Tug O War With Pup

[mrs tornsocks]

Our puppy school instructor has talked about 'teaching' pups to play tug of war - saying it's natural for them but the idea is we control the game, and the dog lets go when we say so. We haven't got to that point at pup school yet.

Everything I've seen/read says not to engage in tug of war, but be interested in opinion.

thanks, hope everyone's had a great weekend ! Here's a recent photo our of boy, just woken up

Edited June 14, 2009 by mrs tornsocks

[huski]

I agree with the puppy school instructor

Tug of war is great to play with pups that are prey driven, as long as you say when it starts and stops. It can be a great reward to use in training. Drive based trainers use tug as a way of utilising their dogs prey drive. A LOT of people who do dogs sports (obedience, agility, fly ball etc) use their dogs prey drives by playing tug with them.

Having said that not all dogs are very prey driven, some are more driven by food and some are driven by praise.

When I've played tug with Daisy I say 'ok' to let her know she can grab the toy and 'give' to tell her to let it go.

Edited June 14, 2009 by huski

[Kissindra]

I was taught it's best to not play tug until your pup has learned a command like "leave it" (people use different phrases or hand signals but the desired point is a dog which will relenquish an item once the command is given).

When I play tug with Boo I'll wave the toy where he can reach it and say "get it" and then "leave it" to get him to release it. I tend to alternate between play tug and fetching so I'll get him to release the toy, make him "sit" and then throw it for him to fetch saying "go get it" then he brings it back and I tell him to "leave it" and we either play tug again or fetch again until one of us gets bored and wanders off

[sidoney]

How you play tug depends on the dog. If the dog is a bit timid and submissive, let the dog win a lot. And praise it for winning. It will give the dog a bit of a boost. If the dog is pushy and dominant, you win.

If the dog gives up it needs to win more.

Quit while the dog wants more.

Edited June 14, 2009 by sidoney

[huski]

The way I teach winning in tug of war is that I let the dog capture the toy and I tug with her. I hold the toy still to teach give as the dog generally loses interest when the toy is no longer moving, the reward is that I will make the toy come alive again and the dog can chase and capture it. I don't really let it go or give it to the dog to run away with.

ETA: I used tug of war as a good way to teach 'give'

Edited June 14, 2009 by huski

[Ellie1]

Mason tug of wars with everything and OH encourages him all the time!! He is nto a pushy puppy though and will stop what he is doing if he gets groused at. I have also read tug of war is ok but only if you win most of the time.

[Jetty]

Your puppy is so gorgeous!

I play tug o war with my pup everyday. I think there is no problem with this as long as the puppy knows when to stop, can control himself and can stop when you ask him too.

Jet loves it. He now actually brings his rope or toys to my feet to play with him it is the cutest thing. I just play with him and if he gets to the stage where he is to rough or if i want him to stop i just say "no more". If you puppy has not learned to stop it that is okay. Try to start teaching him. You can also just walk away and he may stop with the toy all together.