet CD’s (www.musicmypet.com) that help keep your pet calm when you’re not at home.
1. What was your inspiration for this CD? For over 10 years I served as one of the principal performers for Disney’s award-winning Baby Einstein CDs and DVDs – an educational series designed to enlighten and entertain children of all ages with the use of classical music. I’ve always been fascinated by the effects of music on people and was curious to see how classical music, in particular, affects pets – especially those that suffer from anxiety.
2. Why did you choose the songs you did? There were actually many qualified pieces beyond the selected songs on our Classic Cuts CD) all of which fit the criteria for calming pets); however, the final selections were chosen to create a balance in terms of different styles of composers within the various genres. I also wanted to create a CD which featured classical music of some of the greatest composers in music history (Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Chopin and more). I felt it was important to use composers people were familiar with and songs that were time-tested.
3. How is your CD different from others out there? Our CD relies solely on the effects of music without the use of additional elements (such as background ocean sounds or other such effects). Our studies, research and experience has shown that music utilizing a certain harmonic content, along with a controlled dynamic range and instruments of a certain timbre, can effectively calm pets. Also, our CDs are meant to calm ALL domestic pets, whereas other companies use specific CDs for specific pets. You can save a lot by purchasing one copy of Music My Pet to calm all of your pets, if you have more than one. Being a composer and pianist, I'm able to use my knowledge of the classical repertoire to not only choose the most appropriate pieces, but to also edit any unwanted material (such as dramatic sections). I also personally perform this music to ensure every aspect of the musical approach achieves the desired effect.
Also, our CD features many different instruments - providing musical variety for both the pet and pet owner. Other products may use solely one instrument such as piano. Not only that, we've selected instruments proven to have a calming effect (and sometimes a healing effect) on pets. Note that the harp is used very commonly to help heal animals who are are sick or suffering. We use a great deal of harp on our CDs in addition to piano, classical guitar, cello, flute, violin, marimba, clarinet, etc.
4. What's the "proof" that music works to calm pets? The proof is in the pudding as they say :) Like any other situation, one needs to actually observe the difference in behavior before and after the music is played. I feel the only real test is to let the consumer confirm what we've discovered in our own testing. Pet owners who use Music My Pet watch behavioral changes take place after only a few minutes of listening (e.g. a dog may tremble nervously and pace during a thunderstorm and gradually lie down, stop shaking and (many times) fall asleep as they listen to our CDs. I'm a big believer in experiencing results first hand to know if something works. Pet owners know better than anyone else how their pet is feeling at any given moment.
5. Anything else you’d like to share? Two areas that are important to share:
1.) We are working with Shelters and pet adoptions centers across the country to help ease the anxiety and discomfort of animals who have come from an abused background, are awaiting adoption or are simply stressed about about their new environment. Music My Pet donates CDs to these establishments regularly to help pets find comfort in what might be a stressful situation (Best Friends Society, Mayor's Alliance for New York City's Animals, Kitty Kind, Wayside Waiffs, Friendly Ferals and Pitty Love Rescue are among many who use our CDs).
2.) We are receiving support from many veterinarians who welcome Music My Pet as a supplement or even a replacement to whatever methods are currently being used to relieve anxiety within their practice.
