Dogs' obsession with playing with balls may be similar to human addiction

Researchers at the University of Bern in Switzerland have investigated whether the excessive playfulness seen in some domestic dogs may be similar to human behavioral addictions such as gambling and internet gaming. The study noted that dogs may be the only animals, after humans, that spontaneously exhibit addictive behaviors without artificial prompting.

Addictive-like behavioral traits in pet dogs with extreme motivation for toy play | Scientific Reports
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-18636-0

Some Dogs Are So Ball-Obsessed, It Could Mirror Human Addiction : ScienceAlert
https://www.sciencealert.com/some-dogs-are-so-ball-obsessed-it-could-mirror-human-addiction

Behavioral addiction is characterized by repeated engagement in a rewarding activity despite long-term negative consequences. According to LiveScience, domestic dogs are the only species other than humans known to spontaneously exhibit addictive behaviors.

The study involved 105 dogs, 56 males and 49 females, who were identified as particularly playful. The study used a combination of behavioral tests and owner questionnaires to assess whether the dogs met key criteria for behavioral addiction.

As a result, based on the Addiction-Like Behavior Test Score (AB-T score), which evaluates dog behavior, 33 dogs were classified as high AB dogs, showing a strong tendency.

Compared to low-AB dogs, high-AB dogs showed significantly higher scores in three criteria: 'craving' (a strong desire for the toy), 'salience' (prioritizing the toy over other stimuli), and 'lack of self-control' (an inability to control impulses). In particular, high-AB dogs tended to spend significantly longer engaging with the toy placed in an out-of-reach box and to focus on the out-of-reach toy, ignoring other attractive rewards such as a puzzle containing food or interaction with the owner. This behavior is similar to the behavior in humans who continue to take substances even at the expense of non-drug rewards in behavioral addiction.

The results of the owner questionnaire also supported the results of the behavioral tests. Many owners of high AB dogs felt that their dogs 'needed more and more play until they were satisfied' and 'continued to play despite the negative consequences' were strongly related. This suggests that in real life, the criteria for not being able to stop playing are met, even though excessive play may cause health problems.

Just as online games bring pleasure to humans, playing with toys brings pleasure to dogs. However, excessive play can cause problems, and some dogs appear to be prone to harmful obsessions with their favorite objects. The research team claims, 'Our results suggest that some dogs may meet the criteria for continuing addictive behaviors despite negative real-world consequences.'

The research team also concluded, 'Future research should explore the relationship between individual differences in addictive behaviors in dogs and traits associated with addictive behaviors in humans, such as high impulsivity, impaired reversal learning, increased perseveration, and delayed extinction of rewarded responses.'