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Post by RealPitBull on Sept 10, 2008 12:02:58 GMT -5
We've had some discussion on playing tug of war with our dogs, and I thought I'd let everyone know that The Whole Dog Journal has a nice pro-tug article in the newest issue. This mag is great regardless, but if you just want to view the article, you can purchase it on their website. www.wholedog-journal.com
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Post by maryellen on Sept 10, 2008 12:59:20 GMT -5
i play tug with ruby, she is the only one that will play .. we work on the OUT command and her basic obedience too when playing. i enjoy it, she enjoys it and i dont see anything wrong with it.
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Post by RealPitBull on Sept 10, 2008 13:18:10 GMT -5
I wish Luca would get more into tug. He'll be real excited about it for maybe a couple minutes, then he gets bored. With all his energy, it would be a good release for him, but nooooope, that would be too easy.
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Post by maryellen on Sept 10, 2008 14:39:58 GMT -5
rufus and jesse will tug for a few minutes, but then stop.. doing tug exerts energy and that is against rufus's rules...
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Post by RealPitBull on Sept 10, 2008 15:27:11 GMT -5
LOL Silly Rufus!
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Post by maryellen on Sept 10, 2008 15:59:31 GMT -5
yeah, he is such a slug.. his idea of exercise is 20 minutes of running and playing then 4 hours of naptime after..
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Post by mcgregor on Sept 10, 2008 20:15:50 GMT -5
Pitbulls need to burn a lot of energy... there fore getting them tired is a luxury, it calms them down......never allow the pit to start a tug, always play when you the owner wants to ... never let the dog lead you out to play...
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Post by maryellen on Sept 11, 2008 8:15:16 GMT -5
mcgregor, why do you feel that way about that? i see no problem with my dogs if they go get their tug toy and bring it to me to play, or if i start the game. half the time i will tell them to "go get your wubba" and when they do, they get praise and we start playing tug.. when the game is over i put the toy away... no problems here..
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Post by hammer4 on Sept 11, 2008 19:07:27 GMT -5
rufus and jesse will tug for a few minutes, but then stop.. doing tug exerts energy and that is against rufus's rules... I think Rufus and Chance have alot in common.. ;D
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Post by mcgregor on Sept 11, 2008 21:29:57 GMT -5
Mary Ellen ..
for example : pitbulls always want to play but always on their terms..... and initially they will never back off to give you free time... they need to know when it is TIME to play .....but seriouisly ;playing tug of war is not really a good idea as it gets the dog too excited... Eventually I do play tug with my yogi when I have the time to do so..... I really enjoy the excercise for the both of us but bonehead grabs the tug rope from one end reaching up to my hand and that is a scary sneaky thing.... one time a year ago , he did just that reached up to my end and clamped down on my hand, would not let go for a few moments,,,, in the excitement of the game , he did not know what he was doing.... took me a while to get his mouth off my hands, scary indeed and as you know in the excitement of any game ,pits will be unpredictable , its not that I feel its not proper , its what the experts are saying about tug that adheres to my beliefs.....
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Post by maryellen on Sept 12, 2008 7:23:02 GMT -5
wow.. i am so sorry that you are listening to the "experts".. pits are NOT unpredictable when properly bred, same as other breeds...
i use tug as an energy outlet, AND to teach control and commands as well.. i have never had a problem with all the pits i had in my house (foster dogs) with playing tug, yes some get excited, its the prey drive coming out since the toy on the end of the rope is moving, and some dont.. please do not listen to the "experts" , as you are getting the wrong wrong information.
any dog will want to play on its own terms, including other breeds.. i have never had a dog not back off to give me free time, and i have had countless dogs here over the past 7 years. when incorporating obedience work with play you can build a great bond with the dog, and teach the dog about control, etc..
my gsd loves to play tug as well, and she has gotten excited a few times and missed the tug and got my hand, but it wasnt in a malicious way, and as soon as she realized she hit skin she let go.. i learned to keep my hand higher LOL and also taught her control and worked on basic obedience skills and she never did that again. my 2 pit bulls too play tug, one is super excited with the game, the other after 20 minutes is done, the excited one we work on the out command, sit, down, wait, etc which helps to teach her control and how to play the right way.
if your dog gets THAT riled up with tug, then dont play it until you have his skills for being under control worked on, i have found that most dogs that need some work on their obedience skills and proper manners are the ones that get really worked up, along with high energy /high prey drive dogs as well..
not all dogs are the same and you just have to treat each one as an individual. as for a dog grabbing your hand and not realizing it after a second and then not letting go for a few moments sounds like a dog that has some issues with bite inhibition with humans..
