Does playing tug at war make a dog mean

marykay48 · 10-21-2007, 03:24 PM

One trainer some time back told us never to play tug of war that it is a power trip for them. If they win they will think they are alpha and if I decided to play tug at war then always win and stop before they want to. Now this new trainer said go for it they have so many area that is controled in their life this is one that should win and play. which is it? Also will feeding a dog raw meat make them mean?

Bilclarie · 10-21-2007, 03:33 PM

Maybe the trainer need's training what a load of old s--t all mine play tug with me my grandchilden my other dog's etc... it's a game just a game.
No feeding raw won't turn them mean if there mean there mean what you feed them isn't going to make a difference

marykay48 · 10-21-2007, 03:36 PM

Thank you this new trainer said to go for it and they will like to play tug before that I didnt because of the old trainer. The one thing she isnt happy about is that I have doggie door. She said not to because it give him to much control. I dont agree with that. My yorkies has been using one for 4 yrs and we were planning to get a bigger one now for the dobe . What do you think about a doggie door

SNCBOOM · 10-21-2007, 03:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by marykay48

Thank you this new trainer said to go for it and they will like to play tug before that I didnt because of the old trainer. The one thing she isnt happy about is that I have doggie door. She said not to because it give him to much control. I dont agree with that. My yorkies has been using one for 4 yrs and we were planning to get a bigger one now for the dobe . What do you think about a doggie door

I think a doggie door for Dozer would take up half of the door.

poconogal · 10-21-2007, 03:48 PM

I played tug of war with my GSD all the time, once he finally started to play it. He was a rescue and he was broken, I had to build up his confidence a lot. At first he would not even tug, I could remove whatever it was from his mouth with no challenge. Some time later, he began to play the game, and I let him win to build his confidence, but he never, ever developed any sort of alpha issues. Same goes for any other dog I've had over the years.

CoAl-s-Mom · 10-21-2007, 04:09 PM

Letting them win at tug actually helps to build thier confidence. Just be sure to teach him to "drop it", or whatever command you want to use for them to give it back.

VaBtrfly · 10-21-2007, 05:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by poconogal

I played tug of war with my GSD all the time, once he finally started to play it. He was a rescue and he was broken, I had to build up his confidence a lot. At first he would not even tug, I could remove whatever it was from his mouth with no challenge. Some time later, he began to play the game, and I let him win to build his confidence, but he never, ever developed any sort of alpha issues. Same goes for any other dog I've had over the years.

Wonderful. I too had a rescue GSD who needed a confidence builder and tug was IT!

Playing tug does not make a dog mean, they do it with littermates and other dogs. It's play. Certainly tug with an overly dominant dog may cause issues but, tug WITH rules is still a good activity, It helps them bond with us and it's great exercise.... not to mention developing strong drives for working ability later.

Raw food causing meaness is just ridiculous. That's like saying, "once a dog tastes blood, they become aggressive and attack." How archaic is that??? lol.

Sad that some trainers get stuck in such primitive ideals.

dobesanddragons · 10-21-2007, 06:04 PM

In general no. It is a game & Dobes are smart enough to understand this. If you have a very dominant pet Dobe then you can make rules for tug, for instance, they must drop it or give it to you when you say. You must always start and stop the game, etc. But most Dobes are just fine with a fun game of tug, it is good for them, SchH puppies are encouraged to play tug. Have fun with your dog, is this the same trainer that says dogs don't love they only respect? I am glad I am not this persons dog...or that my dogs aren't owned by that trainer...geez!

dobesanddragons · 10-21-2007, 06:05 PM

Feeding raw meat WILL NOT make the dog mean. We have lots of people on this board that feed only raw meat to their much loved Dobermans, puppies and adults.

**Kratty** · 10-21-2007, 06:26 PM

Tug is a great game to play, but you do have to establish rules for it. I use it as an opportunity to work on their release. The reward for the release is to play tug again. I don't really do all the tugging, I let them do it. You also need to establish an end for the game too.

One of the thing I do in training class besides food rewards is use tug as a reward too. I did this in out off-leash training class. It worked great instead of a food reward.

This is one tug game that was more fun than with any human.