system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
Why do dogs play with the toys we buy them? A squeaky ball, a squeaky, plushy thing, etc? 

I understand dog need stimulation and are playful and a lot of their behavior goes back to their genetics, to their ancestors, things they would or use to do in the wild before domestication. 

My question is, why do they find amusement in a rubber ball that squeaks? My dog for example loves this squeaky rubber ball, she fetches it like most dogs, but what gets me is that she can spend hours on end walking around the house squeaking it non stop. She will lay down with it and bite down on it every few seconds so it squeaks, walk around the house from room to room with the ball in her mouth squeaking. 

It doesn't annoy me, I am just curious as to why they do this. Is it because it possibly resembles an animal, a prey she thinks she caught so she walks around with it proudly. But why squeak it, I mean she obviously understand the concept that if she bites down, it will squeak, so she repeats it over and over. 

This sounds like a dumb question, but I am genuinely curious. Or am I just over thinking this, and the dogs just see it as a toy to play with, nothing else?
gpt
Do you ever repetitively click a pen?  Or jingle the change in your pocket?  Or chew your nails?  Or throw a baseball with a friend or your kid?  Or play with a stress ball?  Or... Or... or... or... Why do people do those things? 

I think you're right that you're probably over thinking it and it's just a toy.