What is it with dogs and sticks?

@Fleura (35022)
United Kingdom
October 9, 2015 9:22am CST
Why do sticks have such a fascination for dogs? Pup loves to chomp on a fresh stick, and if it’s a thorny one, so much the better! If it’s been marinating in a stagnant muddy puddle for a few weeks before he finds it, that’s a real treat. As far as he’s concerned, size does matter, the bigger the better. He will try to pick up something like a fence post and run with it, growling at it if it proves awkward, and if he does manage to run along with it, his human companions can get a nasty thwack around the back of the knees. At least he’s cheap to entertain! All rights reserved. © Text and image copyright Fleur 2015.
7 people like this
5 responses
AnjaP
@Rollo1 (16676)
• Boston, Massachusetts
10 Oct 15
It's the same way with boys. As soon as they can stand up and hold something at the same time, they are gathering sticks to brandish and swish through the air.
3 people like this
AnjaP
@Rollo1 (16676)
• Boston, Massachusetts
10 Oct 15
@Fleura Guinea pigs don't play with sticks, but I have one that picks up a piece of hay and shakes it back and forth like dogs shake small animals they catch. It's weird because piggies are strict vegetarians. So it's not a hunting instinct. It's just playing. Shaking sticks, even if they are long strands of hay is a universal game, it seems.
2 people like this
Morgan
@OneOfMany (12150)
• United States
10 Oct 15
My piggy used to rip newspaper when frustrated, and carry around quarters and the like just because he liked carrying them. I did see him act like a carnivore, but only when eating bananas.
2 people like this
Fleur
@Fleura (35022)
• United Kingdom
10 Oct 15
Yes I was thinking about that, but at least boys use sticks to do things, even if it is hitting other people .
1 person likes this
Koalemos
@Asylum (47893)
• Manchester, England
9 Oct 15
I wonder if this has some relation to the bone like shape of a stick?
3 people like this
Fleur
@Fleura (35022)
• United Kingdom
9 Oct 15
I don't know, that does seem the obvious comparison but then bones are not usually thorny.
Koalemos
@Asylum (47893)
• Manchester, England
9 Oct 15
@Fleura To be fair, bones are not smooth either until all the meat and gristle etcetera has been gnawed away.
1 person likes this
Anna
@LadyDuck (502466)
• Italy
9 Oct 15
Very nice description, I can figure Pup picking up sticks so big that he almost cannot bring them around.
2 people like this
Fleur
@Fleura (35022)
• United Kingdom
9 Oct 15
After I posted this I took him out and that is exactly what happened, he found a piece of a huge branch and although he did manage to carry it for a short distance, in the end he had to leave it behind.
2 people like this
crazyhorseladycx
@crazyhorseladycx (39503)
• United States
26 Oct 15
they're kinda like young'uns - toys're great, but gimme a box! they do tend to gravitate to those sticks that've been fermentin' fer some reason. he's sure growin' up! i dunno how yer gonna part with 'em.
1 person likes this
crazyhorseladycx
@crazyhorseladycx (39503)
• United States
26 Oct 15
@Fleura already?? good grief the time's jest flown!
1 person likes this
Fleur
@Fleura (35022)
• United Kingdom
26 Oct 15
He sure is growing up, only another 5 weeks and it'll be his first birthday!
1 person likes this
Morgan
@OneOfMany (12150)
• United States
10 Oct 15
Some breeds love sticks and will go nuts over them. Some will go after rocks (even diving underwater to get the exact rock that went in), and then hunting dogs, like ours, will think that obssession is retarded and will ignore other dogs that go crazy like that. It all depends on the type of dog and their personality, but at least the stick ones are easy to keep happy!
2 people like this
Morgan
@OneOfMany (12150)
• United States
10 Oct 15
@Fleura Sometimes I can get my one dog to play with a stick, but it's only because I have made it look appealing as something to take away. After that is out of my hands he loses all interest in it!
2 people like this
Fleur
@Fleura (35022)
• United Kingdom
10 Oct 15
Very true, years ago I had some sort of sheepdog cross and she could never understand the fixation with chasing sticks. Boys would throw sticks for her and she would just look at them disdainfully.
2 people like this