We all have different ways of living life. For me, experiencing the nature of animals is fascinating and I’m always looking for an opportunity to do so. So when I saw that Debbie Labbe of Country Quilt Llama Farm in Cornwall, CT offered walks with Llamas I jumped in to schedule.

Debbie gave us an address by a country road to meet up. We came to the trail and lo and behold across the street coming out of a van were our two Llama walk-mates, Theo and Rio. Seems that Llamas are perfectly comfortable sitting in a carpeted van floor and traveling to their next walking mission. (great idea for a car commercial) In the hour, we walk on a beautiful trail where we learned about these wondrous beings. They weigh about 350 lbs, live up to 20 years, they are gentle and calm. Some fun facts:

• Llamas make excellent guards for herds of small animals. They are very social and will 'adopt' a group of sheep or goats as their own herd. ...

• Llamas are smart. ...

• Llamas are the camel's hippie cousins. ...

• One of the ways llamas communicate is by humming.

• They are bright-eyed, sure-footed hiking companions.

I had read up about Llamas but found very little exacting information on their hearing ability. As cousins of camels, camel hearing is from 20Hz to 14,000 Hz meaning very similar to human hearing range from 20Hz to 20,000Hz. However, during our walk we observed how Llamas behaved when hearing animal movement in the woods and hearing a dog and their person approach on the trail even before we humans saw them. Here’s a video of Theo’s ears movement capturing sounds.

Llamas get sheared once a year and their wool is spun into wool.

Theo on the left is 11 years old was a cool personality. Rio on the right was a young Llama about 9 months old and was a willing follower.

In 1992, Debbie developed a children’s enrichment program for preschools, daycare centers and libraries called “Hooked On Llamas”. Also an Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) program sharing her llamas with adults at convalescent homes, rest homes, assisted living facilities and Adult Daycare Centers.

When it was time to go home, I brought some carrots to give to our walk-mates as a treat. Then they hopped into the van. A fascinating morning learning more about our gentle animal world.

If you want to Walk with Llamas visit: https://www.countryquiltllamafarm.com/

https://www.cnbc.com/video/2021/09/13/can-music-help-pets-get-over-anxiety.html

It's Pet Hearing Awareness week Sept. 20-24th. Listen to our 2nd Podcast on how to home test your dog and cat's ears for health awareness. Listen to our podcast. Janet Marlow, Sound Behaviorist and Alan Brennan, Hosts.

a podcast about things you didn't know about animals.

We've jumped in to the podcast world!!

Listen to Episode #1 of We're All Ears, a podcast about things you didn't know about animals.

Hosted by Janet Marlow, Sound Behaviorist and Alan Brennan.

https://soundcloud.com/user-39486092/were-all-ears-ep-1-81921-82021-832-am

Sometimes a video is worth a thousands words. We’d like to share with you our Pet Tunes music fans and let the footage show you how the music works. Helping animals one Pet Tunes at a time. Janet Marlow, Sound Behaviorist, Founders and CEO of Pet Acoustics.

It was great being a featured guest on the #MellaMoment Podcast by @mellapetcare. I spoke about your pet's hearing health and the science behind #PetAcoustics with Daniella, the host. Have a listen and feel free to share! For the full podcast interview: https://www.mella.ai/podcast/episode/2bcb07e4/how-can-we-use-sound-to-help-our-pets-janet-marlow

The Animals' Television show (tATVs) is all about the animals for the animals produced in Brisbane, Australia with Host, Rommie Buhler. Animal health care experts, trainers, photographers, behaviorists, storytellers, artists, authors and more from all over the world talk about all things wild and domesticated animals. This show is designed to be educational, inspiring and entertaining to help the welfare of the animals co-existing on this planet with us human animals.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVqC6d-WXWE&t=2357s

WHAT PETS HEAR MATTERS, Animal behavior is triggered by their acute hearing. Their instinct is to seek comfort in their environment to feel safe and calm. In this episode Janet shares with us how music and sound affects the behavior of animals. Sound is invisible so we don't give it much attention, but it has a huge impact on our animals' experience. We don't hear what they hear so we have no idea what they're experiencing. When it goes above a comfortable level the message to the brain says "danger or pain". While horses hear more than humans do, they are the most closely related to us in terms of levels of hearing.

Dogs hear twice as much and cats three times more than we do so it is really very important that we understand our animals' hearing sensitivities. We all want our animals to feel safe and relaxed don't we! Janet creates music that is species specific and contours the music to the hearing level of each animal so they feel safe and connected with their environment. When they feel secure and safe they are able to release muscle tension and stress.

Janet Marlow, M.A., Sound Behaviorist, is accredited for her contribution to the understanding of pet hearing and how sound and music affects behaviors. Her research has been published in veterinary science publications detailing clinical studies proving the positive effects of her specie-specific music. She is an author, speaker, and consults with organizations and veterinary practices on this new field of understanding as a sound behaviorist.

Janet Marlow continues to innovate on behalf of the welfare of animals through innovative scientific methods.In 2009, Janet Marlow founded Pet Acoustics Inc., which became an award-winning global brand whose calming products have helped thousands of pets and pet parents, veterinarians and rescue shelters worldwide. Entrepreneur Magazine named Pet Acoustics Top 100 Companies for brilliant Ideas!

JANET MARLOW | PET ACOUSTICS CONTACTS: https://www.petacoustics.com/ https://www.facebook.com/PetAcoustics https://twitter.com/petacoustics https://www.linkedin.com/in/janet-marlow https://www.instagram.com/theofficial...

