not really sure where this thread belongs.....

So, with my dogs, they all have prey drive, so i will attach a rope or long line to various toys/tugs and let them chase and when they catch it, i will play some tug o war(i won't do it if i can't win) and they love this.

But, here is the problem. Capone is showing some interest, so i am playing with him like this too, and he just loves it. When i get moved in, i will set up a spring pole, etc, but for now, we have to play in the house.

BUT, when i have a toy/tug on a rope, he doesn;t try and bite the tug, he grabs the rope, as close to my hands as possible.

i know i don't have to play like this, but he and i both enjoy this and he doesn't play otherwise, he doesn;t go running around and romping and he isnt around my others to wrestle, so he needs to play somehow.

those of you who train bitework(though this isnt bite work...), how do you deal with a dog/puppy that aims high up on the tug or tries to get the hands rather than the toy?

he hasn;t bit me ever(other than his grooming bites), and when we wrestle on the floor, he will not put his mouth on me, but it's still unnerving to see any dogs mouth work it's way up towards your hands....

How old is the dog?

Pups don't understand targeting, so they will often bite the rope till they figure ou the toy is more interesting. If you are moving your hand/arm too much then the pup will focus on that for its prey movement instead of the toy.

he is somewhere between 1 and 1.5.


i am trying not to move my hand too much, but if the toy doesn't move enough, he'll just go lay down.
he has spent too much time on a chain, i need to get him moving and jumping, etc. Something other than walking and sleeping.

so this will likely pass with time?? or do i need to do something?

Depends on the dog. Every dog I've worked with that bit the string eventually figured out the toy on the end is more interesting. Sometimes the trick is "aiming" the toy in such a way that the dog is most likely to get that, and has less easy access to biting the string.

How about using a rag, like a leather chamois from the auto parts store?

What I do to get my dogs all wound up is holding them by the collar between my legs and kicking the ball away just when they can barely reach it. Gets em really frustrated.... but ofcourse, these are dogs who would do anything for a ball, not sure what Cujo would do (my less driven dog), probably bite my foot or something