I read a recent article in The Atlantic about some scientists who taught rats to play hide-and-seek as part of a larger study about the neuroscience of play. I’m riveted by animal behavior, I’m a huge fan of play, and I find neuroscience interesting, so an article like this can send me straight down a rabbit hole of further reading, investigation, and thinking while gazing out the window.
The abstract of the study, which was originally published in the magazine Science, concludes, “The elaborate cognitive capacities for hide-and-seek in rats suggest that this game might be evolutionarily old.”
Animal behavior experts have long speculated about the purpose of play; it is thought to be a sort of behavioral practice time, when predator species practice stalking and hunting prey, and prey species practice escape tactics (such as running and dodging) and rudimentary self-defense behaviors such as kicking or biting. And of course, all species tend to engage in playful social behaviors, such as social grooming. The play of humans incorporates all of these things!
All mammals play the most when they are young, and most species spend less and less time playing as they mature. Interestingly, humans and dogs are two species who retain a greater than average interest in play well into their senior years, though the “games” may change greatly over time. This is why good dog trainers frequently recommend using play as a reinforcer for a dog’s behavior that the owner likes or wants more of. Mutually enjoyable play also helps strengthen the bond between dogs and their humans, and keeps them engaged and motivated to pay attention to and work with us.
Interestingly, hide-and-seek is a favorite game of many humans and their dogs, me and mine included. Both my dignified senior dog, Otto, and my always goofy, playful four-year-old Woody will leap to their feet and stare at me if I signal the start of a game by just looking at them and then pantomiming an exaggerated sneaking out of the room: Oh, it’s on! they seem to say. They know to wait for me to whistle before starting their search, without me having to tell them to “stay.” I never taught them this, but if they come and find me before I’m actually hidden, I just tell them, “Aw, you wrecked it!” and resume doing whatever it was that I was doing before I initiated the game. So they learned that if they wait for the whistle, I’m both more difficult to find and I almost always let out that inadvertent squeal of joy and surprise that humans almost can’t help but make when they are discovered hiding by their intensely seeking dogs. And then we all celebrate with laughter and a little bit of roughhousing.
The party starts when they reach me. Good dogs!
Mutually enjoyable play is so reinforcing for most dogs, that I would hazard a guess that people who play with their dogs would rate their dogs’ behavior – or at the very least, the strength of their relationship – more highly than people who don’t play with their dogs. Shoot, if I were a scientist with time and money to spare, I’d try to find a way to test this hypothesis. Instead, I’ll just ask you guys: Do you play with your dogs? How and why?
I started playing “Find Me!” with my 2 Schnauzers. While they are busy sniffing in the yard, I’ll hide behind a tree or the shed and call “Find Me!” They go crazy trying to find me. In bad weather we play this in the house – hiding beside beds, behind doors, etc. What I’ve found is they respond to this better than “Come.” Schnauzers have a mind of their own but I believe if they should escape from the yard or their harness, calling “Find Me” will work better than “Come.”
Sandy, I do the same thing with my two dogs. One is a full blooded, non registered Boykin Spaniel (9 yrs old) and the other is a lab mix (6 yrs old). But I get behind a tree when they cant see me & yell out – come find me… They both come running past the tree, stop because they smell me and sniff around until they find me. I always say – you found me & they love it. If I play in the house, my youngest always looks in my shower first. They are super fun to have around.
I adopted Molly, my Beagle-Lab mix when she was about one. She was a stray, so have no idea what her first year was like, but she LOVES to play fetch, and we didn’t teach it to her! We usually play with rope toys or her Hurley inside and rubber balls in our large back yard. She is so fast. I can throw a rope downstairs, and she is back with it before I can walk a few feet into the bedroom. Of course, there is also tug of war involved before I can throw again.
My husband and I have a Westie (almost 2 years old now). She is totally crazy about swimming and playing catch with her rubber ball. Every afternoon about 2:15 pm, Coco jumps up and gives me a certain look so we head out to the pool her ball play. Then when she gets hot, she swims around the pool…gives you a kiss…then goes back to the deck for more ball play. This happens every afternoon for about 1 1/2 hours. Needless to say, we have to get very creative with in-house games when the cold weather hits. She also loves walks and playing tug-of-war with her rope toy.
Every chance I get. Multiple times a day. We play tug, fetch, hide and seek or sometimes we just wrestle. Both my dog Tali and I love to play. Sometimes she initiates it by bringing me a toy.
We adopted our Shih tzu when he was 9 weeks old and he will be 7 years old in December. He has always been an evening player but he tires quicker than he used to. It’s a mix of fetch and tug of war with a caterpillar like toy, which we have bought several of over the years. At some point in the game he will straddle it like he has “captured” it. Also, when he wants his breakfast and supper he will get a small stuffed ball and play fetch up to 3 throws. The problem with this is when it wears out and needs replaced and it takes a couple days to get used to the replacement.
I started a training course a week ago that I found online. It is all based on playing games with my dogs, and the end goal in 21 days is suppose to be “stress-free walks” with my pulling terriers (6 of them). I am only on day 8, but I have already seen remarkable changes in the way my dogs respond to me! The 13 year old terrier that NEVER had any use for me, that hides behind the sofa if I say his name when he is walking past, that normally spends all his time outside, or under by bed – was napping at my feet by day 3! By day 7, three of the six dogs are walking on a loose leach – and all six dogs spend more time where ever I happen to be when I am home. Games with your dogs can be like magic dust!!! I am a believer.
What games do you play
Me too. What is the online play training course?
I can answer that question – I believe it’s “21 Days to Stress Free Walks” from AbsoluteDogs. They are champions in game training!
I love to play with my 2 Portuguese Water Dogs every day. I have several brain type games that they love. Today I was setting up a homemade basketball hoop to teach them to make a basket for the AKC Trick title. The Trick title has an online list that gives lots ideas of ways to play with dogs!
Thanks for the resource Barb!
Why would play not be important for dogs? It is for people, it relieves stress and all sorts of wonderful things. And more and more studies are showing that animals are a whole lot like us-maybe more people should look to animals on how to behave in life since so many of us do not seem to have a clue but animals do.
I definitely play with my dog daily. She is pugsund, a pug and dachs mix. Our game is a combination of tug of war
and fetch. Not only does iteè create a strong bond between us but it is great exercise in the house for a little dog
One thing I have learned is no stuffing inside toys for this game!
What do you mean by “no stuffing inside toys”? Like stuffing a Kong with treats, or something else. Thanks for sharing.
I’m sure she meant stuffing like in a squeaky toy; my dog always guts his. “Stop gutting your monkey” was a familiar refrain when Quincy was a pup!
Playing is the best. I usually tell my chocolate lab to stay in the living room while I go hide his favorite toy in another room. It gradually gets more difficult, but he loves that game. We also use a series of similar boxes putting a smell in one box for him to find. We don’t do that often enough to compete, but he’s an excellent finder. I also play with the other dogs games of stay or we use our pt equipment. I’m in the process of teaching my yellow lab a number for each paw. One is the left front, two will be the right front. I have been on one for almost a year. We’re about to move on to two. I don’t know that we will ever make it to the back legs, but she loves the game. Then with my 16 year old Jack Russel, we have slipped back into sit, down and other simpler things as she gets confused easily now. But she still loves it. When we start doing those things, she jumps around like a puppy. I have done the hide and seek game too. So much fun. It doens’t matter what game we’re playing. We love all the games.