# Do you play rough with your pup?



## Anthony8858 (Sep 18, 2011)

I was wondering if anyone plays rough with their pup?

I'm talking about acting like a dog.... Grabbing them by their neck, shaking them, pushing them around a bit. Pinning them, letting them bite you, etc....

I'm asking because i witnessed this a few days ago, and I recall my dad (many years ago), "roughing it" with our GSD.

Just curious what your opinion is about this.

**And,..... In case you're wondering... NO! I don't do that.


----------



## TechieDog (Jan 13, 2011)

Why not?


----------



## JKlatsky (Apr 21, 2007)

Yep.  However, an important part of that game is ENOUGH.


----------



## Lmilr (Jan 12, 2011)

JKlatsky said:


> Yep.  However, an important part of that game is ENOUGH.


Ditto!


----------



## hattifattener (Oct 7, 2011)

sure,if pup is in that mood.


----------



## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

I don't but my husband does.


----------



## Stosh (Jun 26, 2010)

I do too. My husband lets Stosh play bite with him but Stosh knows not to do that with me. He knows what 'easy' means when he gets a little excited and definitely knows enough means enough. Stosh loves doing to play bow, huffing and snorting and racing around then does a little body slam. I know many trainers discourage this behavior but it's fun and I certainly haven't seen any problems resulting from it.


----------



## Kittilicious (Sep 25, 2011)

I do, too. I act more like a dog than they do lmao I take their toys away with my teeth even and I get the funniest looks from them! They don't know what to think! Yesterday I curled up on the big dog bed in our living room and Knuckles sat there and whined and tried to pull me off by grabbing my shirt sleeve.


----------



## Anthony8858 (Sep 18, 2011)

Stosh said:


> I do too. My husband lets Stosh play bite with him but Stosh knows not to do that with me. He knows what 'easy' means when he gets a little excited and definitely knows enough means enough. Stosh loves doing to play bow, huffing and snorting and racing around then does a little body slam. *I know many trainers discourage this behavior but it's fun and I certainly haven't seen any problems resulting from it*.


Bingo!

Trainers do discourage it, but I'm dying to roll on the floor with her. When I was a kid, my father used to wrap his arms up, and brawl.

In this day and age, with holistic foods, high level treats, etc... You never know when you'r doing your dog an injustice.


----------



## ponyfarm (Apr 11, 2010)

GEt crazy ..have fun..thats the point of having a dog, right? If it starts not being fun, then its enough!


----------



## Anthony8858 (Sep 18, 2011)

Wow, I'm surprised so many of you 'fessed up 

Kittiliscous... You win this one.


----------



## Kittilicious (Sep 25, 2011)

I don't think dogs have changed as much as people have, just people's thinking on how dogs work. 

Get down on the floor and play!


----------



## Ava (Mar 18, 2011)

We play rough everyday and she's very mouthy with me. I don't let the kids play with her like that though. She know "enough" - it took a pretty tough correction a few months ago to really get it, but she did. I like to throw in several sits and downs while in the middle of it. It's funny how immediate her obedience is while in her play drive. She REALLY likes to pounce on me when released, I think it's her favorite reward. I believe the rough play helps with bonding.


----------



## chicagojosh (Jun 22, 2010)

oh yeah I wrestle with Cody! he know's daddy can rough him up haha


----------



## Stosh (Jun 26, 2010)

I figure that we ask so much of our dogs to live by our rules the least we can do is play by theirs sometimes


----------



## Kittilicious (Sep 25, 2011)

It was funny... I walked into the living room to tell my husband about this thread and my 15 year old daughter had the rope in her mouth and Saki had the other end in her mouth. 
Saki will actually try to put toys in our mouth, which is irritating especially when it's a ball, but she tries.


----------



## BR870 (May 15, 2011)

Stosh said:


> I do too. My husband lets Stosh play bite with him but Stosh knows not to do that with me. He knows what 'easy' means when he gets a little excited and definitely knows enough means enough. Stosh loves doing to play bow, huffing and snorting and racing around then does a little body slam. I know many trainers discourage this behavior but it's fun and I certainly haven't seen any problems resulting from it.


There are trainers that tell you not to play tug either, and trainers that tell you to alpha roll every day to establish "dominance"...

There is alot of trainers out there that we disagree with


----------



## NewbieShepherdGirl (Jan 7, 2011)

For sure! Sasha loves it. If I walk by and "growl" she knows it's game on and pretty soon I'm getting body slammed, and she's getting pushed and we just have a great time. It hasn't made her aggressive nor has it made her not respect me.


----------



## Anthony8858 (Sep 18, 2011)

I am totally shocked that all of you rough it up. I never expected it.

I'd like to see some videos of this.

How do you do this?
Do you grab him / her?
Throw or push them?
Tackle?
Wrestle?


----------



## catz (Dec 10, 2010)

I dont.. I never have with any of my dogs. I'm a bit of a wimp and cant play as rough as Rio would like and I usually end it before she even gets going. I can see the disappointment in her eyes when I say enough so I dont even start it. I prefer to have a tug between us lol


----------



## NewbieShepherdGirl (Jan 7, 2011)

Anthony8858 said:


> I am totally shocked that all of you rough it up. I never expected it.
> 
> I'd like to see some videos of this.
> I don't have a video because I'm a little camera shy lol
> ...


Sasha doesn't know how to play fetch or anything like that so playing like a dog is how we have fun together  She likes to play rough, and I figure I can take it  I love seeing that big tail waggin'!


