For over a decade now I have had a single dog household. This seems to be a little unusual as most “dog people” I know have multi-dog households. However at some stage in the next while I intend to get a second dog. I am concerned that my current dog Keely will stop playing with me in preference for playing with another dog, and the new dog be more inclined to play with Keely.
The following paper by Rooney et.al. (2000) is a nice piece of research that looked at how dogs interact with humans. Whether the presence of a second dog influenced the amount of interaction with the human and how dog-dog play differs from dog-human play. The results show that dogs in multi-dog households are more likely to play with their owner than dogs that live in single-dog households. Dog–dog play does not, therefore, seem to suppress the dogs’ motivation to play with their owners. The motivation to play is not determined exclusively by the dog. Owners also assume a role, and it may be argued that multiple-dog owners are keener dog enthusiasts (though this is debatable and influenced by the demographic of the 2585 people surveyed) and therefore more likely to instigate play. However, the dog must be receptive for play to take place and these observations suggest that there is no reduction in the willingness to play shown by multiple-housed as compared to single dogs.
When playing with toys the research showed that the dogs were more likely to give up on a competition, to show and present the toy to their play partner, if that partner was human. When two toys were available, dogs playing with other dogs spent less time showing interest in both toys and possessed one of the toys for longer, than dogs playing with people. Overall, the dogs were more interactive and less likely to possess the object when playing with a person.
The researchers concluded that dog–dog and dog–human play are structurally different, supporting the idea that they are motivationally distinct.
This research answers a few questions but opens up several more. How much does the dogs age and breed play a part? What about the demographics of the people? (this was mentioned by the researchers but it would definitely be a much bigger study to include demographics) Single person households, I would think, would have a different result than households with children. The age of the humans also must play a part.
Rooney NJ., Bradshaw J.W.S. & Robinson I.H. (2000) A comparison of dog–dog and dog–human play
Behaviour Applied Animal Behaviour Science vol 66 pp. 235–248
The following paper by Rooney et.al. (2000) is a nice piece of research that looked at how dogs interact with humans. Whether the presence of a second dog influenced the amount of interaction with the human and how dog-dog play differs from dog-human play. The results show that dogs in multi-dog households are more likely to play with their owner than dogs that live in single-dog households. Dog–dog play does not, therefore, seem to suppress the dogs’ motivation to play with their owners. The motivation to play is not determined exclusively by the dog. Owners also assume a role, and it may be argued that multiple-dog owners are keener dog enthusiasts (though this is debatable and influenced by the demographic of the 2585 people surveyed) and therefore more likely to instigate play. However, the dog must be receptive for play to take place and these observations suggest that there is no reduction in the willingness to play shown by multiple-housed as compared to single dogs.
When playing with toys the research showed that the dogs were more likely to give up on a competition, to show and present the toy to their play partner, if that partner was human. When two toys were available, dogs playing with other dogs spent less time showing interest in both toys and possessed one of the toys for longer, than dogs playing with people. Overall, the dogs were more interactive and less likely to possess the object when playing with a person.
The researchers concluded that dog–dog and dog–human play are structurally different, supporting the idea that they are motivationally distinct.
This research answers a few questions but opens up several more. How much does the dogs age and breed play a part? What about the demographics of the people? (this was mentioned by the researchers but it would definitely be a much bigger study to include demographics) Single person households, I would think, would have a different result than households with children. The age of the humans also must play a part.
Rooney NJ., Bradshaw J.W.S. & Robinson I.H. (2000) A comparison of dog–dog and dog–human play
Behaviour Applied Animal Behaviour Science vol 66 pp. 235–248
