In a Dog's World, Play Reigns Supreme

April 30, 2008 -- Pampered pooches are so driven to play and please that these urges can overtake other instincts -- to compete or be wary of strangers, for example -- when a dog is presented with a favorite game, according to a new study.

Socialized canines don't even seem to care whom they play with, the study found, as long as the person plays by the same rules and general manner established by the dog's owner during prior play sessions.

"It could mean that if, over time, the dog and its owner develop a routine of games, the dog could generalize these behavior routines to other play situations with another unfamiliar person, and the dog is less prone to misunderstanding human intentions," lead author Lilla Toth told Discovery News.

Toth, a researcher in the Department of Ethology at Hungary's Eotvos Lorand University, and her colleagues recruited 68 adult dogs of varying breeds for the study. The dogs were all classified as family pets because they were well schooled (having gone through obedience and agility classes), they lived in their owners' homes, and they were regularly walked and otherwise cared for by their owners.

The scientists had each dog play both a fetch ball game and a rag tug-of-war game with its owner and then an unfamiliar experimenter, who stood nearby during all sessions.

During the play sessions the researchers took note of each dog's tendency for possession, willingness to retrieve, behaviors related to fear, avoidance and aggression, and the occurrence of play bows, when a dog crouches down on its front legs with its head held high and its tail wagging. This bow is a visual cue that the dog would like to play.

The researchers then examined the effect that six factors had on the dogs' behavior: the familiarity of the play partner; the type of the game; the dogs' gender, age and breed; and the ordinary amount of daily interaction between dog and owner.