My dog’s name is Daisy, but sometimes I think it should be Nellie because she can be one bundle of nerves sometimes. She reacts to just about every little noise in the house or neighborhood, and when I am working from home, it can be distracting.

Daisy on Duty

Cat’s on the table? Police Dog Daisy, reporting for duty! Time for Daisy and the cats to have lunch? Daisy knows. Is a person down the street getting their mail? Not without Daisy’s permission. A person walking past the house with a child my grandson’s age? No, Daisy, that’s not “your kid.”

People are also not supposed to hold conversations within a two block radius of the house. The can’t use leaf blowers or mow their lawns or drive past the house. She doesn’t always bark, really. Often it’s a quiet woof woof, or a low non-snarly growl. Sometimes she starts pacing. If she’s really upset she finds her toy moose. She’s not aggressive. She just wants everyone to behave as they should and follow her rules. Is that really so much to ask?

Daisy’s Playlist

The other night, I wasn’t even looking to work. I just wanted to go to sleep, but the neighbors were talking outside. I typed “dog relaxation music” into the Spotify search engine. I found Dog Music Relaxing Sounds for Your Dog by Filtr Sweden. It’s a mix of nature sounds, mostly water, and calm instrumental ballads. No piece is very long, and many seem incomplete to my human ear.

The best part about it is it works! If it’s bedtime, Daisy nuzzles next to me. If it’s work time, she calms down too. Really alarming noises are still suspect and she still keeps the cats off the table, but she is much less jumpy. If I ask her if we should play her music, she wags her tail and twirls but settles down when it starts.

It Works On Me Too!

Last I checked, I was no beauty queen, but I am not a dog. I do have ADHD though, and focusing is a challenge with all the neighborhood noises and Daisy’s reactions. With Daisy’s music in the background, I barely looked up from my computer for well over an hour when I finally had to get up to tend to the low battery icon on the laptop.

I have listened to various white noise and classical music while working in an attempt to stay focused with mixed results. So far, Dog Music Relaxing Sounds For Your Dog works as well as anything for humans. It’s my new secret weapon.