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Post by mcgregor on Sept 12, 2008 9:21:25 GMT -5
Mary Ellen ... Pitbulls are wonderful dogs and no matter how well behaved they are , they still have to be watched......my pitbull is not a biter as i said he clamped on my hand a long while ago when he was 1 year old ; I trained him not to.., he is now three... he grew up lacking the bad genes and when you bring home a pitbull not knowing its history or a 2 month old pup.. its unpredictable because of how they are bred... if your dogs are fine , its because they dont have the bad genes ... but then again weve have powerful dogs and as responsible pitbull owners , we are be very careful .. Even though they are great around children we still need to supervise them............ My yogi the pitbull does have his skills contained , he is well trained but a dog is a dog is a dog and any dog no matter how well trained; his initial natural instincts will take over.. for example: chasing a cat and killing it , any dog will succumb to his natural instincts no matter how well behaved or trained, You can train the dog not to chase a cat but not make the problem disappear, you can only control the dogs behavior..but as I mentioned ... tug is not a good idea for the most part.... Seriously most dog experts are not what they are but if you look at it in a psychological way, that excitement and pitbulls dont go hand in hand......yes pitbulls are like all dogs but the only difference is that they are the most powerful of all canines
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Post by maryellen on Sept 12, 2008 9:33:16 GMT -5
one of my pit bulls that i brought home as a 2 month old pup was from a rescue group. father of dog unknown. i have been doing therapy work with him for 4 1/2 years now, so his genetics was right on.. all 3 of my dogs have killed wild small critters, and would kill a cat if one came into my fenced in yard. yes its a dog thing. if excitement and pit bulls dont go hand in hand then you should tell all the agility people, flyball, frisbee, folks to take their pit bulls out of competitions. dogs are only unpredictable if owners ignore the warning signs.. there is no such thing as an unpredictable dog, they ALL give warning signs , even small warning signs. my gsd who is highly DA gives the smallest warning sign, she opens and closes her mouth ever so slightly. thats the only sign she gives. a new owner would miss that.. and think she gives no warning, but she does. i would suggest reading www.pbrc.net as they are a wealth of info on the breed, along with www.realpitbull.com , www.badrap.org , www.outofthepits.org and www.animalfarmfoundation.org as they all have excellent info on the breed .
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Post by mcgregor on Sept 12, 2008 9:52:41 GMT -5
Mary Ellen .....forgot to mention this excerpt from your message:
"wow.. i am so sorry that you are listening to the "experts".. pits are NOT unpredictable when properly bred, same as other breeds
True fact but remember there are untold thousands of backyard breeders trying to bred violence or muscle traits or what ever in the pitbull breed and when someone gets a newly acquired pitbull, puppy or adult, its not known where they come from and that makes the dog unpredictable, there are thousands of pitbulls in the shelters, some being adopted without known history is unpredictable... my Yogi was found on the road by a friend at the age of two and was given to me... wonderful pup but ugh! horrible hyperactive little thing ..lol but I trained him out of it all as he grew up , no more wrecked things , no more chewed stuff in the house , no more poop, so housebroken, he loves all my pets including my cat and little moppet dog , was also friendly to my neighbors cats...very wonderful adult dog now at the age of three "BUT" I moved to a new address... been here 6 months now , just a month ago my pitbull heard some commotion outside in my fenced yard, I opened the door to see what was there , two stray cats were fighting in my yard, yogi ran out, caught the cat and killed it.... see what I mean....... no matter how wonderful and docile a pitbull may be , it can be unpredictable and no matter how well a responsible pitperson is to his dog , no one is perfect when nature is beholden......
