Like Us
Follow @dogster
Google +1 Subscribe to our YouTube Channel Contact Us
Answers Home » Puppies » Other Puppies
Guest

my dog loves to play tug a war with my daughter,what can I do?

my dog his name is snoopy he is a dalmatian and a labrador mix.he is 11 month old pup,he loves to play tug a war with my daughter,what can I do?


Asked by Member 535822 on Nov 24th 2007 Tagged dalmatianlabradormix, playtime, behavior, puppy in Other Puppies
 Report this question Get this question's RSS feed Send this question to a friend


Status

  • This question is closed.

Best Answer

Gray Dawn Treader

Some people are against tug of war altogether because it bring the dog's predatory instinct to surface.
Here's what I say:
The tug toy should belong to the humans rather than the dog. The human chooses the time to play rather than the dog. The human should win most of the time, but it's okay to let the dog win once in a while. The humans should also choose when to end the game, not the dog. When the game ends, put the toy out of reach so the dog will know that-rather than belonging to him-it belongs to the human.


Gray Dawn Treader answered on Nov 24th.

Other Answers

Answers

Abby

I absolutely second what Gray said.

There is nothing wrong with playing tug-of-war with your dog as long as the HUMAN is in charge of the game. That means, the human decides when the game starts and when the game ends, as well as which behaviors during the game are and aren't acceptable. If growling during the game is unacceptable to you, stop the game.

As long as you play tug with "rules" and remain in charge of the game, it's fun for both you and your dog. You can also use it to teach reliable commands for "take it" and "out" in the process.


Abby answered on 11/24/07. Helpful? Yes/Helpful: No 0 Report this answer


Jack

I third that opinion!

:-)

With a non-alpha dog, or a dog who is friendly and doesn't have any resource guarding (isn't possessive over his toys), tug of war is just fine.

Jack, for example, is very submissive to his pack and he loves to play tug, growl and shake the object relentlessly while I'm holding the other end. He just loves it. I would never give him something to play with that wasn't his since I would never want him to get the idea that something of mine was something to play with, so we use his toys. HOWEVER, Jack is trained that "Leave It" means his mouth opens and he immediately drops the object or "hands" it to me.

I would not do this with a dog who showed aggression or who was not comfortable stopping playing immediately upon command.

Your lab dalmation mix is probably pretty hyper; both breeds are active and very exciteable, especially as puppies. Make sure he's trained to the point where he can play with your daughter safely if unsupervised.


Jack answered on 11/24/07. Helpful? Yes/Helpful: No 0 Report this answer


Guest

Actually, I use tug-of-war in my training. Throw in a "sit", "down", "control" (stop and stand still) in the middle of the game, and it teaches the dog to pay attention.


Member 526148 answered on 11/25/07. Helpful? Yes/Helpful: No 0 Report this answer


More Questions in This Category