RedGage

No one knows when the dog discovered his love for stuffed toys. It was more than likely the same time that people discovered that they enjoyed playing with soft toys. Many dog owners find that their dogs love these toys and quickly work to either destroy, cuddle or carry around his favorite stuffed toy. What most people wonder about their dogs is as to why do dogs like stuffed toys. While it may be just that the dog is mimicking his owners or showing interest in the product that the human has gifted him, there are other thoughts on the matter as well.

There is a theory that sometimes dogs like to practice their killing instincts on stuffed toys. This is thought to be seen in those dogs that bite and chew their toys, disembowel them and shake their heads with the toy in their mouths. In the wild, wolves and other canines have to catch prey to survive. In order to kill these prey animals, these canines will catch the prey and thrash them around to break the neck and spine of the animal, provided the animal is small. While dogs are domestic, they can sometimes display some hints of their wild ancestors.

As many dogs age, they experience a weakening of the teeth and wearing of the gums. This can make it painful to chew on toys that are hard. Since dogs enjoy chewing on things, the soft stuffed toys make ideal chew toys. They have a slight bounce, allows the dog to bite down without hurting his teeth or gums. This makes for better chewing satisfaction for the dog. This is thought to be one of the reasons as to why dogs like stuffed toys, although the idea that the dog only likes these for chewing due to sore teeth and mouth would eliminate the need for puppies and young dogs to chew the stuffed toy.

Dogs look to their human pack members for leadership. What the pack leader places value on, the dog then places value on. Many humans give their dog the stuffed toy, placing a value on the toy. The dog would then treat this toy with the care and love that the dog experiences for his owner. The dog would then like the stuffed toy because he believes that his owner, or pack leader, likes the toy and gave it to him as a reward or gift. This causes the dog to carry the toy around, play with the toy and even potentially destroy the toy during the playing.

A lot of people like stuffed toys, especially children. If a dog is raised in a family with small children, there is the potential that the dog might play with the stuffed toys because the children in the family play with those same toys. These toys would smell of the children, and the dog can easily see the fun that they are having with the toys and attempt to imitate the children. This theory only works in families that have children though, and does not explain why dogs who do not have children in their families will continue to play with the stuffed toy.

Until people learn to speak dog, or dogs learn to speak human languages, there is no real way to determine why dogs like stuffed toys. In addition, each dog could very easily have his or her reasons for liking the stuffed toy over any other toy. This question does not have any absolute answers. If you want, feel free to watch your dog, try to find the reason for his love in the stuffed toy, and feel free to leave a comment and have your input as to why the dog loves the stuffed toys.