Tug-Of-War

[rockytide]

I have a question to post....Our 2-month-old puppy, Abbey, loves to play tug-of-war with her "Ropey" toy (it's a large twisted rope with two knoted ends). She just loves to pull and shake the thing. She loves to play with our son, who is 14-year-old with tug-of-war. Is this a behavior we should try to stop, the Tug-Of-War thing, or should we just continue with her having fun? Any thoughts on this would be appreciated....

Thanks a bunch.
Abbey's Mom

 

[lafsalot]

I'll probably get the "wet noodle" from a lot of the trainers on the list, but I've always played tug of war with my furbabies. They've all been trained to release on command, so it has never really been an issue with us. - Cathy

 

[rockytide]

Thanks Cathy. If she plays too hard we stop and she lets go. So I guess it is OK to play along with her. I am just hoping we are not letting her know it's a dominance thing and she wins.

Abbey's Mom

 

[myrocky]

Tug of war has been discussed many times on the forum. If you use the search engine you should be able to find loads of threads on the topic.

 

[Jan]

Playing tug is fine as long as they play by the rules. They are not allowed to snatch at the tug toys and they must drop it when they are told to.

 

[brwneyesk8]

The only concern I would have would be the amount of tug-of-war and her age. She's still growing.....and a lot of tugging could damage her jaw...I would think. Ask your vet about when it's ok to start tug-of-war games or if there should be a time limit dependent on her age. Think of kids growing up that suck their thumbs. It does some major changes to the way their facial bones grow and they can end up with an overbite that can only be fixed with dental work/braces/retainers.

 

[rockytide]

Thanks for your concern. She does not pull too hard, and if she does we let the rope go so she isn't pulling out her little teeth. She also plays with our other dog who is a 95+ pound Lab and he is very gentle with her. He is a gentleman and does not pull hard at all, he actually pulls harder with us then with Abbey.

Thanks for all your help and advice.

Abbey's Mom