Playtime Question

[gunflint]

I have been working with my 4 month old English Setter for a couple of months now. I'm concentrating on the basics for now and I'm very happy with him. There is a lot of good information on training but I haven't been able to find much info on playing with the pup. Is it ok for me to rough house with him? Playing tug with certain items, chasing and being chased, wrestling, etc? It's difficult for me not to play with a puppy but am I hurting future training by playing? Thanks.

[RoostersMom]

I have refrained from playing tug with young puppies, but I do it with my older dogs now. I don't know if there is any credence to the theory that it might make them harder-mouthed or hard to get a bird from in the future, so I've "played it safe." I do play, rough-house, wrestle, chase, play fetch, etc. with all our dogs (even the crazy beagles like a game of fetch now and then). I personally think it's fine. I have 11 dogs, all of them hunt, 2 of them do field trials, 1 of the others is a master hunter. They are mostly inside dogs too.

[RickB]

I roughhouse with my dog. I play bow and pull on his ears. I roll over and offer my belly. My dog pulls on my ears, play bows, and offers his belly. Basically, I watch how dogs play in daycare or the dog park and emulate that. It hasn't hurt anything that I can see in his training.

[shags]

That's what puppies are for...to play with

The one thing I watch for in play with pups is sometimes they get a little big for their britches and get a bit overly aggressive or pushy. Then they need a reminder who the Queen Be-atch is, and play can resume.

[Neil]

Yes, play with him often

We had a golden that loved to play tug of war up until she died at 14. Yet she was so soft mouthed she would retrieve a raw egg.

I would never take one of my dogs to a dog park, I go in the back door at the vet's.

[jack the dog]

Play with the pup. Just make sure he knows "hunting" is not "playing", when the time comes.
Hunting time needs to be serious time.

[deke]

I don't play tug with my dogs because what "IF" it makes them hard mouthed. As for rough housing, we get a little crazy at my house, as long as there are no teeth everything is fair game though.

[Sharon]

I roughhouse with my dog. I play bow and pull on his ears. I roll over and offer my belly. My dog pulls on my ears, play bows, and offers his belly. Basically, I watch how dogs play in daycare or the dog park and emulate that. It hasn't hurt anything that I can see in his training.

I want a picture of that.