Play with your dog. It’s good for both of you.

Take this as a cue to go play with your dog. A new study published today in the journal Royal Society Open Science shows that additional playtime strengthens the emotional bond between owner and dog.

Although it may seem obvious, play is not fully understood in canine research, particularly for dogs that continue to play into adulthood. This new study aimed to determine if there is a direct link between play and emotional bonds between dogs and their humans.

“Today, many dogs change homes in the middle of their lives. With rescue dogs, you don’t have the benefit of growing up with your dog,” Lina Roth, study co-author and sensory biologist at Linköping University in Sweden, explained in a statement. “That means you miss the socialization window early in your puppy’s life, which is important for relationship building. And then play can be a really good way to build a new good relationship, even with adult dogs.”

As part of the study, dog owners completed a comprehensive questionnaire about how they experience their relationship with their dog. Some of the questions included how often owners take their dog with them to visit other people, how often they confide in their dog, or whether they feel that owning a dog is more trouble than it’s worth.

The team then divided the pairs of humans and dogs into three groups. Group one played more than usual, while group two practiced more than usual with treats as rewards. The third group was the control group, where their behavior remained the same.

After a month, the team then asked the owners to answer the same questionnaire again. Increasing playtime with a dog improved the couple’s emotional bond.

“This is a great result that one can only dream of! It turned out that the playgroup improved his emotional bond with the dog in just four weeks with a few minutes of extra play per day,” said Roth.

The team made no significant changes to the training and control groups.

According to the team, this shows how a human’s view of their relationship with the dog says little about the dog’s own experience in that relationship. However, playgroup owners reported that their pets seemed to perceive their owners more positively and began to play. Previous studies show that dogs generally feel better when they play and spend time with their owners.

Additionally, the different groups received clear instructions on how to play with and train their dogs. This helped the team ensure that owners were actually playing with their dogs.

“It’s not just about throwing a ball,” Roth said. “As we were looking for social interaction between dog and human, the games we proposed in the study were for example tug of war, fighting, chasing, hide and seek, peek-a-boo or teasing the dog a little with your fingers.”

Ultimately, the most important thing for dog owners is to find a game that the pet responds to positively and that playtime together is enjoyable. Quality can also be more important than quantity.

“You don’t have to continue for long, it’s more about paying attention to your dog’s behavior,” Roth said. “A few minutes every now and then seems to make a big difference.”

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