Time for another poll! Can/does your dog hang all their body weight off a tug toy?

[SizzleDog]

Ronin - doesn't tug.
Kaylee - will swing/hang if she's really into it at the time.
Revy - willingly swings/hangs!
Ada - will not swing/hang.

 

[elegy]

mushroom and steve, yes. luce not so much anymore. they're not small dogs though, and i'm not the incredible hulk, so hang time isn't terribly lengthy

 

[JustaLilBitaLuck]

The little Lhasa Apso I had as a kid LOVED being swung around on the end of a toy, though. She's jump 2 or 3 feet in the air to get it, and just hang on tight. Then when she was back on the ground she's shake it and "kill" it lol.

Jack does the EXACT same thing. :lol-sign:

 

[Giny]

None of mine like to tug anymore, they did when they were younger. Not off the ground, mind you. Boomer loves the ,shake the toy till it dies, kind of dog.

 

[stardogs]

Kes is in schutzhund so he loooves hanging off of a tug, but he's tall/leggy enough that he rarely gets all four feet off the ground. The few times I've tried to do so he's hung on nicely, though. I've never tried swinging him at all.

Z will let me lift her off the ground for very short periods while tugging, but clearly doesn't like it so we don't do it.

 

[Bigpoodleperson]

Im not tall/strong enough to swing my 75lbs dog. I can frequently get where his front feet are hanging though.

 

[*blackrose]

I've never tried lifting Chloe all the way up, but she does hang on until at least her front feet are off the ground and she has quite a grip. lol I don't have the strength to lift her up all the way, but I'm not sure if she'd hang on that long anyways.

Now, my ferrets on the other hand...if they have a hold of something that they don't want to let go, I can pick them up off the ground about three feet and they'll still dangle there. ^_^

 

[corgipower]

I'm thinking of all those poor Schutzhund helpers who have to swing some big dogs around

The swinging done in Schutzhund is done because of the dog's momentum when he hits. The dog's speed and style might bring him off the ground, but not all dogs do.

 

[jrvl]

Says who? I have yet to come across any thing that says its bad for necks. (teeth I could understand) but my dogs have less of a chance of wrenching their necks if they are hanging than when they are ragging on the toy.

I know someone who has a joints/muscles book and it states that the jaw may be strong enough, but the neck isn't. You shouldn't tug up and down either. But most people do it.

After finding that out, I avoid it.

 

[AgilityPup]

The swinging done in Schutzhund is done because of the dog's momentum when he hits. The dog's speed and style might bring him off the ground, but not all dogs do.

Ah, see, I'm still learning. Spending my saturdays watching out in the cold for a couple hours each week, but it's still a chance to learn!

I'm quite sure that at the club I go watch they TRY to get the dog to have enough of a grip to be able to be spun around... it's a really common occurrence to see the dogs be all fours off the ground...

 

[Southpaw]

Juno can be swung around. Not by me, because I'm too short to lift her up that far lol, but that seems to be the only way my dad knows how to play with her.

 

[corgipower]

I'm quite sure that at the club I go watch they TRY to get the dog to have enough of a grip to be able to be spun around... it's a really common occurrence to see the dogs be all fours off the ground...

That's not uncommon on long sends. But it's still done via the dog's momentum and is done for safety. It helps the dog to get settled into his grip as well as allows his feet to end up underneath him when he's back on the ground.

 

[CharlieDog]

That's not uncommon on long sends. But it's still done via the dog's momentum and is done for safety. It helps the dog to get settled into his grip as well as allows his feet to end up underneath him when he's back on the ground.

Also, if the helper just braces themselves, if the dog hits hard enough, it can jam up the dogs neck pretty badly. Catching and swinging them helps loose the forward momentum so that it doesn't hurt dog or helper.

 

[SisMorphine]

With my bad back I can't pick up and swing my dogs around while playing tug, BUT on long catches Blue hangs on tight (even with his lack of teeth), and Teeny usually gets carried on drives by the decoy since she's so darn short.

And if those things let go because their feet left the ground we would be having MAJOR issues.

 

[Georgygirl]

Joey absolutely loves tug and will definitely hang off a toy. Lucy likes tug but she'll let go before she hangs.

 

[AgilityKrazii]

Rosco can get his front feet off the ground, but I'm not strong enough or tall enough to see if he could lift himself totally off the ground, he probably could.

Pepzee sure can but doesnt seem used to doing it, so he will let go but when he is really amped we can get a little half circle, I dont do it with him much tho.

 

[MandyPug]

When izzie really gets going i can lift her up for a bit but she'll let go if we get swinging so we don't go that far off the ground.

 

[Whisper]

Lucy definitely hangs, and she'll hold on for minutes before letting go. If I wanted to I could walk her just swinging in mid-air.
I need to make her a good flirt pole.

Millie doesn't play tug. She'll bring a tug toy to me, but as soon as she feels the slightest pull she lets go.

 

[Laurelin]

Nard is the only one that will leap and grab hold of something and hang from it. He always has. The others love tug but won't hang off something.

 

[AgilityPup]

That's not uncommon on long sends. But it's still done via the dog's momentum and is done for safety. It helps the dog to get settled into his grip as well as allows his feet to end up underneath him when he's back on the ground.

Also, if the helper just braces themselves, if the dog hits hard enough, it can jam up the dogs neck pretty badly. Catching and swinging them helps loose the forward momentum so that it doesn't hurt dog or helper.

Awesome, thanks for that bit of knowledge, guys! It all makes sense now that you've explained it, but I just don't know enough about it yet to make those connections.