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Addictive-like behavioural traits in pet dogs with extreme motivation for toys

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Re: Addictive-like behavioural traits in pet dogs with extreme motivation for toys

#131

Post by AngryData »

brap wrote: post #45
jncfhnb wrote: post #30

If you ever get a chance to see sled dogs in Alaska or wherever, holy shit do those dogs ever want to pull a sled. I’ve never seen an animal so fixated.

What if you never trained them to pull, and they never observed that behavior? Would they still want to do it?

I had a dog when I was younger that was from a dog sled line but was many generations removed from pulling sleds. She seemed to love to pull on stuff, ropes, leashes, toys, people holding her, or whatever else, so we bought a dog harness and attached a garden wagon to her a few years in. And she was absolutely obsessed with pulling it around and seemed like she would have happily run herself to death pulling it around if we let her. The harder you tried to hold the wagon, the harder she would pull and the more fun she seemed to be having.

It is just anecdotal, but I 100% believe there was nothing she found more entertaining and fun than to pull that wagon because of her genetics. There was no training involved, within seconds of hooking her up with a harness she just knew what she had to do.

Re: Addictive-like behavioural traits in pet dogs with extreme motivation for toys

#132

Post by uslic001 »

delichon wrote: post #6

Perhaps not surprising, working breeds – many of which are known to have been artificially selected for high toy or predatory motivation – were overrepresented in the sample. This is the vibe I get from my golden retriever. Chasing the tennis ball is more than play, it's a justification for life, her contribution to the pack. Actually eating food has a higher priority than chasing the ball, but not much else does. Wh…

Same thing with our two Boykin Spaniels.

Re: Addictive-like behavioural traits in pet dogs with extreme motivation for toys

#133

Post by echelon_musk »

hinkley wrote: post #38
delichon wrote: post #6

Perhaps not surprising, working breeds – many of which are known to have been artificially selected for high toy or predatory motivation – were overrepresented in the sample. This is the vibe I get from my golden retriever. Chasing the tennis ball is more than play, it's a justification for life, her contribution to the pack. Actually eating food has a higher priority than chasing the ball, but not much else does. Wh…

There’s some documentation out there suggesting the original Labrador retrievers had food obsession as a trait in common with bidability, which is why more than half of them end up chonky. Not all have the gene but odds are high. There’s a guy who trawls dog rescues looking for retrievers who are toy obsessed and then trains them to hunt truffles. He reasons you can’t reward them with food for finding even tastier fo…

> bidability

Huh?

Re: Addictive-like behavioural traits in pet dogs with extreme motivation for toys

#134

Post by epiccoleman »

MaxfordAndSons wrote: post #97
HankB99 wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Our kids have a Rottweiler that loves to chase a ball, Bring it back and then dare us to try to take it away from her. She can drop if convinced. Or I have a second ball that is more interesting, causing her to drop the other ball. She can hold two balls in her mouth so I have to wait for her to drop the first ball before I throw. She also has a large (about 1 food diameter) ball that can't possibly fit in her mouth…

Yea the "No take, only throw" game seems more endemic to Mastiff descendants, as opposed to the true "retrieval" behavior described in the top comments about Retrievers. My boxer/bulldog mix loves to chase the ball, but will fight like hell to not give it up. Like you, I rely on bribery or manipulating the properties of the ball to make it more easily relinquished.

My trick with my previous dog was to just always have two toys for the fetch session. She'd usually drop the one she was holding when I wound up to throw the next one. Kinda like juggling.

Re: Addictive-like behavioural traits in pet dogs with extreme motivation for toys

#135

Post by arethuza »

heikkilevanto wrote: post #68

Slightly off topic, but I once had a Siamese cat. I could not teach her to fetch a ball, but she could very well teach me to throw again. And it had to be a yellow foam ball - none of the other colors were of any interest.

We used to have Burmese cats and they loved to play fetch.

Re: Addictive-like behavioural traits in pet dogs with extreme motivation for toys

#136

Post by labrador »

throw-10-13 wrote: post #124
labrador wrote: post #104

As a recovering addict/alcoholic, I completely "get" these dogs and think maybe if this idea spreads it could help non-addicts understand our obsessive/compulsive behavior without as much judgement.

Not sure if comparing human addicts to a dog is the win you think it is.

It's funny to me that you would say that because it tells me you've never been a desperate addict. You've never felt lower than a dog.

Re: Addictive-like behavioural traits in pet dogs with extreme motivation for toys

#137

Post by [deleted] »

jancsika wrote: post #64
delichon wrote: post #6

Perhaps not surprising, working breeds – many of which are known to have been artificially selected for high toy or predatory motivation – were overrepresented in the sample. This is the vibe I get from my golden retriever. Chasing the tennis ball is more than play, it's a justification for life, her contribution to the pack. Actually eating food has a higher priority than chasing the ball, but not much else does. Wh…

> As in I'm obligated to throw the damn ball. Just imagining your retriever feeling obligated to sit patiently by your side as you contribute to the pack by deconstructing your life while staring lifelessly at a flashing screen.

[deleted]

Re: Addictive-like behavioural traits in pet dogs with extreme motivation for toys

#138

Post by hinkley »

echelon_musk wrote: post #133
hinkley wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There’s some documentation out there suggesting the original Labrador retrievers had food obsession as a trait in common with bidability, which is why more than half of them end up chonky. Not all have the gene but odds are high. There’s a guy who trawls dog rescues looking for retrievers who are toy obsessed and then trains them to hunt truffles. He reasons you can’t reward them with food for finding even tastier fo…

> bidability Huh?

The ability to be bid. Two d’s though in adjective form.

Some breeds always need treats in order to train, which ultimately makes them less useful. Then there are breeds that can be enticed with praise. These are easier to work with, achieve discipline with, and thus more elaborate tricks or jobs. Being able to be influenced by words and contact is called being biddable.

Some breeds are little sociopaths who will hardly do anything unless it’s transactional.

Re: Addictive-like behavioural traits in pet dogs with extreme motivation for toys

#140

Post by echelon_musk »

hinkley wrote: post #138
echelon_musk wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> bidability Huh?

The ability to be bid. Two d’s though in adjective form. Some breeds always need treats in order to train, which ultimately makes them less useful. Then there are breeds that can be enticed with praise. These are easier to work with, achieve discipline with, and thus more elaborate tricks or jobs. Being able to be influenced by words and contact is called being biddable. Some breeds are little sociopaths who will har…

Thanks
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