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Why do dogs bring back a stick if you throw it? If I were a dog, I would say to my owner: you threw it, you fetch it (continued).
Keith Barrand
Skegness, Lincolnshire, UK
As a veterinary surgeon, I urge readers not to throw sticks for their dog to fetch. When sticks are thrown, especially on rough ground or unmown grass, they can land with one end pointing upwards and back towards the dog. A fast-approaching dog can make a grab for the stick and end up with the end impaling the back of the mouth or throat. This is known as oropharyngeal penetrating stick injury.
As well as the immediate problem (which can be life-threatening), even if the stick is apparently removed cleanly, the dog may end up with a chronic, non-healing throat injury due to fragments of stick material becoming embedded in its throat tissue. This can be costly and invasive to fix.
The problem is easily avoided by using an appropriately sized fetch toy instead of a stick. Please don’t throw sticks for your dog.
Peter Whittaker
Sheffield, UK
I had a Patterdale terrier that seemed to love retrieving a thrown stick. I felt differently after he invented a new indoor game.
He was whimpering one day as I sat reading, having seemingly lost his ball behind the TV. I retrieved this and returned it to him. Five minutes later, he was whimpering again. I retrieved the ball again. This time, I watched what he would do and saw him deliberately roll the ball under the TV.
I believe he thought I might be enjoying this game and he was entertaining me. It makes me wonder whether he returned sticks because he thought that I enjoyed throwing them too.
John Worley
Portsmouth, Hampshire, UK
Humans were first domesticated by dogs 40,000 years ago when they discovered our unique ability among animals to throw sticks and stones. Owning a human skilled at throwing stuff was a ticket to successful hunting and therefore food. So dogs have acquired a deep instinct for encouraging their “owners” to practice their throwing skills on every possible occasion.
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If a massive asteroid hit the moon, Earth would certainly be visited by debris, perhaps in large chunks, quite quickly
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Keith Brooks
via email
Not all dogs fetch sticks as described in your question, although some breeds exhibit a propensity for this behaviour. It is possible this is a bonding activity and both the thrower and retriever repeat the behaviour to please the other. If you were my dog, I would find another game that provided this type of bonding experience. And if you actually said anything back to me, we could be famous!
Andrew Kadir-Buxton
Hatfield, Hertfordshire, UK
Dogs that are bred for herding will run after a stick, but will then just run round it. Our dog Bella was a Shetland sheepdog and it used to take 2 hours of playing fetch before she ever brought back the thrown stick. So we stopped doing it!
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