ALMOST 100 years ago, a famous music store adopted a dog listening to a wind-up gramophone as its logo.

"Nipper" is still seen listening to "His Master's Voice" on the HMV logo adorning shops, vinyl records and CDs.

Today, these dogs from Bolton have taken that image into the 21st century - as they gather around a digital radio to listen to some soothing classical music.

According to the Guide Dogs for the Blind Assocation, listening to national radio station Classic FM, with its playlist of Beethoven, Mozart and Bach, relaxes their pooches.

Trainers at the Dog Care Department in Bolton - there are others in Forfar, Leamington Spa and Woodford Green in Essex - tuned into a variety of radio stations.

But they found the likes of Radio 1 and Virgin had little effect.

"Classic FM produced the best results," says fundraiser Jacqui Chapman.

"It leaves the dogs chilled out and ready for a new day's training and it makes them easier to work with."

The radio was provided by manufacturer Pure, which is now donating £1 from the sale of its Sonus-1XT radios - designed for blind and partially-sighted listeners - to the charity.

But the calming effect of classical music on dogs has been noticed before.

In 2005, the K9 Kalmer was released, playing pre-selected proprietary tunes at ultrasonic frequencies audible to dogs but not humans.

There are also many "dog-friendly" CDs available in the shops.