come n av a go if ya think your hard enuf!

[zetstaff]

Originally Posted by claire_88

I'd never really bothered with tug games before, as they are strong dog's and being pulled about has never really appealed to me

She did seem to love it though as when i'd stop and put the toy on the floor she would be there picking it back up and dropping it into my lap! Even waking me this morning by crying, looking at her with this rope in her mouth was just adorable.

Something held me back from allowing her to win though...... :/

When your dog does these things they're dictating when they play + you should do that not the dog. When Boris does this I ignore him + take the toy away, I say when playtime is not him. I also say when we stop. Otherwise he's got the upper hand from the start + will generally try it on more.

We play tug lots, it's Boris's favourite game. Sometimes I let him win sometimes I don't. They also play tug together a lot too, it's good for them as long as we stop play when they're getting a bit rough

[Beki]

Originally Posted by zetstaff

When your dog does these things they're dictating when they play + you should do that not the dog. When Boris does this I ignore him + take the toy away, I say when playtime is not him. I also say when we stop. Otherwise he's got the upper hand from the start + will generally try it on more.

We play tug lots, it's Boris's favourite game. Sometimes I let him win sometimes I don't. They also play tug together a lot too, it's good for them as long as we stop play when they're getting a bit rough

I agree and with jack he never played tug as a pup he was a very shy polite dog so we always let him win n made a fuss of him when he did to start off with. Now he loves tuggy he will only start when instructed "get it" and it stops when we say "leave" its great for re enforcing control commands imo so long as u control it and don't let them demand

[lauraburns]

All ours play tug, both with us and together. I never make a point of winning, but I always say when the game is over and even when they are playing tug with each other, I tell them when they stop!

[claire_88]

Originally Posted by zetstaff

When your dog does these things they're dictating when they play + you should do that not the dog. When Boris does this I ignore him + take the toy away, I say when playtime is not him. I also say when we stop. Otherwise he's got the upper hand from the start + will generally try it on more.

We play tug lots, it's Boris's favourite game. Sometimes I let him win sometimes I don't. They also play tug together a lot too, it's good for them as long as we stop play when they're getting a bit rough

Originally Posted by lauraburns

All ours play tug, both with us and together. I never make a point of winning, but I always say when the game is over and even when they are playing tug with each other, I tell them when they stop!

Ah right! So as long as i control the start and finish times then we can play tug.
Thanks guys i knew that niggle i had would get sorted on here xx

[LOVEGSD]

Diesel doesn't really like to play tug but Oscar will happily play it, I do tend to throw in commands like leave and drop and sit cos he's a strong lad and I want the game to be on my terms....xx

[hippychickuk]

pappy loves tug games. you can see the difference in him when he plays tug with our kids. hes way more gentle with tugging with the kids than what hes like with me or my oh. if he wanted to, he could pull any of us over though. hes got so much strength

[Shrap]

Originally Posted by claire_88

So .......say a dog was of a confident nature, strong minded, wants that toy no matter what (ignoring any commands/training here)
Could this sort of dog see their owner as weaker than them and therefore think they are above them?

Thinking over it, i think this is what was holding me back from letting Skye ''win/get the toy'' etc..

Ignoring commands doesn't really have much to do with whether or not she wins the toy. I build Dino's tug drive all the time and let him win every time, not that it's difficult for him to :P

When you train the "out" - never use that command to end the game, then they will associate dropping it when not having anymore fun. I only use "out" AFTER he's won the toy, and then we start again and he gets to tug tug tug tug tug WIN. When you want to end the game just stop playing tug with her, she'll get bored and drop it and you put the toy away.

Tug games are just that, games, nothing to do with dominance or her thinking you're weaker. But it is a great way to increase their confidence and bond with your dog. If you get your dog to love a game of tug, you can use that as a reward while training - this is what I use for Dino's retrieve.


About ignoring commands - either you're rewarding her inadvertantly for ignoring or the reward that you're offering isn't high value enough. If this is a problem for you, what do you use as a reward? Bearing in mind you have to build up a dog's obedience firstly without distractions, and then increasing distractions, but if the reward isn't high value enough you can't blame her for not doing it lol. If you can build her tug drive it would be a good alternative to use as a reward

[survive_the_elements]

I've tried Tug of War with Zelda, but she seems to treat all of her toys as puppies, so doens't like to "hurt" them too much ie she just doesnt tug she just sits with it in her mouth and gives me the puppy eyed look. It's a bit strange but never really thought much into it actually...