Playing Tug .. ?

[sdiguana 1]

I've read in many places don't play tug with a dog or it will become hard-mouthed. But i've read other people saying they do play tug and the dog isn't hard mouthed. Is this a wives tale, or is this something people have personally experienced?

 

For those who have played tug and ended up with soft mouthed dog, did you teach it tug with specific rules e.g. dog releases as soon as you tell it to or anything else special?

 

I ask because my pup gets more excited about tug than anything so far, and i pretty well try not to play it with him, but i've seen it used as a treat/reward for good training behavior in other working dogs.

 

cheers

[Casso 1,261]

I've read in many places don't play tug with a dog or it will become hard-mouthed. But i've read other people saying they do play tug and the dog isn't hard mouthed. Is this a wives tale, or is this something people have personally experienced?

 

For those who have played tug and ended up with soft mouthed dog, did you teach it tug with specific rules e.g. dog releases as soon as you tell it to or anything else special?

 

I ask because my pup gets more excited about tug than anything so far, and i pretty well try not to play it with him, but i've seen it used as a treat/reward for good training behavior in other working dogs.

 

cheers

for me tug play is a form of connection that is most basic and natural to the canine, pups are programmed from a few weeks old to make contact in this form and quickly learn biting hard in the nest is a no no, so they find items to tug between themselves,

 

from there on all of a canines quest will begin through a different form scent , in a hound or sight in a runner but all have the same goal in mind and that is to mouth something,

if a dog doesn't like to bite then it needs to bite, letting a dog express its natural inclinations in a stimulated environment like tug play , cuts out most of the cushion ripping, duvet shredding, or whatever the equivalent of its most natural behavior is in an unnatural setting is which most of our dogs live in

 

it's most natural behavior bar none, a dog hooked on tug play will hang on your every word , he will tune you in and work to second guess what action you want, and most of all he will be in drive, which is a mindset where most of us fall out with the mutt,

 

i have always been of the belief that a dog needs to bite something and i like to give him something to bite hard so he can differentiate between the two, hard and soft, a dog wont waste any more energy than it needs to, a dog will smash a fox but not a rabbit why because it dont need to,

 

Basically bud im not interested in the hard/soft mouth issue, im much more interested in the relationship with the mutt and him trying to tune me in, because if i can create a dog that feels what i feel and wants to be on the same wavelength i can train him anything after that, i then control his drive which in turn is his most intelligent and quickest learning mindset,

All a tug item is , is a item through which the dog can connect with us , no petting , praising, treats , comes near to the connection you can make with the dog through a tug item, you can walk the mutt for hours bud, but 10 mins of tug connection will increase the bond 10 fold,

best of luck with the pup

 

Yeah my dogs get it as a reward now, most of all i practice impulse control with it, i get an action or actions could go on for 5 minutes and eventually he gets to tug,