Joined
·
2,969 Posts
Bob, a comment you made in another thread about inadvertently flipping a dog from prey into defense via overaggressive tug work got me thinking...what should I be looking for?
I dont' think this is a problem with me, but I guess I had always assumed that flipping a pup into defense would make it bail out on the activity or do something else weird (like growling/snapping before or after that activity, or seeming to target at me rather than the sleeve, laying down her ears and growling when presented with the tug, whatever). I always give her room to bail if she's not into it (and she'll always drop the tug if a retrieve toy option is given to her) and I always let her win and she'll always out the thing if I tell her. I have gotten some growls in the past when I've lightly slapped her side while on tug (seeing if she'd stay on the tug) but I cut that out because I felt like I was doing something stupid and pointless. She's also growled a bit when I got a bit into it but I took that as either a by product of the surface we were on (in winter we did a lot of tug on tile in the house and her footing was not great) or maybe pain from teething (you already know how I was being stupid there).
Any thoughts you or others have on distinguishing a flip from prey into defense in a pup/young dog would be appreciated.
I dont' think this is a problem with me, but I guess I had always assumed that flipping a pup into defense would make it bail out on the activity or do something else weird (like growling/snapping before or after that activity, or seeming to target at me rather than the sleeve, laying down her ears and growling when presented with the tug, whatever). I always give her room to bail if she's not into it (and she'll always drop the tug if a retrieve toy option is given to her) and I always let her win and she'll always out the thing if I tell her. I have gotten some growls in the past when I've lightly slapped her side while on tug (seeing if she'd stay on the tug) but I cut that out because I felt like I was doing something stupid and pointless. She's also growled a bit when I got a bit into it but I took that as either a by product of the surface we were on (in winter we did a lot of tug on tile in the house and her footing was not great) or maybe pain from teething (you already know how I was being stupid there).
Any thoughts you or others have on distinguishing a flip from prey into defense in a pup/young dog would be appreciated.