Stimulating Playtime Ideas...

[LuvMyPuppy]

Oh & just a note, my DH used to play a game (he thought was cute) where he would go to touch Charlie's nose and Charlie would try to get his finger....well, when someone is scared of dogs we notice they go to touch him with one finger & guess what he does...mmmhhmmm, terrifying if you don't know that he is just playing. Exactly what happened today, my DH sister is afraid fo dogs & of course we we're like 'don't worry he doesn't bite EVER"...and he thought she was playing & tried to get her finger. I gave my DH the look like SEEE THAT's WHY! So now my DH understands and is going to play by my rules. I feel like i am training him too sometimes, & other times I feel like I am being the Super Nanny or something HA!

 

[sydsMom]

my boyfriend play wrestles with sydney too =( Of course, this has taught sydney that anyone who is sitting on the floor with her is subject to being jumped on and pushed around. She's knocked my mom over a few times, . He also likes to get under a blanket and get wrestle with her, now everytime i get under the covers she thinks its play time =/ Im still trying to train him not to play wrestle with her too =D.

ill either play tug of war with her, or go outside and roll a ball or throw a frisbie around. when we play with the frisbie we try not to make her jump after it too much cause she's not very coordinated right now and has a tendancy of crashing onto the floor instead of landing on her feet, heh.

We used to roll the ball around in the house to tire her out, but after she ran full steam into the coffee table chasing the ball and broke one of her toes, we decided that was no longer a good idea, heh.

 

[knjsBailey]

A point on the tug-of-war if I may. Even though it is fun for you your puppy sees it as competition. If they gets it away from you, they beat you. They just moved up a notch in their mind about who is the top dog. In the wild when one dog is able to pull from anothers mouth the "winning" dog knows he is superior to the losing dog. So even though it is fun it should not be played until the dog is older, 10-12 months, and fully understands you are the alpha dog. Just an opinion I have read in many behavior books and to me makes 100% sense.

 

[ladyluck_t]

Our trainer told us the opposite. She said that tug does not create an agression problem it shows you whether or not it exists. She said that tug is a very important game in order to build a dog's self confidence. We play tug with Trixie all the time (one of her favs) and we see no negative results come out of it.

Tug-of-war is just tug-of-war. There has been loads of research into this and the generally accepted belief among trainers and behavoirists is that tug/pull games do not instigate aggression. It is just a fun game for the dogs. But the big thing here is that you initiate the game and end the game. as with any other game. If the dog brings you a toy, ask for a sit first, then play. This builds the leadership role.

I also don't think play biting should be allowed. The way I learned it was that biting should be discouraged because otherwise when they get bigger they'll still bite but since they'll be stronger it'll hurt. Plus what you consider "play biting" others (like guests) may see as Real biting. Just my two cents...

Also, loads of research into the biting. It is believed that as puppies you should allow the bites and yelp/withdraw attention when it happens. This teaches the dog bite-inhibition. A dog that is never allowed to bite, doesn't learn his/her own strength with a bite. Therefore when they feel they must administer a "warning" bite for some reason, it is more likely to cause serious damage. Where as a dog that was taught to "soften" the bite will learn that people are extremely delicate and when a "warning" bite occurs they will know how much "force" to administer.
With my new puppy, we yelp the minute the teeth touch us. if the pup does it a second time, we yelp and withdraw from the pup. This teaches the pup both bite inhibition and not to touch people with teeth. But unless we allow the pup to first touch us with teeth, he will not know that the smallest amount of pressure is "hurtful". This is why puppy teeth are so sharp and why it is important to leave the puppy with it's litter mates until 8-9 weeks of age.

My two cents! :D

 

[ldyjulia]

Also, loads of research into the biting. It is believed that as puppies you should allow the bites and yelp/withdraw attention when it happens. This teaches the dog bite-inhibition. A dog that is never allowed to bite, doesn't learn his/her own strength with a bite. Therefore when they feel they must administer a "warning" bite for some reason, it is more likely to cause serious damage. Where as a dog that was taught to "soften" the bite will learn that people are extremely delicate and when a "warning" bite occurs they will know how much "force" to administer.

I see your point here and I agree. Whenever Trixie would try to chew on us we'd do the same thing (yelp and turn away if she persisted). That is what I meant but ladyluck_t said it much better. Thanks for clarifying that.