Music to Soothe the Not-So-Savage Household Beast

For people, there is Beethoven. For poodles, there is “Pethoven,” the first (as far as we know) full CD of music specifically designed for pets.

Joe Procopio, a musician in Chapel Hill, N.C., dreamed up this concept nearly a decade ago while noodling around on the high notes of a piano. His daughter’s finches started chirping wildly, and it hit him: Animals need music too.

All of “Pethoven’s” melodies are recorded twice, once at normal decibels and then at high frequency. But don’t worry. “Great care is taken not to harm any pet, and none of the frequencies are out of normal human hearing range,” Procopio says on his Web site. So your little friend can rock ‘n’ roll in comfort.

“Pethoven” won’t appeal to folks without fur or feathers--it sounds like distorted, squeaky merry-go-round music and grinds along without mercy--but it’s not really made for us humans. So we tested it on a member of its intended audience, an adorable dachshund named Max who seems fond of everything.

Max took in a droopy earful of “Never Be Lonely,” the album’s lead-off track, then wagged his tail and started licking this critic’s shoe. Within 30 seconds, he lay down and started to nap.

In short, he seemed entirely indifferent to “Pethoven.” Maybe he’s a Bone Thugs-N-Harmony fan.