Do dogs view humans as members of the pack? Part 1: PLAY
I’m not sure how it happened, since no data exists supporting this view, but at some point people started believing that dogs behave toward humans as if they were members of the same species incorporated into a pack. This common opinion resulted in the generalization of dog-dog behavior to dog-human behavior as it applies to all types of social interaction (Rooney, et al., 2000). In this post I’ll focus on play.
In a way I can see how this can get confusing. Dogs play a lot, relative to other species, and are among the few to engage in interspecies play (Russell, 1936). In fact, the majority of interactions with our dogs are spent in play (Hart, 1995). Some people go as far as imitating their dog(s) to start and continue play. My husband does this on occasion. I get a kick out of watching him act like a dog while the actual dogs either ignore him (as does Cricket) or push into him for a good rump or body rub (as does Scarlett).
Try as he or I might, we’ll never be as fun to play with as another dog. Humans are slower, heavier, and no where near as agile. If we take popular opinion as fact and assume dogs treat humans as “members of the pack”, and it’s near impossible for a human to play as well as an actual dog—then given the choice, dogs would much rather fill their need for play with a dog than a human. If this is true, we should be able to detect differences in multi- versus single dog households. Several have already concluded, without collecting data, that dogs from multi-dog households spend the majority of their time playing with another dog (Whitney, 1989; Askew, 1996; Rogerson, 1992).
One study looked at differences in owner directed play between dogs from single dog households versus dogs from multiple dog households (Rooney, et al., 2000). Using observational data and questionnaires, these authors found that dog-dog play does NOT satisfy the motivation to play with humans. In fact, regardless of the number of dogs within the home, dogs from multi-dog households are actually more likely to play with their owner than a dog from a single dog household! To me this suggests that a dog’s behavior toward a human differs from dog-dog interactions, and play with humans is qualitatively different from play with dogs. Based on these findings, it appears play with humans is something dogs may value and seek out. Awww… now that’s a nice thought!
References
Askew, H.R., 1996. Treatment of Behavioural Problems in Dogs and Cats: A Guide for the Small Animal Veterinarian. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford, p. 171.
Hart, L.A., 1995. Dogs as companions: a review of the relationship. In: Serpell, J. (Ed.), The Domestic Dog: Its Evolution, Behaviour and Interactions with People. Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, pp. 161–179.
Rogerson, J., 1992. Training Your Dog. Popular Dogs Publishing, London.
Rooney, N., Bradshaw, J., and Robinson, I., 2000. A comparison of dog-dog and dog-human play behavior. Applied Animal Behavior Science 66, 235-248.
Russell, E.S., 1936. Playing with a dog. The Quarterly Review of Biology 11, 1–15.
Whitney, L.F., 1989. Dog Psychology: The Basis of Dog Training. Howell Book House, New York, p. 98.
Related Post
Do dogs view humans as members of the pack? Part 2: SOCIAL DOMINANCE IN WOLF PACKS
More Differences Between Dog-Dog vs. Dog-Human Play
Can Playing Tug-of-War Make a Dog Dominant? A Scientific Study Dispels the Myth
CAUTION: Every animal is a unique being in a unique situation and what you see on these webpages is generic and general and may not specifically apply to your animal's situation. Any responses to questions through this website similarly cannot be as precise and informed as is possible in a face-to-face assessment. Accordingly, you should not rely on anything set forth herein as the last word, and you hold Helping Pets Behave harmless from any liability whatsoever based on your reliance on the information you receive through this website.
