Tug toys, yes or no?

[KentuckyGSDLover]

I read someplace not to play tug with your dog because they invariably "win." I played tug with Bear and Buddy when they were young, and Buddy used to play tug with my daughter's Australian cattle dog, Bruizer. I've noticed Rey picks up a lot of sticks (She got one caught in her throat yesterday and we had our first experience of me opening those jaws and reaching in between all those pointy teeth to save her). But I also noticed she'll get a long stick and offer the end to Buddy. After choking, I'm now saying "drop it." (Hey, this dog is turning out way smarter than I'd have imagined). But I'm wondering if I should buy a tug toy for them. Anyone ever had problems with a tug toy?

[doggiedad]

i've always played tug with my dogs. i always
let them win at the end of the game. sometimes
in the middle of the game i'll let go of the tug
and my dog takes off with it. then he'll stop and turn
and look at me. that means chase me. i do. he runs
away. then i'll stop and call him to me and we start all over.
my dog will play tug with anything. i have a tug toy.

you read not to play tug with your dog because they
invariably "win". so what if they win?

[Kittilicious]

I would... if Knuckles would let me He lets go of his end everytime I pick up my end.

[KentuckyGSDLover]

Originally Posted by doggiedad

you read not to play tug with your dog because they
invariably "win". so what if they win?

That's what I always thought. Methinks I've read TOO much online. It was about being a pack leader, and I've tried to read as much as I can since the dog I brought home recently was not a small pup, but 17 months. I have also used tug toys with both my other German Shepherds and never had a problem. In fact, they love them. Rey obviously likes to play tug and I'd much rather her play it with a toy than keep trying to play it with my curtains and tablecloth. But since I read that somewhere (I think maybe on the Leerburg site), I thought I'd get the opinion of others who own GSD.

[Zisso]

I play tug with my two all the time.It is a great way to work them mentally and physically. I don't let them always win. I use the tug time as a great way to do OB exercises, and I think it reinforces the fact that I am the pack leader, because I win too. They do have to out the tug when told, and all in all they LOVE the whole game.

[LukasGSD]

I think as long as you teach them it's a game to play WITH you not against you. He has to out when I tell him to and he has to bring it back after I let him 'win' to begin the game again. I never actually ever pull the tug from his mouth. If I did that too much he wouldn't want to play.

[doggiedad]

i never pull the tug from my dogs mouth no matter
what's being used as a tug toy. i'm afraid of pulling
the tug from his mouth might hurt his teeth or
his mouth in some way.

Originally Posted by LukasGSD

I think as long as you teach them it's a game to play WITH you not against you. He has to out when I tell him to and he has to bring it back after I let him 'win' to begin the game again.

>>>>> I never actually ever pull the tug from his mouth. <<<<<


If I did that too much he wouldn't want to play.

[gsdheeler]

I teach a "give" when I play tug and also a "ok" for when they can take it again. I also found the need to teach "fingers" and "easy" for when they regrip the toy. I use a tug toy for Obed. training and agility training, so I look at tugging as a reward for the dog, I also use it to amp up a dog during training sesson. To me tugging is something that is taught, it does have rules, it is a training tool just like food and praise.

[onyx'girl]

My females aren't into tug. Kacie will try, but her tooth alignment is so bad, I think it probably hurts her. Onyx won't tug.
Karlo absolutely loves to tug and is very good at it! I use it as a reward in training.
I think a game of tug is great, and it won't make a dog dominant or aggressive as some believe. For dogs that lack confidence winning at tug will build up their confidence, but they know we are the one in control of the game, because we end it when we want it to end.
It wears me out, my hands, neck and shoulders hurt sometimes from our games.

[SitUbuSit]

Originally Posted by KentuckyGSDLover

I read someplace not to play tug with your dog because they invariably "win."

I've heard that too. I think it represents a fairly antagonistic view of the human-dog relationship. Your dog shouldn't be allowed to run away with the toy and self-satisfy on it, but he should be able to "win" the toy briefly, and bring it right back because you're the source of all the fun.

So if he's having a really good tug session and is super engaged, and is showing all the energy and strength that you want, it's OK to let go of the tug, and let him prance around with it for a few seconds, victorious. Then, he should come right back to you to play all over again. That to me, is a win-win.

If you never let your dog win, he might not want to play with you as much (would you want to play with someone who never let you win?). Or, on the occasions where he has grip of the toy, he may try to run away with it because he knows he won't get it at the end of the game. Never letting him win places an artificial value on the toy by depriving him of it. The point of tug shouldn't be about the toy, it's the interaction between you and your dog.

I really like how Michael Ellis trains on this. His view is that your dog should see the tug as valuable only because it's a vehicle of engagement with you in this fun game that you play together. It's not like a bully stick that he wants to go chew on for hours by himself.

Before you can have really positive tug games, you need a solid foundation of engagement, and your dog must be reliable on the "out" command. Some people start playing tug before the foundation work, and that makes it harder to have good tug sessions.

I highly recommend the Michael Ellis DVD on playing tug with your dog. That might be the best of all his DVDs. It is very, very good.