A new study published in the journal Royal Society Open Science shows that extra playtime strengthens the emotional bond between owners and their dogs.

Play More, Bond More

Since there’s not very much research on play in dog research, particularly with dogs that play into adulthood, the new study focused on whether there’s a direct connection between play and the emotional bonds between dogs and humans.

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

The study first asked dog owners to fill out a questionnaire about how they experience their relationship with their dog, including questions about how often they visit others or confide in their dogs. The human and dog pairs were then divided into three groups: group one played more than usual, group two trained more than usual, and group three engaged in their normal routines.

After one month, the owners were given the same questionnaire again. The results showed that the increased play time improved the pair’s bond most significantly.

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

Though the team admits that this primarily reports on the owner’s experience of the relationship rather than the dog’s, owners in the play group did report that their pets appeared to view them more positively and initiated play more often. Earlier studies have also shown that dogs feel better when they play and spend time with their owners.

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