Ideas for tug of war toys/items

[rockman]

I am looking for ideas for items to use for dogs to use play tug of war. I have two younger males that love to play tug of war with one another. I have used rope bones, old t-shirts, big pieces of fabric scraps, and nothing lasts without getting ripped to shreds in no time at all. I realize that any one item has to be safe for the dogs to pull on. Or am what I am using about it, as long as I have a supply of stuff to let them play with.

[leechlake]

I'm envisioning a rooster falling dead from the sky and your two dogs going after it and once they both get a hold of it you have a ripped apart rooster. Maybe your training them for something else?

In that case I'd find a dual handle rubber thing or find out what they reward drug sniffers with. I believe those dogs reward is a little tug of war with the handler.

[rockman]

Nope, not training them right now. They both think it's fun to pull each other around. One's a GSP, the other is a Springer. I did have a cheaper rubber pull toy for them at one time. That didn't last real long, either. Halved rooster. Yikes. I didn't want to think about that quite yet.

[charliepete]

Bad idea with a hunting dog. You are only encouraging hard mouth and dominant posturing.

[nofishfisherman]

I agree. If you plan to hunt them I wouldn't encourage tug of war. Only exception for me was when my dog was young and teething. A little tug of war helped loosen up a few teeth that didn't seem to want to fall out on their own. The new teeth were already in but they just pushed the baby teeth off to the side. We started doing a little tug of war with him and it helped work those last few teeth out.

[rockman]

I was wondering how long it was going to be for the replies telling me that letting my dogs play like that is a bad idea. I see it didn't take that long. Thanks-NOT! for answering my question. These are not the first male hunting dogs I've owned, so I'm not concerned about hardmouthing, and 'establishment of dominance' from a bit of play. Non issue(s) for me.

[leechlake]

ok. Hear you. I'd get some bungy chords (maybe 3-4 and twist them together) and duct tape 3-4 socks to each end. That should give them some play that may lessen any trauma or tooth or jaw injury. I'm thinking a mini version of a bungy chord that people use in jumping off of bridges.

A buddy of mine likes to see how high his dog can jump. He has fun with it. I don't like his dog jumping on me which the dog does all the time because he plays this game a lot. I just knee him down. Not my cup of tea but above may be a suggestion for your dogs so they can play tug of war. I realize it can be frustrating when we go off of poster's requests. Mostly people trying to be helpful and yes sometimes we don't answer the original question.

[rockman]

leechlake, my reply was not directed at your post. I do understand folks are 'just trying to help'. If I wanted advice on hardmouthing, I'd ask for it, or find a previous thread on it, and read, instead of post. Simple. To each his own as far as how dog owners let their dogs play. I have already dealt with one dog that hardmouthed birds. And it wasn't caused by tug of war playing. Training took care of that issue. Thanks for the idea on the bungy cords, by the way.

[Todd Caswell]

Not much help here either, I don't do or allow tug of war,will it create a problem? Maybe, maybe not but the best way to prevent a potential problem is to never let it start, or allow behaviors that may lead to problems.

But I will say that ANYTHING that has string or cloth is out for sure for any extra curricular activity , too many times bits and pieces are swallowed, and has the potential for an obstruction. I personally know of 4 different dogs that have had rope toys and tee-shirt toys cut out of there guts. Costly and a waste of time..

[rockman]

Alright, I give up. Yep, you're right, your not helping me out. Everyone else is an 'expert', I guess. That's why it isn't worth the time to ask anything here. My dogs have not had the problems those other dogs you mentioned have had, so I could care less. I actually keep an eye on my dogs as they play, and those items mentioned do not go outside with them where I can't see them. Just sayin'. I'm done here.

[Todd Caswell]

Wow

You see when you ask a question on a public forumn it goes from personal to public and that very question not only deals with you but everyone that reads it whether they respond or not. After I read your question and your first responce I wasn't worried about you, I already knew that you had never had a problem assoc. with tug games ( and if you did you would know how to fix it) or had had a $1500 vet bill due to an avoidable abstruction. But for the new guy reading this with his first puppy I can't say I would want him thinking tug games are a good thing, sorry if it wasn't the answer you were looking for..