Is Your Dog Singing to Music...or Howling in Pain?

The Washington Post recently published an essay titled “Does This Dog Hate Bach?.” The author, Philip Kennicott, talks about how his dog hates classical music in general, but Bach’s Goldberg Variations in particular:

”When I adopted him, I was learning to play Bach’s Goldberg Variations, and he developed a vehement animus against the piece, howling and barking every time I practiced it. I wrote in passing about his aversion in a recent memoir about the Goldberg Variations, which I started learning in a futile attempt to mitigate grief after my mother died in 2011. I was mainly concerned with how humans experience music, how they use it to process emotion and give meaning and structure to life. But Nathan’s dislike of the piece was so acute, I couldn’t help but include it in the narrative. Did he really recognize the music? Could he pick Bach out of an aural lineup? And, if so, why does he so dislike a piece I love so much? “

Here’s a link to the full article.

Growing up, we had a wonderful large dog—Pablo, part Newfoundland— who would lie under the piano and howl morosely whenever I played the Rachmaninoff Elegy. Just that piece! I think it was the low E flat octaves that got to him. He was clearly singing (not in pain). I insist! :)

Do you have an animal that either sings or howls when you play classical music? Do you think it’s enjoying the music or expressing pain? Inquiring minds want to know! Please comment below…