# Do you play rough with your dog?



## Shaolin (Jun 16, 2012)

So, the training/behavorist side of the room seems to be split on this one. Do you ever play rough with your dog? I like to get on the floor with his tug or a toy and I pull hard on it, maybe give him a "growl" or two, and basically just rough and tumble for a few minutes. He's never bitten me outside of a miss on the tug/toy which happens to the best of us and he doesn't play rough with anyone but me, even if they are on the floor and I've never had an issue with training.

So, what do you do?


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

I don't know what you consider rough, but I sure do play an energetic game of tug with him!


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## Shaolin (Jun 16, 2012)

Rough as in, he'll come up to me and push/lean against me and I'll push/lean back, or he paws at me as he's pulling back on the tug. Stuff like that. General rough housing and rolling around on the floor with your dog.


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## AngelaA6 (Jan 20, 2013)

I "rough house" like that with my dog but if I tell him stop when I'm done he stops. The stop command definitely is a big one that you have to teach.


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## MichelleMc (Mar 3, 2013)

I rough house with two of my dogs. the others don't have much interest in it. They love it, I love it and I think its good for bonding.
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## gsdlover91 (Jul 21, 2012)

I rough house with my dog. He never bites me or gets aggressive or anything. He just plays. And let me say, I am tiny. Berlin is probably about 30 or so pounds less than me. He has never hurt me. But I agree - knowing when to end it is important.


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## Syaoransbear (Sep 25, 2008)

He won't play rough with me even if I try to instigate rough play, although he'll play rough with my husband.


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## Muneraven (Sep 4, 2012)

My boy Jaeger loves to play but he is pretty careful with me and won't ever actually close his mouth on me or growl or anything. He's really sensitive and almost comically dismayed when he steps on someone's barefoot or otherwise elicits an involuntary "Ouch."


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## hattifattener (Oct 7, 2011)

Shaolin said:


> Rough as in, he'll come up to me and push/lean against me and I'll push/lean back, or he paws at me as he's pulling back on the tug. Stuff like that. General rough housing and rolling around on the floor with your dog.


yes,we love to play rough tug game,if Odi paws me too much,i use my knees against her.

here's how it looks like.


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## Shade (Feb 20, 2012)

We'll play rough with the tug, but he's not really interested in rough housing

Jazzy on the other hand loves rough housing! lol Go figure


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## TommyB681 (Oct 19, 2012)

yes we have our times when we have a good high energy play. either with her rope or I get on the ground with her and we'll play around. She enjoys it


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## Shaolin (Jun 16, 2012)

That's awesome! I felt like I was in the minority of people who got on the floor and rough housed with their dog. Finn knows when to stop and he does so on command. Last night we were wrestling around and we were just having a blast. I think it builds a good bond.

He will play rough with me, but he won't or will half-*** it with my husband...but he loves it when my husband gets a hold of a long, FL tug with handles. Woo! He holds on and doesn't let go for anything and my husband can give him a good spin when he runs and hits the tug.


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## MichaelE (Dec 15, 2012)

Now that Lisl has her permanent teeth I roughhouse a little with her. We play a lot of tug and she loves that.

She will grab and hold my hand or arm but not clamp down on it. She mostly though, loves her balls or anything she can chase.


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## Izzy9 (Apr 15, 2013)

I will play tug but ONLY on my terms and I always end the session before the dog is tired or does but thats the extent of rough I get with my dogs. I have 3 kids so need to take them into account when I play with my dogs


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## RocketDog (Sep 25, 2011)

Interestingly enough, Rocket will sometimes play "rough" with us in the family, and will actually put his mouth on us. He is gentle, but if really ramped up I make him stop because he will lose a bit of control the farther he gets (not in terms of becoming aggressive, just in bite. He is still young too). 

But...yesterday, my sister and her husband were here, and he is a 6'4 guy, super nice and he started playing with Rocket like that. Rocket would jump and leap and body slam, but he would.not.touch.him.with.his.teeth. I found it fascinating. And pleasing, that he differentiated that is would not be appropriate to use his teeth on someone not "in" his pack.


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## Ken Clean-Air System (Feb 27, 2012)

Other than regular games of tug I never really rough housed with Jazz when she was a puppy. She is about 17 month old now and over the last few months we have started to wrestle pretty regularly. She does mouth when we do, but is very gentle, and the game starts and stops on my terms. When it's done she calms and is back to cuddling and/or our regular games of tug, fetch, chase, etc.


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## Longfisher (Feb 28, 2013)

*Yes, I play rough with my dog...*

...BUT ONLY WITH TUGS.

My dog's in bite training. I don't want my dog to ever think that he has license to bit me or anyone else or even to be aggressive towards anyone without command.

Part of bite training is to use a tug. We started him as a puppy with just a sock stuffed full of other old socks and tied on one end. He just loved it during his landshark days and would hang on like a pit bull.

Remember, to let him win this game EVERY SINGLE TIME.

