Has Your Dog's Favorite Toy Become an Addiction?

To be honest, there is a dog that arrives with the walkers at my local dog park that you simply cannot make eye contact with. You see, this Nova Scotia Toller is quick to present her ball the moment eye-to-eye contact is made… and then bring it back for you to throw again, and again, and again.

Now, I assumed she was probably just indulged at home and was rewarded with treats to encourage this repeat retrieval process.

But I may be wrong. You see, studies published in the journal Scientific Reports suggest dogs may have an addiction to their toys that is just as compelling to them as a gambling or gaming addiction is to humans.

Stay with me on this one! The research was conducted by the Division of Animal Welfare at the University of Bern, Switzerland and it built off the understanding that the act of “play” involved neurotransmitters (opioids, cannabinoids, and dopamine) that delivered the same sense of reward to them as food or drugs. You see, for dogs, play that involves their toys addresses their basic instincts of chasing, catching, and controlling. Experiences that become as highly rewarding to the pooch as gambling is to humans.

What Toy Addiction Looks Like

According to researchers, a true addiction to their toys is more than just a highly motivated desire to play – like my furry friend at the dog park. The dog will continue to seek out the toy, even when it’s unavailable. In fact, they may try to access their toy even after their pet parent has put it away. And it’s almost impossible to distract them from this obsession with the toy. The study noted that “such dogs may even lose interest in other stimuli or social interactions as long as they have access to the toy, or sometimes even when it has been removed from reach”.

How Do You Measure A Toy Addiction in Dogs?

Researchers needed to narrow down what behavioral aspects of addiction they wanted to explore, and ultimately included the following: the animal’s craving for the toy, their mood when playing with the toy versus not, their lack of self-control and whether it caused conflict with other activities or animals.

Let’s Get Started

After extensive screening, a total of 126 dog and owner teams were recruited, with 21 subsequently eliminated due to various reasons. One criterion was that the pooch be “play-oriented”.

Each dog and their owner were brought into a room where the experimenter was seated, then given a few minutes to acclimatize the dog to the new setting.

Shortly after, the experimenter then brought in a box containing new dog toys in a variety of sizes and textures. No squeakers allowed, or those that might be linked to food delivery, which might skew the outcome. The pet parent chose three of the toys that had to include a ball, tug-type toy, and something plush. These were toys they felt their pet might like.

Then the study began.

The three toys were placed on the floor, about 18 inches apart, and when the owner released their dog, they were permitted to interact with the toys for about 30 seconds. Whichever toy drew the dog’s interest was the one they would then use for subsequent testing. If the attitude toward the box was “meh”, then the owner was allowed to bring in a favorite option from home.

Previously labelling each dog either high-AB (Addictive-like Behaviour) or low-AB helped researchers understand the dog’s propensity for addictive behavior. No surprise that breeds used in hunting

The dog’s level of addiction was measured on a minute-by-minute basis. As stated by the researchers, “Salience was inferred from searching for a toy although there was an attractive alternative (food, owner inviting the dog to play). Craving was based on the dog focusing mainly on the toy and medium to high arousal directed at the inaccessible toy (inferred from behaviours such as panting, restlessness, and high muscle tension).”

Toy Addiction Versus ADHD

Now, a toy addiction does share some traits with ADHD (Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder) including something called hyperfocus, which is an intense, prolonged concentration on a single item or task.

Yet whereas hyperfocus is often seen when no other stimuli are around, this wasn’t the case with this particular study. Upon removal of the preferred toy, dogs were offered rewards including food or coaxing into play by their pet parent. In those instances, they still showed a preference for the missing toy. Researchers noted a high level of impulsivity that included a loss of self-control and heightened activity during the cool-down period when the toy was unavailable to them. What this translated into was vocalizing, pacing, or jumping towards the toy.

Overall Findings

Many layers to this study are not noted here, but they ensured the integrity of the results was not compromised. The research found that there appeared to be a parallel between excessive toy motivation and the behavioural addictions exhibited by humans. They also noted that the first officially recognized human behavioural addictions were gambling and online gaming – both related to play and an activity that creates a pleasurable emotional state.