Tug of war makes your dogs mean!

[dogsarebetter]

That's what my relatives believe.
I play tug of war daily with my dogs. And I don't understand how it can make them mean! Any ideas? Has anyone ever heard of this?

They heard Ruckus and Lynn growling and really putting on a show during tug of war and they said "See, you are making them mean!"
I think this is just ignorance on their part, but I didnt know what to say back other than "No, its not"
so what does, or doesnt tug of war make a dog mean?

when we play tug, the game starts and stops when I say. We all take turns winning and losing. The dogs never bite my hand by accident, even though I do play with both dogs at the save time. I can take it away from them when I ask for it with no problem.

[JessLough]

well... Rosey loves tug of war. She's now almost 11... and not mean at all lol She's the biggest wimp ever, and wouldn't hurt a fly! Of course... if other say it makes a dog mean, they must be right?

[mom2dogs]

Originally Posted by dogsarebetter

They heard Ruckus and Lynn growling and really putting on a show during tug of war and they said "See, you are making them mean!"

LOL, I would HATE to think what they would say if they ever saw Sofie playing tug-o-war, she gets downright crazy pulling/growling and she's good at it But she knows the rules, I say no bite or stop and she drops the toy (or I let her win, and have her moment of glory) and that under no circumstances are her teeth to touch skin.

I've heard it before, but I see nothing wrong with it once boundaries are set.

[Dogs6]

I was actually going to post a thread on this because before I came here I was a CM fan and never played tug of war with the dogs and now it's our fav game. I don't see how it can make them mean at all in fact now the dogs are better trained beacuase tug is a reward for training

[babymomma]

Oh god.. If thats true then Im screwed.. Thats keelys fav game and we play it ALL the time. She puts on a big show too..

Id like to do Bitework with her. I could swing her around at the end of her pull rope and she wouldnt let gooo :P.

[mom2dogs]

Originally Posted by Dogs6

I don't see how it can make them mean at all in fact now the dogs are better trained beacuase tug is a reward for training

Sofie can get bored with training, and there's nothing better to her than a good game of tug out of the blue to get her fired up again!

LOL, so she will be a well trained mean dog? I'll take it!

[smkie]

Especially when puppies are very young tug of war is a bad idea.

We play a very gentle tug here on occasion.

[sammgirl]

Hrmm...thanks for posting this question. We play tug of war with Abby, and she sounds like a devil with her growling! But, that's just playing for her. Fleur is also very growly when she plays, but I know the difference between play growl and mean growl.

It's all in the other body language being displayed.

I think that maybe tug of war would be bad for puppies because it could damage their bite, correct?

[Doberluv]

Especially when puppies are very young tug of war is a bad idea.

I disagree with this.

It's a game. Dogs play it with each other all the time. It is thought by some behaviorists to be a cooperative "killing" game. (an off shoot from hunting as a group...but still....a GAME, as domestic dogs, even as adults, are neotenic animals. (juvenile forms of their counter parts due to things like delayed onset of adult hood, brain chemistry like that of a young animal, small, under developed morphological features etc, etc, etc)

All games have rules and tug of war should be no exception. My rules are: No biting my hand, even by accident or else, game over. No jumping up to grab the tug toy uninvited or the game immediately ends. And the "give" command must have been well installed prior. (to teach, do the trade game...don't take things from a dog without trading up....at least, most of the time, as he's learning and even, once well installed, trade fairly often when you take something) Some people insist that they are the ones who initiate the game and end it. I, personally, don't care about that rule. If a dog comes and asks to play, just like if a friend asks me to "play," I don't necessarily decline. If I don't want to play, I don't. If I do, I do. I don't care if the dog gets bored and stops playing to go do something else. Also, I let the dog win most of the time. It is a good confidence builder. I encourage this game with dogs that have certain confidence issues. It has nothing to do with "dominance" as it is simply a game....as long as the rules are installed first. If your dog has resource guarding issues, that should be dealt with first, of course.

[kms1167]

We play tug of war with Harley all the time...its definitely his favorite game. He gets really into it growling but he is just playing...the game starts and stops whenever we say. I do think that you need to make sure your dog knows you are the one controlling the game so they understand that its just play.