Is tug-of-war bad?

[hunterisgreat]

Originally Posted by Jax08

So are you saying that the majority of aggression comes from fear? I say majority because there could be a medical reason, or bad breeding, that would make the dog aggressive.

If we are talking about aggression when you know there is no valid reason for him to act aggressive, then yes. If there is a medical reason (his leg is broken, etc) its still fear... he's scared because he knows he can't defend himself in his weak state. Thats why injured animals are so dangerous. It can also be bad breeding/poor temperament inherent in the bloodline. The majority of the time though, its just vanilla fear and lack of confidence.

[Jax08]

I meant medical reason as in thyroid, epilepsy, etc that CAUSES aggression. Not a scared, hurt animal that is lashing out.

It makes sense that aggression is based on fear. We do hate what we fear.

[hunterisgreat]

Originally Posted by Jax08

I meant medical reason as in thyroid, epilepsy, etc that CAUSES aggression. Not a scared, hurt animal that is lashing out.

It makes sense that aggression is based on fear. We do hate what we fear.

There are exceptions to every rule, and a hormonal imbalance or disease is certainly one of those.

For a healthy dog, improper aggression is almost always fear

better?

[Puppy]

This is a really intresting thread... so I guess judging by the dog's personality. A person should regulate when, or how many times a dog should win right. So this what I understand (please correct me if I'm wrong) if I play tug with a high confidence dog I should win a the majority of the time? If I play tug with a low confidence dog I should make shure that he allways win...? I want to play tug with Iron, but after being told not to play tug with a dog. I just do not know what to decide. What about playing tug right after training?

[DCluver33]

Originally Posted by Puppy

This is a really intresting thread... so I guess judging by the dog's personality. A person should regulate when, or how many times a dog should win right. So this what I understand (please correct me if I'm wrong) if I play tug with a high confidence dog I should win a the majority of the time? If I play tug with a low confidence dog I should make shure that he allways win...? I want to play tug with Iron, but after being told not to play tug with a dog. I just do not know what to decide. What about playing tug right after training?

you are right about winning if the dog in confident and letting the dog win if it's not. I use tug as a reward and a tummy muscle shaper.

[Puppy]

Oh really I got that right?! Cool!! Hey thats a good idea tummy muscle shaper! Haha I'm imagining my pup with humanlike abs hahahahaha

[ayoitzrimz]

Sorry I'm so late to the discussion! I'll add my two cents anyway (without reading 6 pages of comments... sorry again ):
I played tug with my dog since day 1 (with a break during teething). PLayed properly I think it's a great way to build drive (or) tire the dog out as well as establish a bond and play rituals.
First some rules I implemented with him:
1. No touching of skin. I'd often tease him and get him to drive harder and harder to get the tug toy but if he ever touched my skin with his teeth I'd immediately "kill" the item (stop moving it completely) and give a verbal correction (nothing else is needed since witholding reward is negative reinforcer by itself). I'd stand there for about 20 seconds and then drive him again
2. Out means out - when he was a puppy I used treats while playing and "exchanged" outing the toy with getting a treat. If he outed I _immediately_ started moving the toy and let him chase it as further rewarding the out. Once he got the hang of outing I stop tolerating any ignorance of the command and corrected him for not outing. At the same time if he does out 9 times out of 10 he'll get to chase it again immediately.
3. obedience brings the toy - once his drive was up I'd have him chase the toy around and give an obedience command. If he complied, he got the toy and we tug. If he didn't he'd get a "no" and no toy.

Played this way I think it's a great way to teach a dog obedience (using his drive) as well as self control. I would recommend people follow these rules. I also think that the bad stigma associated with tug was perpetuated by people not following this rule and dogs that think it's ok to bite the hands by mistake and that they decide whether they want to give the toy back or not.

Ok, a little more than 2 cents I guess but I tend to ramble...