New animal study will investigate if dogs form a bond of attachment to their toys

Is your dog obsessed with a particular toy? There may be a very reasonable explanation as to why.

If you have a dog in your life, it's pretty likely that they are obsessed with some of their toys. It might be a teddy bear, a chew toy or even a random object they somehow gained possession over and now refuse to be parted with it. Often toys that are with an animal when they are young in particular become very important to them. According to research, this could be for a very good reason. Researchers from the University of Bristol Vet School and School of Psychological Science will examine whether dogs form an emotional attachment to toys in a similar way to young children with blankets and teddies. Professor Bruce Hood, of the University of Bristol's School of Psychological Science, said he was "fascinated" by the subject, news.com.au reports. "We are conducting the first survey of this behaviour to see how common it is and to see whether particular breeds have particular traits or not," Prof Hood said. "We would like to hear from as many dog owners as possible - we need thousands to conduct a detailed analysis." As much as there is a variation in children, with some forming a bond of emotional attachments to things like teddies and blankets, it is likely that there will be variations in different dog breeds too. Dr Emily Blackwell, director of companion animal population health at Bristol Veterinary School, said of the research:

"This study is the first large-scale systematic survey of the phenomenon. The results will provide fascinating insights into the evolution of social behaviour in both dogs and their owners alike."

Too cute altogether!