May 23, 2012
How can you become pack leader and let your dog win and play-train for protection?
Full Question:
You had stated that to train puppies to do protection/Schutzhund, play is important. Tug-of-war and fetch ball are recommended. Now it is said to play tug with them and let them "win". But isn't it a contradiction because if you let them win, then in their minds, they just became Alpha. How can you become pack leader and let them win and play-train for protection?Thank you
Cindy's Answer:
Playing tug is the most important game you can play with a dog you wish to train for protection or even for agility or simply really great obedience.
The correct way to play tug with puppies for protection/Schutzhund is outlined in:
Foundation of Puppy Bitework
The Power of Playing Tug with your Dog
We don’t really encourage playing fetch so much as playing tug (at least in the beginning).
How much you let the puppy win is really dependent on the type of puppy you have (it’s genetics and personality) a possessive, dominant type is not going to be allowed to win as much as a puppy who lacks confidence or drive.
This is also covered in Advanced Concepts in Motivation.
In order to play productively, you need to know how to teach the rules of the game to your particular puppy. That’s something that’s gone over in detail in the videos I listed above. It’s beyond the scope of an email to explain this.
Cindy Rhodes
The correct way to play tug with puppies for protection/Schutzhund is outlined in:
Foundation of Puppy Bitework
The Power of Playing Tug with your Dog
We don’t really encourage playing fetch so much as playing tug (at least in the beginning).
How much you let the puppy win is really dependent on the type of puppy you have (it’s genetics and personality) a possessive, dominant type is not going to be allowed to win as much as a puppy who lacks confidence or drive.
This is also covered in Advanced Concepts in Motivation.
In order to play productively, you need to know how to teach the rules of the game to your particular puppy. That’s something that’s gone over in detail in the videos I listed above. It’s beyond the scope of an email to explain this.
Cindy Rhodes
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