Want to be closer to your dog? Study says play more

By Stephen Beech

Dog owners who spend longer playing create a stronger emotional bond with their pet, reveals new research.

But training dogs does not produce the same effect, according to the Swedish study.

Scientists say their findings are relevant for all dog owners — whether they have young or adult dogs.

They explained that the function of play is not fully understood, especially in dogs that continue to play even in adulthood.

For the new study, researchers at Linköping University looked at whether there is a direct connection between play and a stronger emotional bond between owner and dog.

Study leader Lina Roth said: "Today, many dogs change homes in the middle of their lives.

"With rescue dogs, you don't have the advantage of growing up with your dog.

"This means that you miss the so-called socialization window early in your puppy's life, which is important for relationship building.

"And then play can be a very good way to build a new good relationship even with adult dogs."

To find out if there is a connection, dog owners were asked to answer a comprehensive questionnaire about how they experience their relationship with their dog.

The questions included "How often do you take your dog with you when you visit other people?" "How often do you feel that dog ownership is more trouble than it's worth?" and "How often do you tell your dog things that you don't tell anyone else?"

The owner-dog pairs were then divided into three groups.

One group was tasked with playing more than usual, another had to train more than usual with rewards in the form of treats, and a control group continued as before.

The owners then had to answer the same questionnaire again.

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Roth said: "This is a great result that you can only dream of.

"It turned out that the play group improved their emotional bond to the dog in just four weeks with a few minutes of extra play a day."

The findings, published in the journal Royal Society Open Science, showed a "statistically significant causal relationship" where the emotional bond to the dog is improved by increasing the time of play.

But the other two groups showed no improvement compared to before.

The group that engaged in training did not experience an improvement.

Roth says the study mainly shows how the owners experience the relationship and cannot say much about the dog's experiences.

But she said the owners in the play group reported that their dogs seemed to get a more positive view of their owners, and that the dogs themselves took more initiatives for play.

Roth said previous studies have also shown that dogs feel better when they get to play and spend time with their owners.

The different groups in the new study were given clear instructions on how play and training should be done, so the researchers were able to ensure that the owners actually played with their dog.

Roth says the most important thing is to find a game that the dog responds positively to and that play time together becomes pleasant.

She said: "Just throwing a ball isn't enough.

"As we were after the social interaction between dog and human, the games we proposed in the study were for example tug-of-war, rough and tumble, chasing each other, hide-and-seek, peekaboo or teasing the dog a little with your fingers."

Roth added: "You don't have to keep at it for long, it's more about paying attention to your dog's behavior.

"A few minutes every now and then seems to make a big difference."