Recently, his baby teeth were being lost and we saw so much blood on the tug that we briefly discontinued its use until his baby teeth were all out. Then we use the sock tug to get him interested in biting and we switch to a tougher tug made of jute.

As his adult teeth come in he's beginning to wear that jute tug down a bit and it's softening up. So, he's really interested in it now.

But if that dog ever bites me he's immediately disciplined. I'm sure rough play with my hands and arms would elicit a bite. And, that's just setting him up for failure.

LF


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## Cheyanna (Aug 18, 2012)

My idea rough housing is different I guess. I will get on the floor and Fiona and I will wrestle a little bit. Nothing crazy, because I have to be gentle with myself. Then we will play with a toy. Fiona loves it. She does not mouth me hard or even enough to leave a mark. 


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## BellaLuna (Jan 27, 2013)

Very rarely and not while my kids are around...


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## mego (Jan 27, 2013)

I play rough with Lara sometimes but I make it rare since when she gets riled up she gets into landshark mode lol. The game ends before the tug gets boring and the skin gets more fun


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## LindyUVA (Dec 16, 2012)

Let the dog win every single time? I've heard the opposite. Reasoning behind that?

I try not to rough play anyway. But would love to end the game correctly if I do. Who "wins"?


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## Neko (Dec 13, 2012)

I do not by choice!!! lol, he picks on me!


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## Blanketback (Apr 27, 2012)

We play a game of "Steamroller" where my puppy is on the bed and rolls on his back and I roll over him (not with all my weight, lol) and he kicks his back feet up at me (not with any kind of real force) and we both have a great time. I've been practicing a version of this game with him since he was very young, trying to teach him that immobilizing him isn't something to fear - I used to call it the "Squish" game. This came in very handy when he was having anal gland issues and had to have them expressed. I held him while the vet did it, and she said she could tell he visibly relaxed when I put pressure on him. I don't play really rough with him, no growls or anything like that, but we definitely get physical.


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## Lucky Dog (Dec 1, 2012)

We have always "played" with our dogs. Mostly me. Tug of war. Blanket monster and any other way I can think of teasing him. Pull his ears, legs, tail, pull his lips up to see his teeth. Tug on his nose. He can go for a long time. When I have had enuff it just ends an he will just lay down an wait to see if your really done playing.  Spoiled dog but minds very well !! My daughter has a Husky. She doesn't play with anyone except me. She is a riot. When Ma or Pa come around she just looks at them with a grin on her face like "Hey I am being good. It's all his fault"


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## Kru Von Der Bruder II (Apr 24, 2013)

Mine is 5 months old and rough for us looks like a full on fight to others. He'll bite but knows not to use too much pressure. On rare occasions his teeth will scratch me pretty good and draw a little blood but it's i can tell he isn't using full force. It is better on me if I use welding gloves. Sometimes my 2 year old son will sneak into the action and put his little arm into Kru's jaws. Kru seems to feel like he has to humor my son with a faux bite to please him. Kru definitely knows his boundaries and knows when I want him to stop without having to say nein. I've had GSD's all my life and they were all the same way. I just figure that it's a breed trait


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## x11 (Jan 1, 2012)

hattifattener said:


> yes,we love to play rough tug game,if Odi paws me too much,i use my knees against her.
> 
> here's how it looks like.
> 
> tug of war 2 - YouTube


just saying, i was always taught to never use a tug motion that causes a distinct angle between the plane of the head and the direction of the spine in a vertical sense, hard to describe in words, i see in the vid you seemed to be doing that motion at one point snapping action on the spine/neck quiet vigorously. note you can pick a dog up from horizonatl to vertical and still not cause said angle if the head/neck and back stay relatively aligned.

the sideways back and forward is fine as the spine has its most flexibilty in that plane. i always try and have some backward movement as well while i am fighting on the tug, again so as not to compress vertabrae.

yr dog looks good and you have a good bond, not sure if i am correct but makes sense to me just considering the physics involved, happy to get others opinions on this as none of us want to see a dog injured unintentionally.


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## trcy (Mar 1, 2013)

No, I don't play rough with my dogs. They play rough with each other though. I like to play the hide things game. I let them smell something, then leave the room to hide it. They have to find it by themselves. The males are good at it. The female...not so much.


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## x11 (Jan 1, 2012)

trcy said:


> No, I don't play rough with my dogs. They play rough with each other though. I like to play the hide things game. I let them smell something, then leave the room to hide it. *They have to find it by themselves.* The males are good at it. The female...not so much.


 
thats just cruel :laugh::laugh:


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## zivagirl (Jan 5, 2013)

We tug, we roll her about to,scratch tummy. Tail tug, lips, ears, whiskers. She'll grab our hands, arms and legs. She doesn't it much pressure, but even a gentle mouthing can leave bruises.