----------



## tami97 (Sep 15, 2011)

Every chance I get. What is the point of have a great dog if you dont play with them. :happyboogie:


----------



## Packen (Sep 14, 2008)

It really depends on the pup and the handlers ability to read him/her. Could be a big help or a big no/no depending on the variables.


----------



## NancyJ (Jun 15, 2003)

Sure thing but you will never get a picture of my 57 year old rear end up in the air doing a play bow.


----------



## PaddyD (Jul 22, 2010)

jocoyn said:


> Sure thing but you will never get a picture of my 57 year old rear end up in the air doing a play bow.


... or my 67 year old...
Sure, we play rough. All but the pinning because that would not be interpreted as play. Rough play is important for soooooooo many reasons.


----------



## ponyfarm (Apr 11, 2010)

To answer thequestion on how to play rough with your dog. 

Think like a kid! Get silly. It usually starts here when Tim (the dog) brings a toy and wants to play. If he looks like he is feeling full of it, I might give him a little push on the shoulder by his collar, he might come back mouthy and grab my sleeve and off we go!I will grab his toy and run away, then throw it. A little push, he gets zoomie, some body slams maybe if we are outside, he loves it if we get on his level. My teenage boys really get him going, they wrap their legs around him , roll around, play "nip" lol..

basically go crazy, but we decide when to stop and he knows it. Acutally, not sure how he knows, but he does. I guess thats how we have always played. I love it when they go wild and play..I actually encourage it. My kids say how calm Tim is when I am at work.


----------



## Stosh (Jun 26, 2010)

I've never been one to let the dog initiate that kind of rough play but Stosh is very respectful while he lets us know he'd love to play wrestle or chase... he lowers his head and ears, gets a goofy look on his face and slowly wags his tail like he's saying 'I'm ready if you are'. Many times it just escalates from petting and scratching, then he starts to grab my husband's hand in his mouth. We never do the dominance rolling or pinning kind of thing, just goofing around on his level. But we're always the one to end it. Stosh has never tried to get anyone else to play like this and we wouldn't allow it if he did. If he ever showed any signs that he couldn't control himself we wouldn't do it again. Kira may grow out of it so it's important to play on the floor with her while you can


----------



## vicky2200 (Oct 29, 2010)

I do. I love it. Ditto has never been into playing rough. At 3 years of age I figured she just wasn't that type of dog. So I stuck to playing rough mostly with Daisy and with Dakota on the rare occasions he feels like playing (man can he play ROUGH.) However the past 2 days Ditto has initiated tug-of-war with me, which NEVER happens. We found an old tug toy behind the touch and she has actually played with it 2x in 2 days, which is a miracle since usually she only wants to play fetch. Now tug of war isn't that rough, but i growl at her and egg her on and get her growling (playfully) and it i rough... for her lol


----------



## Witz (Feb 28, 2011)

I have with every dog I have owned, if they want to. My current 9 month old absolutely loves it. Since we have started bitework I have to be careful just how worked up I get him. He certainly does not realize how his bite can really leave a mark. He also gets even more worked up when I declare "war" on him. All in fun, but fortunately he knows when I say enough, it means enough. He then looks at me with the "well you started it". People have watched the cuts on my arms and wondered how I got them. I always tell them that I let him grab my arm and they look at me like I am crazy. I usually let him win and it clealry build a bond, that I can play as well as command.


----------



## SamanthaBrynn (Sep 2, 2011)

Love this thread. We have play time every night after dinner and we're starting to settle in. Hubby and I both get in the floor and we play. Sometimes my older dog isn't in to it, so we trade back and forth who plays with who. I love it. They're my babies...you play with your kids, don't you?


----------



## k_sep (Jun 21, 2011)

Definitely! Luna was never land shark-y as a pup, but she sure does love to play bite and mouth when we're playing on the floor. Basically, I do it like everybody else, get on the floor, play boy, slap the sides of her muzzles (not hard, of course), pushing her, etc. It's fun and she certainly loves it! When she hears the "enough" command, she's very good about stopping. Then she goes into overdrive lick mode, that's a bit annoying.


----------



## mssandslinger (Sep 21, 2010)

Stosh said:


> I do too. My husband lets Stosh play bite with him but Stosh knows not to do that with me. He knows what 'easy' means when he gets a little excited and definitely knows enough means enough. Stosh loves doing to play bow, huffing and snorting and racing around then does a little body slam. I know many trainers discourage this behavior but it's fun and I certainly haven't seen any problems resulting from it.


same here! he is super easy with me and knows my BF plays harder


----------



## Lilie (Feb 3, 2010)

My boy plays differently with my husband and myself. He plays rough with hubby. The game almost always begins with a body pounce. Hondo will flop over and grab a foot, leg, arm, hand, what ever is closest. Then the roughness of the game will all depend on how rough hubby wants to play. 

I'm not big on getting slapped by huge paws or having my wrist bones crunched. So if I'm playing rough, I want to play with tug type toys. 

Only Hondo and I play the 'sneak up' game. I'll wait till he is asleep then I'll sneak up on him. I never touch him, or get into his 'space' to avoid a pounce, but I'll say "Boo!" and he'll jump up and want to play. Or I'll sneak out of the house...or sneak into another room. Sometimes, Hondo will lay in the room I'm in and hide behind a peice of furniture. I'll watch him as he peeks at me. When he does that, I know he wants to play 'sneak up'.


----------



## GSDkid (Apr 19, 2011)

My wife thinks its a bad idea but I do it all the time. Just the other day, we were wrestling on the grass and my dog accidentally scratched my face.  My lip's bleeding but it's not her fault. Accidents happen and I was playing rough with her as well. Just gotta know when to stop.


----------

