Whether it's a spaniel with an insatiable love for a ball or a flat-haired cat who can't do without his squeaky bear, dogs can become very passionate about their toys. Now researchers say some may even show signs of addiction.
While people may engage in excessive activities in a variety of activities, from work to shopping, gambling and internet gaming are the only disordered disorders. officially recognized as behavioral addictionsthe main feature of which is the repetition of actions that are initially beneficial, although they may lead to long-term harm.
Now scientists say some dogs may have a similar relationship with their toys.
Stefanie Riemer, co-author of the study from Vetmeduni in Vienna, said genetic and environmental factors likely play a role.
“We think the genetic component is quite strong,” she said, noting that the team found differences in prevalence between breeds, while subsequent work found that owners of dogs with high levels of addictive behavior did little to encourage it.
Published in Scientific ReportsRiemer and his colleagues described how they studied 56 males and 49 females aged between one and 10 years, some of whom were known to be “overly” motivated to play with toys.
Each owner was asked to complete a series of tasks with their dog in a specially equipped room, often using a toy chosen by the dog and sometimes with the help of a researcher. These tasks included playing with the dog, leaving the dog alone with a toy, throwing the toy, placing the toy in a box next to a food puzzle, and placing the toy on a shelf.
The researchers filmed each exercise and rated the dogs on the intensity of various behaviors, such as jumping toward the toy, barking or whining when the toy was not available, reaching for the toy when it was not available, and refusing to eat when food was available.
The results showed that 33 of the 105 dogs had total scores above half the range of the data, suggesting that they were prone to such actions and therefore had a high propensity for addictive behavior, with the largest proportion of such dogs belonging to the terrier and shepherd breeds.
The team also analyzed the dogs' behavior on four key criteria associated with behavioral addiction in humans and found that dogs with high levels of addictive behavior scored higher on behaviors related to craving, lack of self-control and perceiving the toy as very important. These dogs also tended to score higher on a questionnaire completed by owners about their dogs' addictive behavior towards toys.
Riemer said the results cannot conclusively prove that dogs experience behavioral addiction, while high levels of addictive-like behavior are likely to be less common in the general dog population.
She also emphasized that not every “ball addict” has something like an addiction.
“Addiction really means that it has negative consequences for the person,” she said. “If a dog can't cope with not having a toy, it may be more of an addiction-like behavior.”
Dr Serge Ahmed, an addiction expert at France's National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) and the University of Bordeaux, welcomed the study but said the authors acknowledged there was little evidence that dogs with “excessive toy motivation” experienced adverse consequences, while further work was needed to find out how chronic the behavior was.
“So, at this stage of the study, it is difficult to use this study to give advice to a dog owner. [about]what’s best for their dog.”
