cathartic_j
Senior Member
Hi All,
My partner and I are considering getting a dog, but I'm concerned about making sure that I can happily continue to practice on a regular basis without damaging the dog's hearing. I'm certain that there are dog-owners on this forum, but I couldn't find any threads related to the issue. (Plenty of human hearing loss-prevention threads, but that's mostly a matter of common sense.)
Since we don't have any serious sound-absorbing materials built into the house, I feel pretty strongly that the dog would need to be outside while I'm playing -- but unfortunately, we don't have a fence. (Our place is about 1800 square feet, but it's single-story with lots of reflective surfaces, and the only area to accommodate my kit is almost smack-dab in the middle of the place.) We did find a product named Mutt Muffs, which claims a 25-28 db reduction. Might this be enough if the dog is in another room with the door closed? The only other option I'm coming up with is to have someone take the dog for a long walk every time I want to practice. (Adding "sound-proofing" materials may be a long-term solution, but won't work in the short term for cost and legal reasons.)
I know that "safe" sound levels obviously depend greatly on the specific acoustic environment, but I'm hoping this kind and thoughtful community can provide me some feedback based on the above info and maybe even come up with some other creative solutions that I might have missed. I'm certain that there are happy dogs out there whose owners love to drum...
Thanks!
My partner and I are considering getting a dog, but I'm concerned about making sure that I can happily continue to practice on a regular basis without damaging the dog's hearing. I'm certain that there are dog-owners on this forum, but I couldn't find any threads related to the issue. (Plenty of human hearing loss-prevention threads, but that's mostly a matter of common sense.)
Since we don't have any serious sound-absorbing materials built into the house, I feel pretty strongly that the dog would need to be outside while I'm playing -- but unfortunately, we don't have a fence. (Our place is about 1800 square feet, but it's single-story with lots of reflective surfaces, and the only area to accommodate my kit is almost smack-dab in the middle of the place.) We did find a product named Mutt Muffs, which claims a 25-28 db reduction. Might this be enough if the dog is in another room with the door closed? The only other option I'm coming up with is to have someone take the dog for a long walk every time I want to practice. (Adding "sound-proofing" materials may be a long-term solution, but won't work in the short term for cost and legal reasons.)
I know that "safe" sound levels obviously depend greatly on the specific acoustic environment, but I'm hoping this kind and thoughtful community can provide me some feedback based on the above info and maybe even come up with some other creative solutions that I might have missed. I'm certain that there are happy dogs out there whose owners love to drum...
Thanks!