I’m very proud to have collaborated with Boehringer Ingelheim, the second largest animal health business in the world, on an important offering for equine veterinarians and horses owners described in this Blog. Please follow this link to watch the music video for your horse. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66Z1cGh3qi0&t=6s Janet Marlow, Sound Behaviorist and CEO of Pet Acoustics

A Tranquil Trot: Music Helps Reduce Stress in Horses

Boehringer Ingelheim releases music track, advice to help horse owners manage equine moments of stress

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66Z1cGh3qi0&t=6s

DULUTH, Ga. (June 29, 2021) — Boehringer Ingelheim is focused on helping keep horses safe and “sound” when it comes to stress with the release of a music track specially designed to help reduce stress in horses. Research shows stress can quickly turn into equine gastric ulcer syndrome (EGUS), with one study showing horses can develop stomach ulcers in as few as five days.

The musical arrangement features soothing music designed with the horse in mind. The track was created by Janet Marlow, sound behaviorist, composer, researcher and founder of Pet Acoustics Inc. Marlow focused on creating rhythms and melodies composed for the listening comfort of the horse, including specific pitch, tone and frequencies. Studies show that playing music can help balance equine behavior because it helps mask outside sounds and vibrations, as well as provide a positive and relaxing effect.

“When Boehringer Ingelheim expressed an interest in doing something to help manage stress in horses, I was extremely interested based on my research in this area,” said Janet Marlow, founder of Pet Acoustics. “It’s all about composing music and modifying the decibel and frequency levels of each note for the comfortable hearing range of the animal. Using this process, we have tested music through clinical studies at veterinary hospitals, barns, etc. to see the music elicit a release of physical tensions and stress behaviors.”

To access it, veterinarians and horse owners can visit https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoekmWDxfuaOGuL1ELoPIGQ/videos. Visitors will be able to play the music track and video, as well as gain access to additional resources on stress, EGUS, and ways to help prevent it.

This includes information on the use of Ulcergard® (omeprazole), to help reduce the creation of acid in a horse’s stomach during times of stress, helping to maintain optimal gastric health. For ulcer prevention, horses should be given ULCERGARD once daily during these stressful periods. ULCERGARD is the only prevention for equine gastric ulcers that is proven to be safe, effective and approved by the FDA.

ULCERGARD IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION: ULCERGARD can be used in horses that weigh at least 600 lbs. Safety in pregnant mares has not been determined. Not for use in humans. Keep this and all medications out of the reach of children. In case of ingestion, contact a physician.

For horses, stress is no one thing. It can include a variety of triggers, including fireworks, thunderstorms/weather, rigorous training, competitions, travel/trailering, competitions, dehydration, limited forage, changes in daily routine, isolation, new stall neighbor, illness, etc.

“These may seem like small changes or events, but they can create big issues for horses, potentially leading to gastric ulcers,” says Sarah Reuss, VMD, DACVIM, Equine Technical Manager for Boehringer Ingelheim. “Often times horse owners either don’t know how or are just unable to take the proper proactive steps to limit the impact of stress on the gastric health of the animal. Creating a more positive environment through the use of music and adding ULCERGARD when stress can’t be avoided can help minimize the impact.”

To learn more about EGUS prevention, visit https://m.info.boehringer-ingelheim.ca/webApp/Equine_Ulcergard_Index.Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health is the second largest animal health business in the world. Boehringer Ingelheim
Making new and better medicines for humans and animals is at the heart of what we do. Our mission is to create breakthrough therapies that change lives. Since its founding in 1885, Boehringer Ingelheim has been independent and family owned. We have the freedom to pursue our long-term vision, looking ahead to identify the health challenges of the future and targeting those areas of need where we can do the most good.

Fight or Flight

Living in partnership with a dog or a cat, one can witness moments of flight as simple as a response to the sound of a plastic cup dropping on a kitchen floor.  The origins of the terms fight or flight were first defined by Walter Bradford Cannon (1871-1945), a twentieth century American physiologist. His theory states that animals react to threats with a general discharge of the sympathetic nervous system, preparing the animal for fighting or fleeing. The hormones estrogen, testosterone, and cortisol, as well as the neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin, also reflect how organisms react to stress in animals.

What Dogs Hear: Understanding Canine Hearing and Behavior

$19.99

These responses are recognized as the first stage of the general adaptation syndrome which regulates stress responses among vertebrates and other organisms. The phrase fight or flight has been part of our culture in the way that we describe canine stress behaviors. I’d like to take the liberty to add a third word – balance- to this description. Why? Because the daily survival of animal life includes seeking a balanced state within their environment.  The term allostasis describes the ability of an animal to adapt to an environmental change by regulating its physiological state. The concept of allostasis was proposed by the neurophysiologists, Peter Sterling and Joseph Eyer in 1988 as being essential  in order to maintain internal viability amid changing conditions. In the wild and in our homes, animals seek balanced states of being through a combination of activity, rest and play. Lions, as an example, are crepuscular hunters but spend their day seeking a balance state (allostasis) by resting sixteen to twenty hours of the day. It’s not always about fight or flight.

As crepuscular hunters, our domesticated canines look forward to an early breakfast from our kitchens and a dog walk, with various rest times up to ten to fourteen hours a day. Seeking rest is also a response to stress. Muscles relax, energies reboot, and the pleasure of finding the sunny square on the floor to bathe in makes for a healthier and less stressed dog. That’s good self-regulating. 

Providing your dog with his or her own comfort zone, like a pet bed or a special blanket on a couch with calming music playing is as essential to their health and wellbeing as providing nutritious food, exercise and love. Sensory balance with minimal fight-or-flight stress will lead to a longer lifespan for your canine. 

Excerpt from What Dogs Hear by Janet Marlow, Sound Behaviorist

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