‘Tug of war’ and ‘wrestling’ are unsuitable ‘games’ to play with dogs. While such activities can be great fun initially, they can become unpleasant if the dog gets overexcited and aims to dominate and win the ‘match’.
You must stop encouraging ‘play wrestling’, and ignore the dog if he tries to engage you in it. Wait until he’s calm, then play a more suitable game with him. When he realizes that ‘good games’ are more rewarding than ‘bad games’, he will refrain from the latter.
1 response so far ↓
1 Chris // Jan 6, 2008 at 8:51 pm
Play wrestling is a bad idea. This is one way littermates and other members of the pack sort out who’s “top dog” without out fighting - they find out who is stronger mentally and physically.
Teach your dog basic obedience exercises. Teach your dog tricks and useful tasks. Teach your dog fetch. Dogs like to have a job and be useful. Dogs prefer to have a leader whom they respect. Leaving the decision making to a dog creates conflict.
Tug should only be played with a trained dog and with rules - the toy is yours and you must be in charge of the beginning and end of the game. If you must play tug, learn from a knowledge trainer.
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