# Proper puppy tugging



## NancyJ (Jun 15, 2003)

Ok so Beau at 11 weeks is not destined for schtuzhund but the tug will possibly be part of his reward for cadaver work 

He already latches on and holds on with it deep in his mouth but I want to develop his bite properly so he does not rebite or get chewy and I want him to take it when I offer it (as opposed ot mauling me for it). He does not seem intimidated by me even tugging close to me face and will look me in the eyes when we are tugging.

BUT I know you can damage tlittle teeth and even necks playing tug the "wrong" way. i have also been bit by dogs now knowing the rules of engagement and getting too excited, uncontrolled.

Right now he seems to like a little leather tug that i have which is maybe 2 inches across/folded soft leater/no filling. But most puppy tugs I have seen are fatter, not smaller.

Please help me select the best tug (and toy progression) and best approach with a wee one.


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

I don't do much tugging at all until after teething, but both of my SchH dogs were sort of "sleepers" as far as wanting to tug. They weren't super interested in it as puppies and around 6-7 months the prey drive started to kick in and they wanted to play tug, fetch and retrieve toys, etc.


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## JLOCKHART29 (Aug 23, 2009)

Michele Ellis on the Leerburg web site has an excellent video out about playing tug. Highly recommended!!


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## cliffson1 (Sep 2, 2006)

How much I play tug with a puppy is dictated by the puppy's desire to play/engage. Some pups have little interest in tugs until a later age, some never acquire the interest, and other pups like it from the start. I do not allow teething to affect whether I play if the pup enjoys it. (Obviously I don't try try YANK the thing out of their mouth at 12 weeks), but if the pups likes it and a little bleeding takes place and the pup is still energetic about it I continue on. If a pup is so unresilent as to let reasonable tugging give permanent damage....probably isn't a dog with the kind of temperament I want to see in this breed.


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## GSD84 (Apr 27, 2011)

Yikes didnt realize tugging wasnt good for pups. We play tug a lot. But lately I have noticed two sores on either side of her upper inside lip. They look like perfect circles. Is this from playing tug?


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## cliffson1 (Sep 2, 2006)

I didn't realize it either.


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## Packen (Sep 14, 2008)

jocoyn said:


> Ok so Beau at 11 weeks is not destined for schtuzhund but the tug will possibly be part of his reward for cadaver work
> 
> He already latches on and holds on with it deep in his mouth but I want to develop his bite properly so he does not rebite or get chewy and I want him to take it when I offer it (as opposed ot mauling me for it). He does not seem intimidated by me even tugging close to me face and will look me in the eyes when we are tugging.
> 
> ...


A few things are key as far as I know about pups,
1. Tug should be presented in prey manner. That is, moving away from dog not coming at the dog (defense). 
2. Predators do not get to capture prey every time, so throw 3-4 misses before giving bite.
3. Pup should win (meaning after you tug a lil, let go of the tug, let the pup run with it).
4. After session, put tug away.

As far as type of tug, for a pup that age I would get a few of the schammies from the hardware store. They are cheap and pups love them.


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

GSD84 said:


> Yikes didnt realize tugging wasnt good for pups. We play tug a lot. But lately I have noticed two sores on either side of her upper inside lip. They look like perfect circles. Is this from playing tug?


Could be but if the dog is having fun I wouldn't worry about it. I don't do much tug with my dogs while teething b/c my dogs got a little crazy and I don't really like the blood on the toys and carpet. If they want to tug I let them tug with each other, outside (which they all did through teething and still do). Also I had some issues with the teeth of my last two dogs, so I'm paranoid about teeth in general. It's not because my dogs are sissies and get scared to tug while teething.


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## NancyJ (Jun 15, 2003)

He is definitely *into* tugging bigtime. 

My goal is to not encourage rebiting (or is that gentic? I know you want it deep in his mouth and he holds it deep if I hold it right but if he catches it with his canines it is there)....He doesnt seem to need a flirt pole to excite him...I can't even tie my shoes without him going for the laces, and the vet took pity on me and gave me a chewy yesterday because I did not take a redirect toy.

