The Bad Penny (beta)

Taking a break from our normal routine of chatting with musicians and our pets, we shifted the focus of Pet Sounds to whether your dog likes the same music you do. If you’re into soft indie-rock or meditative sounds, you’re probably in the clear; if you think your pooch wants to head-bang or mosh along with you to metal or punk, brace yourself for some bad news.

The Bad Penny recently spoke with Natalia Shahmetova, CEO & founder of a new app called “Woofz,” about this subject. Try not to get upset, fans of heavy music, but Shahmetova disclosed that: “Small or anxious dogs settle with acoustic, soft indie and warm tones. In our playlists, we use tempo as the guiding principle: music that fits the dog’s natural energy level tends to work best.”

Read our full interview after the jump.

What was the inspiration for Woofz?

Raising my own dog was honestly quite a challenge – not the dream of playtime and cuddly naps you think of when you think of puppies. I couldn’t train any recall behavior to start with. I especially felt the gap in learning what to do with your dog and how to train your puppy. You could go to YouTube, go to dog training school or read a book, but the whole process felt so outdated. So it felt like a natural fit to build Woofz: to give dog parents a single, trusted place where expert guidance is easy to follow and truly tailored to their dog’s needs.

Why did it seem like dogs would benefit from such technology?

We all need structure and discipline in our lives; our furry friends are no exception. With Woofz, we saw an opportunity to translate expert training principles into simple step-by-step guidance that any dog parent can use. It removes confusion for the pet owner – and that confidence often translates into organizational behavior in the dog as well.

What has the Woofz team learned about dogs, whether it be their connection to music or other general behaviors, that came as a surprise?

Pet behavior is not completely studied yet, so there are a lot of things that surprise us every day. One thing that consistently surprises people is how deeply dogs mirror our emotional states. When we created music-based calming routines, we noticed how strongly sound influences a dog’s ability to relax after a stressful trigger like separation or a new environment. Dogs read the world via body language, tone and rhythm, so music fits naturally into their natural calming mechanism.

Have you determined why dogs in particular connect to music more than other pets?

They don’t necessarily connect to music more than other pets; however, their hearing reminds ours more than other species. They do respond deeply to the frequency of music and its decibel levels, basically to rhythm and pace. Because so much of their communication with us is based on tone, cadence, and emotional cues, music becomes a familiar environmental signal. It helps regulate their pace, calmness and even their heart rate.

A theme that recurs in my Pet Sounds series is the emotional intelligence that dogs seem to possess, especially relative to other pets. Is that perhaps part of the reason they are attracted to an art form that is arguably rooted in emotion more than any other?

Dogs are responsive to emotional signals in sounds, which isn’t exclusive to simple talking, but also music. It was a surprise to me when I found out that dogs not only can express emotions, but also experience altered heart rate and behavior when subjected to different genres of music, even more so when the music has a steady rhythm and calm tonal patterns.

Their emotional intelligence plays a significant role in this. Music offers something predictable, rhythmic, and soothing to dogs, which aligns with how they perceive the world around them.

Is there a certain type or genre of music that dogs respond to the most? Why is that?

Dogs tend to respond best not to a specific genre or their personal musical taste, but to the tempo and rhythm of the music; mostly, it depends on the pup’s breed. For example, small or anxious dogs settle with acoustic, soft indie and warm tones. In our playlists, we use tempo as the guiding principle: music that fits the dog’s natural energy level tends to work best.

Is it fair to say that dogs are as fixated/impacted by music as cats are with television?

These are different mechanisms. Cats react to movement and visual stimuli, while dogs react to sound. Music helps dogs to calm down, unwind and relax after getting excited.

Does Woofz have the potential to bring dogs closer together with their caretakers/owners/masters?

Definitely yes, this is our main goal at Woofz – to bring dogs closer with their owners through understanding their dogs’ needs, signals, emotional states, and reactions. When mutual understanding develops between them, their bond becomes much stronger and healthier.

How did you arrive at the playlists you’ve deemed appropriate for various dog breeds? Are they mostly based on personality stereotypes or rigorous testing?

We developed dog playlists in collaboration with professional dog trainers and canine health experts. We looked beyond stereotypes and focused on the behavioral and physiological needs of different breed groups: energy levels, natural movement pace, typical recommendations for walk duration, and health risks. Everything was tested in real-life conditions.

Do you foresee a future in which dogs might be able to craft/curate their own playlists?

It might come off as funny, but in some way, it is possible. Dogs already show us what they are comfortable with and what they are not. If technology learns to accurately interpret physiological signals like walking pace, heart rate, and arousal level, then it is quite possible to imagine individual automatic playlists.

Are you planning to launch similar apps for pet cats, parrots, snakes, etc.? (Attempting to end on a rather humorous note.)

We already launched a sister app for cats – Meowz – built specifically around cats’ behavior. And yes, a few people on our team keep dreaming about making one for horses someday. Who knows, maybe that future isn’t too far away.

Go here for the full Pet Sounds archive, which features interviews with everyone from Cattle Decapitation to Deerhoof to Sleigh Bells to ADULT fawning over their furry friends.

This entry was posted on 11/22/2025 at 11:36 am and is filed under Features, Interviews, Pet Sounds with tags dogs, Pet Sounds. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.