Tug of War ...good or bad?

I know that pups love to play tug of war but does this lead to problems in the future? An old rescue dog i used to have thought that every available item in the house was an excuse for tug of war.... clothes, shoes, cushions, post etc etc ... all ruined.

Is there a way of playing tug without the pup growing up with this problem?

I don't think that playing tug with a puppy is a good idea. It can damage their mouth and jaw. Also it teaches them to bite fast and hard and to hang on.

If tug games are played then the dog must learn to let go on command. I know tug is used a lot to hype-up/reward in agility, obedience, etc and this is fine provided that the handler has the respect of the dog and can call an end to the 'game'.

Hi Jakey

Loki has always loved to play tug so I was careful about rough tug with him as a pup because of his teeth and jaws, but I did play and tried to ensure I won my fair share of possession. I also tried to teach 'give' on command, rewarding with treats or swapping for a different toy and I 'decided' if the game was played and when it ended and put the toy away.

We play excellent games of tug with him now and it's pretty successful, if more atheltic and he still loves a good game of tug (including with the post ). I can say with all honesty he is never aggressively possessive with his toys and is really careful about where his teeth are; he has excellent bite inhibition - but why do they always want the end you are holding?

Hello

I have Staffies and mine play tug. Although as pups they do nothing really pully just hold on to the other end until they are older.

But even as small pups they are taught to "give" as soon as I say give, doesn't matter if they are playing with me tug or each other or me against them - but as soon as I say "give" they give. They never jump up and to get the tugger back and when told to leave they will not touch the tugger but walk over it or round it.

They only play tug with either their ropey thing or their tugger/puller thing nothing else when the game is finished its put away. Not for general play as having two Staffs playtime with toys is always watched.

They do not tug with anything else - they'd ignore skipping ropes, hose pipes etc and def not clothing - they wouldn't tug on clothing, or anything else even if you waved it in front of their faces.

If you let your pup play tug then make sure its only with one thing but if you don't want him/her to play tug then don't start the game. There is no "need" to play tug, they don't know the game exsists if you don't start it.

Karen

Archie has always loved to play tug since he was a pup. We played very carefully with him at the beginning so we didn't do damage, and he knew give (we use the command 'thank you') from a very young age. It doesn't matter how into the game is, the second you say 'thank you' he drops the toy.

We've never had any problems with him. I can sit next to him and stroke him while he's eating, I can take raw meat from him if I want to (not that I do) or any other high value treat even if he's really into it, and like Loki he's always very careful about where his teeth are even if he's really overexcited.

Ziggy is like that too except he doesn't like to play tug with us so much... only with Archie

Wolves play tug in the wild; play helps strengthen the pack bonds and develop skills. Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.

not so much in the wild, but....

I play tug of war with Shadow and combine it with the toss and fetch.He loves it and it gives him needed exercise when the weather is really bad.
I guess it's a matter of teaching them from a puppy stage what is acceptable for tug of war. In our home, Shadow knows that only his toys are suitable and not my socks, shirt, table cloth etc. He tried these when he was younger but promptly learnt that the game was short lived.

All of ours love tug games and interestingly the current 45kg puppy will put all his weight into the game with us, but not when playing with my son!I think, as has already been mentioned, you need to be careful when they're small and it's vital that teaching a 'leave' command goes hand in hand with any tug game with any pup or dog. We tend to stop it at it's most exciting point when they're small, by offering a treat and saying drop as they go for the treat! Once they have a good sit we throw that one in at the same time, so they'll all drop the toy and immediately sit for us...calm dog, who waits to see if the game will continue...often it does but we like to keep them on their paws...!!!!!! We LOVE tug of war games, they're good fun!!!!

It shouldn't be a problem provided that you decide place, time and toy to play with and that the last "war" is won by you


Greetings


Johan