You’re playing with your dog WRONG! Why throwing a ball isn’t enough

You’re playing with your dog WRONG! Why throwing a ball isn’t enough,

Fetch is a firm favourite with dogs – but if you really want to build a strong bond with your pet, it’s best to avoid this game. 

Experts from Linköping University say that throwing a ball is not enough for owners to form a proper bond with their pet.

As part of a new study, researchers analysed the best ways for people to interact with their dog to form a strong social connection.

The results show that simply throwing an object for your dog and asking them to retrieve it isn’t sufficient. 

Instead, it’s crucial that owners get involved in the games as well, according to the researchers.

That means games like tug–of–war, hide–and–seek, and first to the toy are more effective. 

‘Just throwing a ball isn’t enough,’ explained Lina Roth, senior associate professor at Linköping University said.

‘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.’

Playing interactive games such as a tug–of–war can help strengthen your bond more than simply throwing a ball, experts say

Analysis revealed owners reported a significantly stronger bond with their pet when they played with them more. The other two groups, however, showed no improvement

For the study, the team recruited nearly 3,000 owners and their dogs and split them into three groups. 

One group was tasked with playing more than usual, one with training more than usual and a control group who continued as before.

Analysis revealed owners reported a significantly stronger bond with their pet when they played with them more. 

The other two groups, however, showed no improvement.

The study, published in the journal Royal Society Open Science, is unable to capture exactly how the dogs felt, the researchers cautioned.

But owners in the ‘play’ group reported that their dogs seemed to like them more following the intervention.

These dogs also began to initiate play more than usual, they revealed.

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

Playing games such as tug–of–war could be more beneficial than simply throwing a ball, the team said. Hide–and–seek was also another play option given to the participants

The dog owners indicated what their favourite play activities were after four weeks of the intervention, with tug–of–war coming in first place

‘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. This is a great result that you can only dream of,’ Dr Roth said.

The study focused on social play, which involves a direct interaction between the dog and owner.

‘It requires mutual attention and emotional engagement, both of which are central to relationship‑building,’ Dr Roth explained.

However object play, such as throwing a ball, can be performed with ‘very little social exchange’ and as a result, may not yield the same benefits.

The study reads: ‘Dogs differ from most other species in that they readily play with humans throughout their lives.

‘Lifelong playfulness in dogs has even been suggested to be an adaptive trait arising from domestication, serving to strengthen the emotional bond with humans.’

The team said the findings could also be applicable to rescue dogs, who did not get the same opportunity to ‘bond’ with their owners when they were a puppy.

‘Today, many dogs change homes in the middle of their lives,’ Dr Roth explained. ‘With rescue dogs, you don’t have the advantage of growing up with your dog.

‘This means that you miss the so–called socialisation window early in your puppy’s life, which is important for relationship building.

‘Play can then be a very good way to build a new good relationship even with adult dogs.’

A separate study previously found that it’s not only dogs that enjoy a game of fetch – as cats like it too.

Researchers found felines like to retrieve objects, but only very specific items and often only when they decide to do so.

Some cats also appear hesitant to bring an object all the way back to their owner – sometimes dropping it further and further away so the owner has to ‘fetch’ it for them.

Dr Elizabeth Renner, co–author of the study from Northumbria University, said: ‘Cats seem to like to make fetch more interesting for themselves, and often play only when they feel like it.

‘They typically only fetch something less than five times, and the pickier cats will only fetch certain objects.’