GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Man’s best friend is making no bones about it — give them a treat over a chew toy every day of the week! Psychologists at the University of Florida say that nine out of 10 dogs overwhelmingly preferred food over toys when given the choice.
The first-of-its-kind study aimed to understand dogs’ preferences when it came to rewards during training exercises. Researchers allowed dogs to select their favorite food and favorite toy, pitting them against each other in an experiment designed to simulate a training scenario. The majority of the dogs responded more strongly to the food reward.
“I was surprised, but nobody’s looked at how dogs will work for toys versus food before,” says Nicole Dorey, a lecturer in the UF Department of Psychology who performed the study with her students and other collaborators, in a university release.
To conduct the study, researchers recruited 10 pet dogs from the local area. Each dog was presented with a selection of six food items, including treats, cheese, carrots, and hot dogs, and six toys, such as a tennis ball, a squeak toy, a plastic bone, or a stuffed animal. Each dog then had the opportunity to choose their favorite food and favorite toy.
In another set of experiments, the dogs had to put in varying levels of effort for their reward. The findings showed that most dogs were quicker to give up when offered their preferred toy as a reward compared to when they were offered their favorite treat.
Previous studies have suggested that dogs might prioritize human attention over food in some instances.
“I think the next study should look at all three – attention, food, and toys – and what dogs really like best when training,” notes Dorey.
While some dog trainers recommend using toys instead of food in training to avoid excess calorie intake and make the experience more enjoyable for the dog, the key is to ensure that toys do not compete with food, according to the researchers.
“You can definitely train your dog with toys if you start really early,” says Dorey. “This is what’s done with search and rescue dogs, they start really early with toys as a reinforcer.”
The study is published in the journal Animals.
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