Your advice is for a pet owner to take his young Mastiff X Bully mongrel to offlead dogparks where he allows it to be accosted by grown dominant dogs & then he should rough-house with his "working bandog" buy wresting & playing tug-o-war to tire it out (???) Wrong on both counts, IMHO, but I'm going to let Ed Frawley, or some other professionals chime in here...

No, no dog parks. Sorry I should have stated that. But yes to wrestling and tug if he's a strong leader with common sense.

Candi, This is why I don't EVER go to dog parks <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" /> Owners that condone this behavior are <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" />why dog's of this type(Pits, Bulls, Staff's)get such bad publicity <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" />

Condone what behavior?

Agreed 100% Beth, and this guy's bully is crossed with mastiff, so it might end up weighing 100 pounds -- If he keeps up this routine with that dog, he may eventually get sued out of house & home <:-(

All the rough wrestling, tug. Some I guess, but not alot! I have an ex-son-in-law that turned a happy little pit into a monster in less than 3months. It got so bad that he needed to be put down <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" />

Ok, you guys are correct about rough housing, but I still don't see much wrong with some tug. Maybe if the dog was around more people with dogs?

Hi Beth, I thought you were initially being sarcastic when you said rough play and tug turned your dog into killers <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" /> I was in a rush and running out the door, maybe that's why I misread your post. I don't believe that rough play and tug turned the happy little pit into a monster that needed to be put down. There was more to the story than that. I also don't believe rough play and tug created 'killers.' Poor management did.

I've heard bad things about this and even believed them once. At this point I don't because I've seen otherwise. My philosophy on it is; if problems come up you simply correct them. That is why I said you need common sense and strong leadership qualities. To each his own.

The comment

 Quote:

Owners that condone this behavior are why dog's of this type(Pits, Bulls, Staff's)get such bad publicity

was not only rude, it was ignorant, especially coming out of the fingers of someone who had 'killers' and a family member who had to put down their pit. Those are the types of people causing the problems. I have kids slumber parties, birthday parties, adult parties, daily real estate showings, and on and on I could go, and my dogs are well behaved. Then Candy has to call the dog a mongrel and threaten to tell Ed. This thread just got sicker and sicker by the minute with all this fanaticism. If you have something worthwhile to share, is it not possible to do it in a helpful, respectful manner? Must the bitter woman act always come out? Couldn't you simply say, "Rough play/tug is a terrible idea, my experience with it is< fill in the blank>."

Why do you want your dog to stand up for itself? You are going to create a fear biter that does not trust you if you repeat the dog park visit(s).