Our faithful friends might have more in common with us than we thought, according to a new study titled: “Addictive-like behavioural traits in pet dogs with extreme motivation for toy play.”
Authors at the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna and the University of Bern claim that some dogs behave in ways similar to humans with behavioral addictions, such as gambling or playing video games.
The study published in Nature Scientific Reports states that some dogs can become obsessively fixated on their toys. University of Bern study lead Alija Mazzini said the behavior is familiar.
“This pattern mirrors human behaviour, where many people engage in potentially addictive activities such as gaming or gambling without consequences, while only a few develop a genuine addiction,” Bern said.
how they interacted with their objects of desire, including being deprived of them
The study sample included 105 “toy-obsessed” dogs subjected to a series of tests to gauge how they interacted with their objects of desire, including being deprived of them.
“Two dogs actually managed to destroy the box containing their toy, illustrating the intensity of their motivation,” said Mazzini, adding that it was a striking demonstration of “how far some dogs were willing to go” to be reunited with their toys.
According to the study, 33 dogs showed evidence of addiction-like behavior.
