Why Do Dogs Like Sticks?

Dog have a much keener sense of smell than we do, so they like sticks. Sticks have all sorts of aromas, including the scent of other animals, rain, moss, and bacteria which can be attractive to dogs.

Eighty percent of taste is our smell. Since dogs have 300 million olfactory receptors, they can taste things we can not. The amount of receptors dogs have explained why they eat “disgusting things” like poop. To them, they are not disgusting. They can taste all the little things that we can not.

Sticks also have exciting textures. They are smooth and rough and sometimes have bark on them which can feel good to dogs.

Dogs like to chew on sticks because it is a physical activity that uses up some of their energy. Dogs need to be active and want to soothe boredom. Playing with sticks relieves this pent-up energy.

Playing helps dogs learn motor skills, practice valuable skills, and stimulate their minds.

Sticks are nature’s toys. Before the pet industry grew, the multibillion-dollar industry today, a dog was lucky to have a bone and one toy. So they had to make their own toys. Sticks are plentiful and easy to find, so they have always made good toys. In addition, people used to play fetch with sticks long before pet toys came about.

While dogs are smart enough to know the difference between a stick and a bone, their brain chemistry does not. The size, texture, and weight of sticks are similar to a bone. However, a dog’s brain has developed release chemicals when they have a bone. These chemicals encourage more of the behavior. When dogs have sticks in their mouths, it releases similar hormones as a bone. Therefore it is physically enjoyable for them to have it in their mouth.

Similar to brain chemistry, the act of chewing releases stress hormones. The act of chewing has a calming effect on the adrenal-pituitary axis in the brain. It triggers the release of endorphins. Chewing is a tool that the dog has at its disposal to ‘self-medicate’ for anxiety and stress.

There is a term called contra freeloading in animal behavior science. Scientists have heavily studied contra freeloading in zoo animals. Researchers found that animals choose to ‘find’ their food over ‘freeloading.’ This is why zoo animals get their food in puzzle tires or balls. Finding food in new places releases hormones to encourage the behavior. These hormones dissipate over time. In other words, a new location lights the brain up, and old ones do not. The brain manipulates animals to feel good when they find a new food source. Feeling good encourages them to find new food sources more often, ensuring survival.

When your dog is testing or has sore gums, they may chew sticks. They are essentially adding pressure to their gums and teeth. The act of pressure-relieving pain is called Gate Theory. Gate Theory is the act of overpowering your brain neurons with good signals to outcompete bad signals. Gate theory is why you hold onto a stubbed toe. The touch sensation of you holding your toe overwhelms the pain neurons shooting into your brain. In other words, you are flooding the gate with positive signals, thus diluting the pain signals.

When animals lack nutrients, including vitamins, they crave food. Plants and moss grow on branches, so they have nutrients. Dogs will chew sticks to try to satisfy their cravings.

There are three reasons your dog uses a stick to get your attention.

1. They Are Inviting You To Play
2. They Need Social Interaction
3. You Reinforced It Before with Praise, Play, Or Food.

Chewing bones helps clean your dog’s teeth. The constant gnawing scrapes plaque off of teeth.

Your dog may identify sticks as a valuable resource. If so, they may carry sticks around to prevent other dogs from having them.

Dogs bury food, chew bones, toys and prey. This behavior is essential for dogs’ wild ancestors to survive because it allows them to protect food while keeping it hidden and then return to eat it later.

Pica is an uncommon neurologic disorder characterized by the persistent chewing and ingestion of non-nutritional items that provide no physiologic benefit to the animal. The causes of pica are often challenging to pinpoint. Still, they can include gastrointestinal illness, anemia, liver disease, pancreatic disease, appetite-inducing diseases (such as diabetes), neurological disorders, nutritional deficiencies, prednisone usage, anxiety disorders, or a sick home environment. Pica might also be an indication of typical exploring behavior.

All dogs have prey instincts. The level of their intuition is based on how humans bred them. Humans bred dogs to do jobs based on how strong their prey drive was. Prey’s drive consists of 8 significant behaviors. Search-Orient-Stalk-Chase-Bite-Kill-Dissect-Consume. Humans have bred dogs to stop at specific stops in this chain. For example, guard dogs are bred to search and orient but not chase. Herding dogs will search-orient-stalk-chase but not bite. Retrievers are bred to search-orient-stalk-chase-bite but not kill. Terriers do everything, including kill; they do not dissect and consume. But if you noticed, the search-orient is common in most dogs which is why most dogs like to find sticks. It may cause dogs to shake and throw the stick up in the air as if to “kill” it. Playing with sticks is more common in terrier and retrieval breeds since humans breed herding and guard dogs not to kill.