Giving nervous dogs a toy to chew improves their memory.
Nervous dogs need something to chew on
Researchers in the United States gave 34 Labrador retrievers a working memory task in which they had to remember which bucket a treat had been placed in.
The pooches were given a chew toy to bite for five minutes ahead of the task, with the frequency of bites recorded by a computer programme.
The experts from Auburn University in Alabama said: "In dogs with high fearfulness, more frequent chewing when given access to a chew toy was associated with better spatial working memory, while the opposite was true for dogs with low fearfulness."
It is believed that chewing reduces physiological arousal in nervous dogs but creates a distraction for more relaxed pooches.
However, the study found that chewing could help both anxious and non-anxious dogs improve their long-term memory.