Play tug-of-war with your dog

How to play

The rule is basically you pull on a toy : you are on one side, your dog on the other. At times, you are the strongest ; at others, you dog is.

Two dogs may also play together.

Generally, the most practical toys to play with are those that dogs can easily grab in their mouth, and, that humans can hold in hand with no difficulties. It can be a rope, a tick, a soft toy, hollow-shaped ones. The ideal is that the size enable each play mate to grab it and play with no injury.

It is physically beneficial

Before you play tug-of-war with your dog, if you have any doubts about his/her body, I recommend seeing a veterinarian in order to avoir injuries (muscles, tendons amongst other).

Position of the body

It is essential for your dog that his/her body is as much straight as possible. That allows him/her to grab the toy better, to hold it better, and above all, prevents him/her from being injured while playing.

Muscle strengthening

Playing tug-of-war uses more muscles that just the ones of your dog’s jaw. Just as you grow your abdominals among others through that activity, your dog strenghtens various muscles. Thus that activity can be beneficial for the dogs who need to remain muscled without having the possibility to practice great physical efforts (convalescence, age).

It is beneficial for learning

To practice that game with serenity and pleasure, your dog learns different behaviors : to take in his/her mouth, to keep in his/her mouth, to pull with his/her body while holding an object in his/her mouth, to open his/her mouth and let it go, which means at least four behaviors with his/her body.

If you generalize these learning, you can train him, for examples: to take a toy in his mouth so that he let off steam on it instead of pinching you, to hold one of your bags in his mouth while you open your door, to pull on a rope to open a door if he wants to urinate in the garden, to open his mouth and drop one of his toys into a bin to put it away.

Reinforcer

For dogs that tends to easily take elements in their mouth, to pull on them, the tug-of-war game turns out to be then a very useful reinforcer (= an element you add after he has made a behavior you want to see again).

It allows you to offer a different reinforcer to your dog : both playful and in the interaction.

It is beneficial for regulating emotions

By training him/her to practice tug-of-war in a structured way, by training him/her to be patient and to chill out, by allowing him/her to let his/her emotions off on the toy through your "resistance", your guidance through this game will enable him to regulate his emotions more easily.

If s/he happens to be more excited, s/he may still have some of what s/he feels to let off (excitement, frustration, etc).

When you induce breaks during the game, you also invite him/her to manage his/her emotional fluctuations before it is the last straw.

Does that teach to bite ?

Your dog has teeth. Your dog has a jaw. Your dog has neither hook, nor nippers, nor hand. Taking in his/her mouth is one way to communicate, as much as to hold elements.

Your dog is likely to bite just because s/he is a dog with teeth.

If you feel your dog takes more in his/her mouth or squeezes more after introducing that game, s/he may lack some skills to play soundly and serenely. Your dog may also be actually guarding a resource instead of playing.

In case of doubts, ask for a professional to show you in the learning of this game.

I also recommend noting the various steps your dog needs, to train them individually, then to combine them to play with pleasure.