Tug of war

Just want your opinions on playing tug of war... We only play tug when we are practising leave it when practising our training. When I ask him to leave he drops the toy straight away. It's calm and he doesn't pull strongly or growl - it's all play. But a member of my family today playing with him and the tug of war got a little over playful growling and really pulling - I think it's all play but what are your opinions yes or no... I am a little uncomfortable with it.

I love tug of war, but it only should be done if the dog knows the "leave it" command and played with someone they trust.

I play tug with Logan most days but I wouldn't let anyone else play it with him. We can play for ages but as soon as I say "give" he lets go.

It's important to pay attention to make sure it is remaining just a game.

It's fun to play as long as they know to drop the toy when told. I think it's great fun, and they can pull as much as they want, but if they get too over-the-top for your liking, you can end it. Loki's broken my finger and messed up my nail because he was getting too excited and I didn't end the game, so rules need to be firmly set

When me OH plays tug of war with tyke they get going but again we learnt him the leave command, when my son plays it he basically just holds it and stands still and then after a few mina lets go, i would say let him learn people's strengths especially if he gets any interaction with kiddies

Would you suggest whilst he is young to keep the game calm until we get the leave it command pretty solid? Feel better now - Would you let the dog run win the toy or keep it the whole time?

I don't think it's ever good to let the dog win as such. What I did when Logan was a pup was play with him full on but have a treat for him in my pocket. Then when I decided it was too much I stopped him with the treat and rewarded him.

otisthestafford wrote:Would you suggest whilst he is young to keep the game calm until we get the leave it command pretty solid? Feel better now - Would you let the dog run win the toy or keep it the whole time?

I'd say keep it calm while he's still learning, since the more excited he gets, the harder it'll be for him to listen and obey to leave the toy. You can increase it as he learns. I think it's OK letting him run with it, but not all dogs are fans of fetch or coming back after they've won a game

I would agree but supervised play whilst he still
Young and learning, we did this with tyke as our little one has grown up with tyke so tykes training was focused alot round ryan and he acts totally diff with him to us!

Thank you everyone Just wanted to confirm some of what I already thought. Yeah I always have a treat ready to end the game or get him to let go... I agree that it's also good for him to know the boundaries he is much better than when he was a little younger though as he knows the commands much better. Just got to supervise my family member now - he means well but can get him a little over excited sometimes

I'm a big fan of tug of war as well. It's best to start of gentle and please keep in mind he is going to get alot bigger and stronger as well

Tug of war is fantastic and all dogs should play it!

It's a great way of teaching your dog to listen to you when he's hyped up and you can always control how excited you let him get. It's sensible to build up gradually so make sure you have full control at a low level of excitement until you take it up a notch and so on.

The old fashioned view that tug of war shouldn't be played or is a game of dominance is rubbish. Latest research shows it's actually more like cooperative killing and is a great bonding exercise.

There's lots of growling and strong pulling in our house but both dogs will stop as soon as the command is given. Even Elmo who's approaching 8 months old. The boys play tug with each other too under supervision

ETA: You should let your dog 'win' too about the same amount of times that you 'win' as that will keep them really into the game

ETA2! I wouldn't use the 'leave' command as that should only be used for things your dog is never allowed to touch, ever! If you use it for anything other than that, it will weaken the command and he'll end up thinking he can have things you don't want him to when you're not looking! Use something like 'drop' throughout the game then something like 'finished' or 'enough' when you want to end the game.

i play a little tug with mine but not to the extent of lifting them off the ground etc and getting too intense,as ive seen on a few videos with owners getting their dogs hanging off trees,ropes and tyres etc not good for dogs and their teeth and not cool

We don't mind a game of tug but I would agree teach leave first Xx

Tug of war is a brilliant game to play, I play it almost everyday with Zeus. 10/15 minutes of it and he's knackered and sleeps like a baby. He does growl a lot and appears to look scary/aggressive but its all play, he knows when to let go, he knows what I want him to do and most important of all, I never let him win.

As stated earlier, you need to definitely teach a 'leave' command. My command is 'out', after every few minutes of tug, I get Zeus to take it out of his mouth, then I praise and do the same again.

When we're finally done playing, I get him to take the tug toy out of his mouth and then give him a treat.

Think I will start giving a treat when we have finished the game - It will reinforce that he has been good and the game went well

we love a game of tug here, yes we allow growling but me and the OH also wrestle and play fight with the boys which involves biting and growling.

As long as it's managed and can be stopped when you want it to then theres no problem

The girls love tug, only problem when you have 2 dogs they both tug the other end!

I've always played tug o war with my dogs, right from puppies. I really don't care if they growl, shake it around or even if they win (and as adults, they usually do!). As long as I can tell them to leave it when I've had enough, or if I think it's getting a bit too over the top.

Dogs know what's play & what isn't, and letting a dog win at a game doesn't make them respect you less, but does make them enjoy the game more!

Cheers for the advice everyone - Just needed some reassurance as I did feel uneasy about it and he does enjoy playing it