Should I play tug of war with my boxer?

[BoxerMomKris]

My mom was telling me that I shouldn't do this because of how it becomes a struggle of dominance, and so I looked up a video about it on Cesar's website (Tug of War with Your Dog | Cesar Millan) and I think what I understand is that it's okay to play this game as long as you can win and that your leadership is well in place. So, I should NOT do this when I first bring him home, right? How long do you think it normally takes for your dominance to be well in place? 6 months? Longer?

 

[rrboxer]

I play tug of war with both my boxers but I didn't do this when they were really young. Because they had soft puppy teeth I was so afraid they would get their little sharp teeth stuck in the rope or accidentally pulled out etc. (I know paranoid I am).

After they had their 2nd obedience class and they learned "give" command, then I started to play tug of war. However, I don't get up riled up or out of control when we play "tug of war" and I don't let them jump on me when we play, if they put their paws on me game ends. We play, I allow them to sometimes take the rope and sometimes I win but when I end the game I always make sure I end up with the toy. We move on to something else.

 

[AmISarge]

Rusty plays tug of war with his Kong leash...he wants "to lead" and I let him, because I know where he wants to go, and it's where I want to go...he gives it up when he gets in the car or in the house. When he goes to the Vet, he is on his best manners and doesn't play tug of war with it.

 

[Gatorblu]

We have always played tug-of-war with our dogs and have never had a problem. Sometimes they win, sometimes they don't. If they tug too hard or start getting too rough we give the "drop it" command. As long as you keep control of the situation it is fine. Set your limits, and be consistent with them and you will not have an issue.

 

[CoraBoxer]

I think you just need to use common sense. You will be able to tell if the dog is playing with you or being aggressive over the toy. Still not a reason to end the game for good, but something to work on. Dogs don't need a tug toy to develop issues with dominance/aggression. They can kill stuffed toys and balls no problem. If anything you can use the game to teach the dog good behaviors. I can't imagine not playing tug with mine. They love it! And no you don't have to win every time. For the most part its a draw, but I get the most enjoyment from letting go when their heads go side to side and watching them trot around with pride and the tug in their mouth - they always come back with the tug for more. We use and I love the rope tug with giant knot in the middle. If I could only get them to play tug together! They refuse to grab anything the other is playing with

 

[BoxerMomKris]

Thank you, everyone! I've grown up with dogs and always played tug of war with them, so I was confused when I watched that video, because I never felt like I was giving the dog a bad attitude if I let him win. I know that it isn't a good thing to assign dogs human traits, but at the same time I'm starting to think that a lot of people over-think the dominance issue and end up missing the very real love and friendship and playfulness that a family dog can offer. Some of the articles that I've been reading make it sound like the owner has "dominance training" on the mind ALL the time, approaching every single thing throughout the day with the fear that their dog might suddenly challenge them for dominance. My dogs have always listened to us, and all we ever needed was obedience training, an air of authority, and lots of love. It was something unconscious that rarely crossed my mind.

I guess that, after all this time, I was afraid that I was doing the wrong thing all along. It's funny how this feels like I'm owning a dog for the first time in my life when that's not the case! Maybe it's because I've owned shepherd and lab mixes all my life, so a purebred boxer feels new to me.

 

[brodieboxer]

I don't play tug with Dempsey, b/c he gets aggressive, biting at the rope, and sometimes ends up biting my hand accidentally. We play fetch instead. He's required to drop it after he brings it to me and back up several steps while I pick up the rope. If he lunges toward the rope while I'm picking it up - game's over. I value my hands/fingers - ! He still has fun doing it this way.

Now...he and my little westie mix play tug! It's quite a sight to see all 60 pounds of him playing tug with 13 pound Maddie! Believe it or not, they both thrash it around and win equally!

 

[whiskers]

Take everything Cesar says with a grain of salt. His basic philosophy of providing ample exercise and paying attention to your own energy is sound - but most of the things he talks about beyond that, I'd hardly pay attention to.

I play tug with Juno ALL the time. In fact, when we are training, especially in very distracting environments, it is my go-to reward for her. She thinks a game of tug is pretty much the coolest thing ever and she will work very hard for it, and focus 100% on me if she thinks there's a possibility I'm going to whip out a tug toy.

One of my favorite things about Juno's tug drive is that, when I was interested in agility, it would turn her ON in a split second like nothing else could. She'd go from 0 to 60 once that tug was presented - which is the kind of thing you want to harness and build on for agility!

Honestly she has a horrible "drop" command too. Usually I have to grab her collar to get her back to earth and then she'll drop it, or I just have to grab her jaw and open her mouth! I don't care. And sometimes she accidentally grabs my hand instead of the toy. But the key word is accident. It happens. And yep - the vast majority of the time she "wins" because her little jaw is way stronger than I am. She doesn't take over the world afterwards though.... she just shoves the toy back in my lap like "what gives!? I wasn't done!!"

Seriously - have fun with your dog, if you both want to play tug, then have at it!

 

[Nicos mom]

Glad for all the tuggers!

We play tug all the time with Nico, too. It's fetch and then we have to tug to get the rubber ball out of his mouth, , but he doesn't ever growl or get aggressive. He just holds on for dear life and usually it's a draw or he wins. Like others have said, just pay attention to how your dog behaves when playing tug, that's all. We have other more proper tug toys, too. Nico lives for tug, so I can't imagine not playing it with him.

 

[HugoStiglitz]

Hugo seems to do very well with my "drop it" commands even during a game of tug... He'll stop ripping side to side and loosen his grip on the rope... I'll tell him to drop again and he lets go.