naturalpet
lish springer spaniel, Airedale, golden
retriever and poodle. The bloodhound,
bulldog and basset hound ranked low.
Following are the results of the Harts’
research.
Canine
The most playful breeds: Irish set-
ter, English springer spaniel, minia-
ture schnauzer, cairn terrier, Airedale
terrier, standard poodle, Shetland
Humor
sheepdog, golden retriever, Australian
shepherd, miniature poodle and Ger-
man shorthaired pointer.
Above average playfulness:

Vizsla, fox terrier, Labrador retriever,
by stanley coren
Boston terrier, Yorkshire terrier, West
Highland white terrier, toy poodle,
German shepherd, silky terrier, Welsh
corgi and Shih-Tzu.
Average playfulness: dachshund,
Weimaraner, bichon frise, cocker
U
niversally known and appreci- The Nobel Prize-winning eth-
ated for their playful, uninhib- nologist, Konrad Lorenz, says that it is
spaniel, Scottish terrier, Dalmatian,
ited nature, dogs’ penchant for during play that dogs actually appear
boxer, pug, Maltese, beagle, collie
play generally reflects these creatures’ to laugh. In his book, Man Meets
and Brittany spaniel.
more or less juvenile minds; they have Dog, Lorenz describes it this way:
Below average playfulness:
been bred to remain much like their “… an invitation to play always
Norwegian elkhound, Doberman
wolf puppy forebears for all of their follows; here the slightly opened
pinscher, Chesapeake Bay retriever,
lives. It’s part of what makes them un- jaws which reveal the tongue, and
Siberian husky, keeshond, Afghan
conditionally loving companions that the tilted angle of the mouth which
hound, Pomeranian, Lhasa Apso,
like to frolic and do silly things that stretches almost from ear to ear give a
Newfoundland, English sheepdog and
make us laugh. Humans tend to equate still stronger impression of laughing.
great Dane.
such play with a sense of humor. This ‘laughing’ is most often seen in
Least playful breeds: Samoyed,
Charles Darwin may have been dogs playing with an adored master
Chihuahua, Rottweiler, Pekingese, aki-
the first scientist to suggest that dogs and which become so excited that
ta, Alaskan Malamute, Saint Bernard,
have a sense of humor. As part of they soon start panting.”
basset hound, chow chow, bulldog
his renowned evolutionary studies, While we cannot enter the mind
and bloodhound.
Darwin considered the emotions of of a dog to examine the mischievous
As many human companions
animals and humans, looking for paral- machinations of its mental state, it is
may attest, playful dogs are some-
lels and similarities. It appeared to him possible to determine how playful a
times a mixed blessing. While they
that dogs do have a sense of humor, dog is comparatively speaking. Not
are a joy to people who can handle
which appears best when they are all breeds are created equally; some
the occasional bout of chaos, they
playing a sort of emotional add-on to are definitively more playful than
may exasperate those who cannot.
their games. In the 1872 edition of The others. Some seem to have a sense of
For a person who values peace and
Descent of Man, Darwin writes: play that they cannot suppress, while
quiet, a Pekingese that is happy to
“Dogs show what may be fairly others seem to shun play.
snuggle up, but shuns play, may suit
called a sense of humor, as distinct Two animal behaviorists from
better than an Irish setter that will try
from mere play; if a bit of stick or other the University of California-Davis,
everything to get his human up and
such object be thrown to one, he will Dr. Benjamin Hart, a veterinarian,
responding to his overwhelming need
often carry it away for a short distance; and Lynnette Hart, a zoologist, had
to play and exercise his sense of fun.
and then squatting down with it on the a group of experts rank 56 different
ground close before him, will wait un- breeds of dogs in terms of playful- Stanley Coren, Ph.D., is a professor of
til his master comes quite close to take ness. By playfulness, they mean psychology at the University of British
it away. The dog will then seize it and things like a willingness to chase balls Columbia and author of several books
rush away in triumph, repeating the or Frisbees and to engage in games on dogs, including The Intelligence of
same maneuver, and evidently enjoy- like hide-and-seek. Those that ranked Dogs, How Dogs Think and The Modern
ing the practical joke.” highest included the Irish setter, Eng- Dog. His website is StanleyCoren.com.
30 Phoenix
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