Dogs have a passion for toys, but is it possible for them to become overly attached? A recent study suggests that their playful nature can take a darker turn, leading to an obsession with their toys.
This study was published in Nature Scientific Reports. Researchers found that certain dogs exhibited behaviors similar to those seen in behavioral addictions, akin to gambling and gaming.
The term “ball junkie” is often used in dog training circles, implying addiction. However, the study participants pointed out that it hasn’t been established whether the criteria for addiction apply to dogs, as Professor Stefanie Reimer from Vetmeduni Vienna noted in BBC Science Focus, “Being highly motivated or overly focused on toys doesn’t necessarily equate to addiction.”
The research team conducted a series of tests involving 105 toy-obsessed dogs to observe their interactions with toys.
Ultimately, 33 dogs displayed behaviors indicative of addiction. They fixated on the toys and sought to access them when they were placed in boxes or on high shelves, even when food was offered or when their owners engaged them in social activities like tug-of-war.
“Two dogs managed to destroy boxes containing toys, highlighting their intense motivation,” said the study’s lead, Alija Mazzini from the University of Bern, in BBC Science Focus. “This reaction exceeded our expectations and clearly demonstrated the lengths some dogs would go to reach their desired objects.”
Marinoa goes to great lengths to retrieve his toys, even destroying the box in the process.
Some dogs struggled to relax after their toys were removed, pacing the room in search for them, and their heart rate remained elevated even after 15 minutes.
An important finding was that when allowed to play with toys, there was no notable difference in mood between dogs displaying addiction-like behavior and other dogs.
“While most dogs enjoy playing with toys, only a few show excessive fixation,” Mazzini explained. “This behavioral pattern resembles that of people engaged in potentially addictive activities like gaming and gambling without experiencing negative consequences, yet developing a genuine addiction.”
Playing Tug of War strengthens social bonds and provides an ideal way to engage with your dog – Credit: Getty
However, this doesn’t mean you should rush to eliminate all of your dog’s toys.
“While many dog owners use balls and other toys during playtime, only a small percentage of dogs develop addictive behaviors,” Reimer noted. “From a practical perspective, toy play serves as a great reinforcement for dogs. For one of my dogs, the ball represents the ultimate reward, though I didn’t encourage this behavior.
“Still, I strongly recommend emphasizing collaborative play. So, while I’m not suggesting you should avoid playing ball with your dog, do so judiciously.”
ohOn Sunday, The Observer published a sensitive article about video game addiction, interviewing therapists who work in the field and affected families. Real, compulsive, life-altering addiction, whether to video games or anything else, is of course devastating to those affected. In 2018, the WHO classified gaming addiction as a specific disorder. (It is different from technology addiction.) A specialized gaming disorder center established in the UK has treated over 1,000 patients. Thankfully, judging by the figures, this is a rare case, affecting less than 1% of the 88% of teenagers who play games.
The article asks the question: “Why are so many young people addicted to video games?”, which will no doubt have struck a chord with many parents who despair at the amount of time their children spend in front of a computer or games console. But as The Guardian’s video games editor and correspondent, we believe that many of those worried about the amount of time teenagers spend gaming are not dealing with an issue of addiction or compulsive behaviour. If we want to know why so many teenagers choose of their own free will to play 10 to 20 hours a week, we should look around us, rather than pathologising gaming.
Gen Z is the most surveilled generation ever born. We blame our kids and teenagers for not going outside, but at the same time we limit their freedom and close off their space. Parents may miss spending all day outside, riding their bikes around the neighborhood, but at the same time they treat their kids’ smartphones like tracking devices, demanding regular check-ins, infiltrating their social media feeds, and building databases of their activities and friend groups. The pandemic may have subsided, but it wasn’t just lockdowns that kept kids indoors.
Where will teenagers go without parental anxiety? Over the past decade, YMCA Data It indicates more than 4,500 youth activities jobs will be cut and 750 youth centres will be closed. According to the Music Venue Trust:Every week, two grassroots music venues close. The nightclub industry is in freefall. Playing in the park invites the suspicion of overprotective adults who assume these treasured recreational spaces are for young children only. City squares, skate parks, and pedestrian zones that were once public spaces are now insidiously privatized, monitored by CCTV and guarded by private security guards.
So it’s no wonder that teenagers retreat into the online world of video games. It’s the last space unencumbered by parents or other authority figures, the last place beyond adult control. You can spend all day doing what you want with your friends in Red Dead Redemption, Minecraft or Fortnite, without being interrupted or complained about, and without having to spend £5 on a latte every 30 minutes. If you can’t get therapy, at least you can relax and chat with friends in soothing games like Stardew Valley, Unpacking or Coffee Talk. You can travel freely and for free in Elden Ring or The Legend of Zelda. In Euro Truck Simulator, elderly relatives can’t suddenly vote to restrict your access to the continent.
There’s no doubt that spending all day in bed is unhealthy and lonely, but can you blame this generation for being anxious and withdrawn? They’ve been confined to their homes for over a year recently. There’s a great deal of despair and disillusionment in a world where homeownership is an illusion, lifelong job security is increasingly rare, and young people are accused of being lazy and complacent. The country’s minimum wage for 18-year-olds is £8.60, and an hour’s work barely buys you a pint in a London pub – if you can even find a job at all.
Outside of gaming, the media landscape is dominated by news sources that ridicule, slander and criminalize young people as woke wimps. The Conservatives’ last attempt to rally support before the election was to reinstate National Service for 18 year olds to teach them respect and public spirit. This is a generation that put their lives, friendships, relationships and education on hold to save their grandparents. It’s no surprise they want to escape into the virtual world. It’s amazing they want to return to the world we built for them.
Meanwhile, real action on the environmental crisis is being thwarted by incompetent politicians who cozy up to corporate polluters and right-wing conspiracy theorists who deny there’s any problem at all. Experts are wrestling with how far protesters should be allowed to block roads, while water companies are filling the oceans with human waste. When it’s time to reap what we’ve sown, all of these people will be dead, but not Gen Z. They’ll have a job for life for sure.
Today’s teenagers are gaming more than any generation before them. They’re also experiencing a mental health crisis, with one in three reporting mental health issues ranging from anxiety and depression to, of course, addiction. Even if there is a relationship between these things, it’s not the cause. We’re eager to blame anything for the problems our kids are experiencing, from smartphones to social media to video games — that is, anything but ourselves.
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