Comments on: The Benefits of Playing Tug With Your Dog

By: Deb

Deb — Thu, 09 Jan 2020 22:50:19 +0000

I’d love to, but have never been able to play tug with my vizsla. He is ultra excited and sets his feet, pulling and pulling, he won’t drop. He’s very strong and it hurts my arms and shoulders to play with him. When he tears it out of my hand he starts tearing it to pieces, so I can’t even let him win. Any ideas how to manage this?

By: Junior

Junior — Wed, 04 Sep 2019 15:20:56 +0000

I love a good game of tug and so does Jasper. We play it during the day when we can and as a reward for walking nicely on walks from point A to point B.

It’s great for positive reinforcement and because it stimulates his drive better I get a lot quicker results when I ask him to sit or lie down, he’s straight down!

Great for using as a lure as well!

Great post!!

By: Olivia Torres

Olivia Torres — Fri, 19 Apr 2019 18:47:01 +0000

My kids love to play tug of war with out little puppers. I was wondering if there is a rope that is kid friendly (not rough) but is also pet friendly.

By: w. ally

w. ally — Wed, 16 Jan 2019 23:57:12 +0000

Every dog is different. My friend just adopted a dog that loves to play tug but will not retrieve or even chase. Like with people, some of the differences between dogs have to do with past experiences and some with just inner “chemistry” (genes; how we are ‘wired’; even past or present nutritional inputs/deficiencies).

By: Jen Gabbard

Jen Gabbard — Mon, 04 Jun 2018 20:35:35 +0000

In reply to Linda Brown. Usually tug with Laika last for about 5 minutes. If your dog isn't in great shape you can do a couple of shorter games throughout the day. And if your games aren't very intense you can always play for longer.

By: Linda Brown

Linda Brown — Mon, 04 Jun 2018 16:55:45 +0000

how long should a game of tug last?

By: Jen Gabbard

Jen Gabbard — Mon, 17 Jul 2017 00:30:21 +0000

In reply to Clara. Is she interested in chasing things at all? If so you could toss it as if you were going to play fetch to get her used to it. (you could also drag it along the floor to see if it'll get her interest and praise her if she starts chasing it) You could also try teaching her to play with a different toy; my dog goes bonkers for baby blankets and is generally more interested in tugging with those than rope toys.

By: Clara

Clara — Sun, 16 Jul 2017 22:44:03 +0000

Hello! Just got a 5 month old old dog from a rescue place. She is submissive and won’t play tug of war. She wont grab it. Ideas about how can we help her grab it? We think it would be so good for confidence. Great article! Thank you!

By: Jan K, Wag N Woof Pets

Jan K, Wag N Woof Pets — Tue, 02 Sep 2014 23:47:00 +0000

Great post….I’m so glad to finally get the full true story on this subject! We have stilled played tug with Luke, but I wasn’t 100% sure if we should or not….thanks for clearing it up!

By: Jen Gabbard

Jen Gabbard — Sun, 31 Aug 2014 03:40:00 +0000

In reply to Jen: DOGthusiast&StylishCanine. Thanks so much. It's definitely a game we play constantly around here; Laika never seems to tire of it and that's perfectly fine by me. It's such an easy and convenient way for her to get some meaningful activity in.