Playing tug with dogs

So this is a touchy subject with dog owners. Some people think it can lead to violence and aggression from the dogs. I personally don't agree that it's super violent and I play tug with any dogs that seem to like it.

Admittedly, it can go a bit too far with some dogs... but so long as my arm isn't being snatched out of it's socket or the dog is lunging and biting me by accident, I'll play it. If the dog has a good grip, I will even lift him and whatnot. the dogs always seem to have a good time.

Nigredo can go overboard sometimes and he will put his feet up on your arm for leverage and shake his head violently after a while of play, then the game stops because I'll not have my arm snatched back and forth... no issues.

What are your views on this? Is it violent? Or is it just another fun doggy game?

I've played tuggie with my dog ever since she was a tiny puppy. I never even stuck to the rigid rule of being able to keep the toy at the end, I'd just let her keep it and shake it. Five years on, and we still play tuggie most night, her favourite being a big, soft monkey which has a squeaky body and squeaky feet, she loves playing with this.

I don't buy any of this *you must do this and you must not do that* I just do my own thing with my own dog, to make her short life as happy as I possibly can.

If anything gets out of hand, she already has the training to know that she has to either give something up immediately or stop what's she doing immediately, and playtime is just that, we play and do what the heck we like with anything we like, just cos we can lol!

She has a ball on a rope, which is always carried on a walk, and it's actually a really good thing for me, that she refuses to give this up when I need to walk past a lungeing dog, cos when I hold the rope, she thinks it's a game, I know she's not going to retaliate with the other dog, and when we've passed it, I let go and she's allowed to take out all that aggression ON said ball, so it works for me.

When I used to do fun agility and I had to sit her in front of every obstacle, she would always, always give up that ball on a rope, because she knew, in the way I was taking it from her, that she HAD to, so again, that is all down to the other training she has learned from me.

I think when you've been lucky enough to have your dog from a puppy, you can do what you like during playtime, your dog knows you well enough to know when you mean it and are not actually playing anymore.

Tuggy is good!

Diesel is a big fan of Tuggy he twists turns and yanks with all his might, I'm not fussed if he wins he'll bring it straight back anyway. I used to do it with Syd and Diesel at the same time, one on either side. They both knew it was a game and that's how it stayed no matter how rough they got. Good job I'm strong

Tugging is an integral part of agility training and getting the dog to focus on a toy which you can then use as a lure to shape all kinds of manoeuvres and encourage it to work away from you. It's the first thing I teach a puppy!

Dillon and Gorden and I play tug and he will let go if we ask him to drop it and sometimes we just carry on and most times he wins when he has had enough he drops it sits and waits for his reward and we tell him game over till next time.

Ella loves her tugging game! She always wins too
I can't make her drop the toy when she's pulling on it, but when I let go and tell her to drop it, she will. Otherwise she'll shake it for a couple of seconds and then bring it back to me for more tugging.
On walks she will pick up a stick and we've got this game of where I leave my hand open at my hip and she jumps the stick into it so I just have to close my fingers to grab it. Then I pull her along (front legs off the ground) for a bit until I let go and the whole thing starts again.
She growls a lot too and it sounds terrifying, but it's a very different growl to aggression.

Anyway, I think playing tug is wonderful for dogs. I read it's actually not a 'dog-against-human' game but more teamwork to rip bits of pray off. As in the wild, when dogs have killed an animal, they rip big chunks off it and make them smaller by tearing them apart each dog grabbing one end.
So my dog loves it when I hold on to her football and she rips little bits off, it seems really satisfying to her

Both my girls love a good game of tug, either together or with us, and they are both so happy when they win shaking it around and ra ra raring.....

I agree with previous posters, if you dog wants to play then play, life of a dog (and us) is too short to analyse everything we do, and what they must be thinking etc...

I would play tug with them now, but they are both sound asleep!!! lazy bones!

In the "old school" world it was often seen as a dominance activity and frowned upon.

I think these days it's an important part of training, learning and focus.

If you have a dog like Imana who is massively food and ball orientated it might not be needed (she has no interest in tuggy at all ) but then you might get another dog like Molly who without that tuggy toy would have no focus or a way to be rewarded when she is outside.

Horses for courses and all that, as long as you teach the boundaries of any game then there isn't a problem is there

I don't play tuggy with puppies, not until their mouth has developed , other than that yes I play tuggi, as long as the dog in question does not get to stimulated...

It goes without saying (or so I thought ) that playing tuggy with a puppy has to be extremely gentle but the sooner you start the better.