Does your dog have a toy addiction?

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International
A bullterrier during tug-of-war play. Credit: Alja Mazzini.
A bullterrier during tug-of-war play. Credit: Alja Mazzini.

Some dogs could be addicted to their toys the same way people are addicted to gambling and internet gaming, according to international researchers who add that more research is needed to determine if this negatively impacts their welfare. The team looked at the behaviour of 105 dogs who were all described by their owners as motivated to play with toys. Each dog selected a toy at the beginning of the test, then researchers tested how the dogs interacted with the toy, their owner, and what happened when the toy was removed. They found 33 dogs exhibited addictive-like behaviours, including being excessively fixated on their toy, showing a lack of interest in alternatives to their toy such as food or playing with their owner, making persistent efforts to access their toy when it was unavailable, and being unable to calm down for 15 minutes after all toys were removed.

Media release

From: Springer Nature

Animal behaviour: Dogs pawsitively hooked on toys

Some dogs show behaviours towards their toys that resemble behavioural addictions in humans, such as gambling and internet gaming, according to a study of 105 dogs published in Scientific Reports.

Behavioural addictions in humans are characterised by compulsive engagement with activities despite negative consequences. Although anecdotal evidence has previously suggested that some dogs display addictive-like behaviours towards toys — for example whining when a toy is out of reach and continuing to play despite overexertion or injury — this study represents the first published scientific evaluation of such behaviours in dogs.

Stefanie Riemer, Alja Mazzini and colleagues identified common symptoms of behavioural addictions in humans from previously published research, such as experiencing cravings and having difficulty stopping or controlling a behaviour. They then compared these with behaviours exhibited by 56 male and 49 female dogs — who were all described by their owners as motivated to play with toys — towards a toy selected by themselves at the start of the test. The dogs ranged in age from 12 months to ten years old and the most common breeds were Malinois (18 dogs), Border Collies (9 dogs), and Labrador Retrievers (9 dogs). The authors also surveyed owners about their dogs’ everyday behaviours towards toys.

The researchers report that 33 dogs exhibited addictive-like behaviours. These included being excessively fixated on their toy, showing a lack of interest in alternatives to their toy such as food or playing with their owner, making persistent efforts to access their toy when it was unavailable, and being unable to calm down for 15 minutes after all toys were removed. When their toy was inaccessible, these dogs tended to spend longer focusing on, and trying to access it, and to prioritise accessing it over consuming food or interacting with their owner.

The authors note that further research is needed to determine the reasons for dogs excessively engaging with toys and whether this can negatively impact their welfare.

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Journal/
conference:
Scientific Reports
Research:Paper
Organisation/s: University of Bern, Switzerland; Vetmeduni Vienna, Austria
Funder: This study was funded by the SNSF Ambizione Grant Project PZ00P3_174221 to Stefanie Riemer. Many thanks go to Prof. Hanno Würbel for his feedback and support and to the dog owners and the dogs for their enthusiastic participation in the study.
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