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## hattifattener (Oct 7, 2011)

x11 said:


> just saying, i was always taught to never use a tug motion that causes a distinct angle between the plane of the head and the direction of the spine in a vertical sense, hard to describe in words, i see in the vid you seemed to be doing that motion at one point snapping action on the spine/neck quiet vigorously. note you can pick a dog up from horizonatl to vertical and still not cause said angle if the head/neck and back stay relatively aligned.
> 
> the sideways back and forward is fine as the spine has its most flexibilty in that plane. i always try and have some backward movement as well while i am fighting on the tug, again so as not to compress vertabrae.
> 
> yr dog looks good and you have a good bond, not sure if i am correct but makes sense to me just considering the physics involved, happy to get others opinions on this as none of us want to see a dog injured unintentionally.


thank you for warning,i certainly do not want to cause any harm to her.
did it happen @ 0:50 of that video?


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## KZoppa (Aug 14, 2010)

We play rough sometimes. Not often though. Shasta will play rough with Geramy because he doesn't really offer her much choice lol. She's all for playing though when we allow her into the game. She and I will play but the second she gets a little snappy with those monster teeth of hers, the game ends for a while. She's a love nibbler but she's not really soft about it so we're working on reminding her that teeth on skin is not okay. She's pretty good about it in general. She's not real into toys so that doesn't leave much else to play with.


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## jourdan (Jul 30, 2012)

We play rough with his dummy and I mean really rough like he was out playing with another dog rough. Avery knows when I say Aus that he must stop. I love it and I know he loves it, I can see the bond that has formed playing this way. But we only play like this once in a while and when I start the game only. 


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## pkd (Dec 20, 2012)

Mostly no, but I keep debating where the line is. I'm 5'1" and about 115 lbs. I have 25+ years experience with horses, and am very aware of the importance of personal boundaries with large animals. I will sit on the floor with Samson and rub his belly while he rolls around, but I don't wrestle with him. I'm debating how much tugging to do with him. We just started competition obedience classes where the instructor wants us to tug on breaks to keep the dogs motivated. Samson is not too rough, though he did catch my finger by accident last night. GSD teeth hurt! I think I am going to spend some time working on "take it," "drop it," and "quit" with the tug toy just to be safe.


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## Bridget (Apr 5, 2004)

No. If I played rough with Heidi, I am pretty sure she would think she was the dominant one and show me so. Not a good idea with her I think.


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## Anthony8858 (Sep 18, 2011)

I play very rough with my dog. She'll get into a playbow, I'll get on the floor, and "bite her" here and there with a "claw hand". 
She loves the game, mouths my hand, but never bites. She plays completely open mouthed.
I'll put my "claw hand" on the floor and bite her legs, or claw her neck.
The game usually ends when gets the zoomies, and runs uncontrollably around the room


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## JLW1654 (May 7, 2013)

at times i do, i play tug o war with him occasionally letting him win.. we wrestle and i smack him around a little "nothing to make him flinch at" allowing him to bite me pretty hard when he gets the chance.. he knows the difference between attacking and fending me off for play.. once i say "nuff" or enough his attitude completely 360's and goes back to being mr sweets...
Also he plays pretty rough with our other dog which is a pretty even match.. i allow them to only because as soon as i ask them to stop.. they immediately cease and wait for whats next.


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## Lauri & The Gang (Jun 28, 2001)

I play "Whack-A-Moo" with 'Moo' being Mauser (that's his nickname).

I use empty paper towel tubes and hit him on the head and body.

He LOVES it!! His goal is to get the tube from me while I'm whacking him. Sometimes the Cresteds will get into the game but they get gentle 'whacks' because they are smaller and more sensitive. Mauser gets whacks as hard as I can (with the paper tube - that it's very painful).

Mauser also loves to play tug and will release when told. We usually let him win since we don't want our arms torn out.  When we decide we've had enough we simply tell him No More and he takes the toy and goes away.


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## David Taggart (Nov 25, 2012)

> If I played rough with Heidi, I am pretty sure she would think she was the dominant one and show me so. Not a good idea with her I think.


Absolutely. Playing rough you put yourself on the same level with your dog. Do you want to be her master? The master is a beloved king, the king doesn't roll on the floor with his loving vassals! You dog might refuse to understand your commands.


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## JackandMattie (Feb 4, 2013)

Always have, and always will. If I didn't want a dog I could roughhouse with, I'd save myself an awful lot of money buying big dog food, and get a dog I had to worry about stepping on and breaking instead...never gonna happen, lol!


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## Walperstyle (Nov 20, 2012)

Our guy gets in his 'a-hole' mode when he is bored and comes over and nips at our feet. Basically what this means is he wants to do something.

I usually wrestle with him for about 15 minutes or so, protecting my eyes and stuff more from his nails instead of his teeth. He does sometimes bite my head, but its not hard at all.

I can tell he is playing by his tail wagging, and the fact I still have my hands afterward. 

After our play session, he calms down and gets rewarded for the calm behavior, then takes a nap again. He's 10 months old. A handful to play with, but still fun.


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