Sit, Stay, Listen to Jane Austen?

Some dogs do great when left alone, but others have a harder time being without their owner throughout the day.

Cesar Millan, dog trainer extraordinaire, explains that the separation anxiety your pet feels often results in undesirable behavior. It can also cause your dog to feel depressed.

As a solution, Millan created a line of audiobooks for dogs. The point of playing these audiobooks is to keep your dog calm while no one is home with them. Millan also says the audiobooks affect dogs’ behavior differently than having your pet listen to the TV or radio. The difference lies in the tone of the voice of audiobooks, which lets the dog stay relaxed. In fact, according to one study, three out of four dog owners noticed a positive change in behavior after playing an audiobook for their pet.

Millan also recommends listening to audiobooks with your dog at first to find one that works. He says the audiobook you choose should be the same gender as you and played at an average volume.

Some of Millan’s suggested audiobooks include Pride and Prejudice, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and the Mary Poppins series.