08/02/2026
Does your dog love Lamb Chop? If you don’t have one, come get one, we got em!
There are thousands of dog toys, so why are dogs universally obsessed with Lamb Chop, a stuffed-animal version of the 1960s puppet? (From 2024)
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“Ask any random dog owner and there’s a good chance they’ll tell you: Lamb Chop is their dog’s favorite toy,” Kate Lindsay writes. “I spoke with more than 10 dog owners, all of whom were quick to send me pictures, videos, and anecdotes about their own dogs’ seemingly inexplicable Lamby love.” This sentiment is often voiced across social media as well, Lindsay writes, and according to data shared with her by the pet superstore Chewy, Lamb Chop is the site’s most popular plush dog toy and its second-most-popular dog toy of any kind.
Dog toys, Lamb-ish or not, are necessities, Lindsay writes, and the multitudes of variations of Lambys can fulfill many biological needs for different kinds of dogs. “Big dogs can get big Lambys, and small dogs can get smaller ones. Dogs who prefer to cuddle their toys can find in Lamby a soft companion, and dogs who prefer to destroy them can make quick work of the plushie,” she writes. “Plus, Lamb Chop resembles an animal, which can be enticing—dogs used to hunt.”
“But the pet experts I spoke with suggested another, more profound reason for Lamb Chop’s popularity: Dogs may love Lamb Chop because they think their people love Lamb Chop,” Lindsay writes. Although dogs can aid humans as service dogs or in tasks such as search-and-rescue missions, the average domestic dog’s job is to be a companion and be attuned to their human’s emotions.
“We can’t know for sure that dogs really love Lamb Chop, but we like to think they do—and that might be enough,” Lindsay continues at the link. “When we hand a dog the toy, our face may betray a belief that we’re giving the dog something enjoyable, a belief that’s affirmed when the dog sees our excitement and gets excited too.”