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Post by mcgregor on Sept 12, 2008 10:06:28 GMT -5
thanks for the information on all those organizations but I have read them all in the past and they are great...... since getting my first pitbull yogi three years ag as a pup , I have acquired a great amount of info on the pitbull and still looking for more and more...... I believe that owning a pitbull should always be a learning experience for the bred, anyone who gets a pitbull without knowledge of the bred is heading for disaster, so that is the reason why pits can be unpredictable, more so without the proper knowledge of caring for them......I fear for the future of the pitbull bred; unless public ignorance becomes nile they will become extince
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Post by maryellen on Sept 12, 2008 10:39:36 GMT -5
any dog will kill a cat, its not unpredictable, its called prey drive.. if you tell people that the breed is unpredictable you are putting a nail in its already open coffin... just like tellng folks that tug is bad , its not ..
and any dog with no training is going to wreck a house and act like an ass, they dont come premade in a can , which is why there are tons of all breeds in shelters, people think dogs should come premade to behave and read our minds..
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Post by mcgregor on Sept 12, 2008 12:39:26 GMT -5
OUOTE you ...'any dog will kill a cat, its not unpredictable' ..............
of course that is true but you really dont get my point.. and its also true that saying a pit is unpredicatable is like putting a nail in its already open coffin but thats the way it is and I just only gave you certain facts besides its my opinion... my actual point is stressing unpredictable ;is because we need to watch them with more supervision...would you leave a pitbull or any dog bred alone in a room with a toddler while you went into another room alone for a few seconds, no matter how good you think your dog is, many people do that to disastrous climations and the poor dog is either discarded or euthanized, its always the irresponsible owners fault not the dog because we overlook un predictable behavior in both the dog and the owner.....Would you marry someone knowing your partner is heavenly sent ,honest to goodness a good and caring person and then in the unforseeable future , he becomes abusive and hard to live with... that is an example of unpredictable behavior, bad genes or not.... I dont rely on dog experts knowledge , most of the time I use better judgement.... Cesar Milano is great but I dont entirely agree on some of his methods ...You tell me not to listen to the experts but give me one good reason why I should listen to your advice...see they are my opinions besides I did not say tug was a bad idea , I said that one must not allow the dog to lead while playing, do not allow the dog to win ....on a game like this , you show the dog that you are the alpha........ you are putting my words out of context....
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Post by maryellen on Sept 12, 2008 14:24:59 GMT -5
ok i wrote a whole thing and the dam computer here crashed at work. let me try it again.
i dont mind my dogs getting their toys for me to play with, i also have my gsd trained to open certain doors, retrieve certain things for me as well..it depends on the dogs personality.
i dont believe in telling the jq public that pit bulls are unpredictable as that just turns up the media hype in a bad way. instead of telling the public pit bulls are unpredictable with cats, or kids, or not to leave them alone unattended re word it to something softer, as the media /JQ public will only pick up on the bad word Unpredictable and nothing else.
my dogs are allowed to get the tug and flirt pole toy when we play.
i am not putting your words out of context.
if i told everyone my gsd was HA they would think that all Gsds are... instead, i can re word it to say " my gsd is typical of her breed and aloof with strangers, so if she ignores you thats normal as she only likes family members". see, i changed the wording to soften it a bit to not make her look that bad in the JQ publics eye..
i would never leave any dog of any breed in a room with a child of any age. its common sense to not do that, which some folks lack..
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Post by mcgregor on Sept 12, 2008 16:24:04 GMT -5
I never intend nor have I ever said to the public that pitbulls are unpredictable, only to those on the boards who truly acknowledge the pitbull as a wonderful companion... yes it is the wrong word ;realistically yes you are correct and I just learned something new, lol.... but seriously they can be unpredictable and that is why we have to supervise them ..... yes changing harsh words will help a big deal , I hated what Sarah Palin said; pitbulls and lipstick, only stirs the pot more on the ignorant side of the public...oh well I learned something new in what not to say and I wont use the U again ...... thanks for setting me straight, I would hate to be the harmonger of bad tidings for our wonderful breed..
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Post by maryellen on Sept 12, 2008 19:38:41 GMT -5
i know you never intended it, it happens to all of us.. its great to be able to learn as we go, its what i love, we can never stop learning..
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