June 24, 2011
Should I wear gloves for safety while playing tug with my dog to protect my hands?
Full Question:
I'm working on building drive and focus with 1 year old German Shepherd. She has trememdous intensity. When we work with the tug toys we are at the stage where she will wait (sit) until I give a release command to try and grab the tug, and she will also out-it when requested. She will also stay seated as I walk away, and come to get it only when released. As I ratchet up intensity (by darting the tug in front of her so she has to work really hard to grab it) there have been one or two times where she got my hand by accident -- thankfully, nothing too major. My question is: should I wear gloves for safety? Or should I expect her to be 'perfect' and manage to always land on the tug and not my hand(!)? Or should I not be so tough and make it just a little easier for her to get it by not being so quick with my motions? Or something else?
In any case, I assume I don't want to diminish drive by scolding her if she misses the tug...
Thanks for your thoughts!
Cindy's Answer:
I wouldn’t wear gloves, I would learn how to properly present the target so your dog knows where to bite. It sounds like you are moving her target so she can’t help but make a mistake. This is not her fault and I would not scold or correct her for this. I would recommend learning how to play correctly.
I’d highly recommend The Power of Playing Tug with your Dog. It will help you learn the proper technique and presentation so your dog won’t make the mistake of biting the wrong place (like your hands).
Cindy Rhodes
I’d highly recommend The Power of Playing Tug with your Dog. It will help you learn the proper technique and presentation so your dog won’t make the mistake of biting the wrong place (like your hands).
Cindy Rhodes
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