Yes, letting him win and putting it up, at least I knew that. I am assuming his grunting while tugging is ok too. Not a growl. Ok for him to wrap his paws around my hands? What about thrashing vs pulling stright back (once again depends on how I present it)

I have a soft, fat two handled puppy tug. Would that be best? He loves this rope that I have - is that ok?

It is one of the areas where my background is deficient with a working puppy. Housebreaking and manners, peice of cake


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## cliffson1 (Sep 2, 2006)

Just play tug with him!!!! You're making this too complicated. If he likes to tug, is having fun, just play with him. He will let you know when he doesn't want to. You already said you are not doing Sch so why all the worry about technique?????that's useless! He's a puppy and you are playing with him. :crazy:


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## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

Reward him often by letting him win when he is solid on the bite. 

Keep the tug alive by keeping it moving. It is when you stop and keep the tug still that the pup may rebite to get a better bite to be able to pull harder (which is what we do to encourage a deeper bite then we reward by letting the dog win), or if you start to overwhelm him with your power and presence. Then stress can show itself through chewiness. If you find your dog chewy with lots or rebiting if you may inadvertently be causing stress in the game. One way to fix this is to have the tug on a line so you are at more of a distance from him when you tug.

For bite developing, you want a tug just the right size to fit into his mouth fully. For playing, anything you can get your hands on is fine.

Agree with Cliff though, just have fun with him.


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## BR870 (May 15, 2011)

My AmLine female was and still is tug obsessed from day 1. She also played fetch until she drops (literally... She has FCP, and she will run after the ball until her elbows give out). She is also very high energy... She has an off switch, but it doesn't work until about 10PM at night.

Often times when she was teething I worried about playing tug with her so much, but she insisted. If I wanted to, I could swing her around like a helicopter... I don't, but I could.


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## NancyJ (Jun 15, 2003)

Lucia, thanks

Cliff - the tug will likely be his reward. Having had my fingers laid open by dogs rebiting, dogs grabbing the toy after game is doine, dog targeting poorly...I think it is a fair question. I also have one who had a dead adult canine and was told it was probably due to overdoing the tugging during tooth development.

When I got Grim (who had been raised by another as a working dog) the only issue I had was he had to learn not to maul me for the ball when I took it away and it was so much nicer than tugging with other dogs who had been tugged with with zero structure or rules around it.

But yes I am having fun with him -- he is an incredibly fun wild little gator dog


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## Catu (Sep 6, 2007)

I am curious about the not re-biting. Dogs catching fingers is due to lack of target, that you can develop, or poor handling of the tug, not because of re-biting. I don't believe dogs actually "think" if they are re-biting or not, they just act up to how they feel, instinctively. A dog that is in prey, feels confident and engages with all his heart will re-bite. Encouraging not re-biting could, inadvertently, encourage a undesirable state of mind, by example, like biting in defense. Not that the dog will bite in defense to get the tug, but you and yours helpers could without intention promote defense because it decrease the re-biting.

When people say the bite is genetic, it is not the bite itself, it's the temperament of the dog that leads to a correct bite.

I've always praised my SAR dogs with tugging and I've felt they are not really enjoying their reward until they re-bite. At the International congress we had a couple of months ago one of the things we worked in Diabla was more fight drive in the tugging, because it translated in a better, more consistent alert (barking).


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## robk (Jun 16, 2011)

For Ruger a piece of leather was a great tug because he learned how to bite hard with his back teeth and not just hook his front little fangs in the tug.


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## NancyJ (Jun 15, 2003)

I watched the Michael Ellis peice posted on another thread and got him a smaller softer squishy squeaky thing he can grab onto better than the regular tug. So keeping the game short and animated and then he prances around with it, sometimes shakes it, when he "wins" and comes back for more.


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