Joined
·
2,973 Posts
I could use input on the following...
So my 9 m.o. pup is about to get through her second Grappy jute tug and I'm wondering what's a natural step up. She will not be formally trained in sporting or PPD bitework anytime soon but she loves tug and hitting the tug and I incorporate it into daily retrieving and obedience sessions. We also do extended tugs that get pretty intense, I guess, in terms of making her hang on for extended durations before I let her win. I use it for concentrated play when I don't have a lot of time to spend with her at certain points of the day.
I wear leather welding gloves but like today, for instance, she can still put quite a shot on my knuckles if she's running up at me and her aim is a bit off. Real estate on the tug is pretty small because I hold the jute itself (not sure if this makes sense, basically, I don't let it hang in the air and I hold it to move it around and get her worked up to hit it).
Would it make any sense to try out a puppy or intermediate sleeve? I'd like to do this just because I think it would be fun for both of us. I think a full-out jute sleeve would be overkill...I ideally want something light that I can fold down in a backpack and carry around to the park, etc with my other dog junk. A big tug would be fine, there's just something appealing about her tugging on a sleeve to me.
I probably sound pretty ignorant, I know there are differing opinions about working your own dog like this and potentially having them see you as a target. Annie's very much focused on the tug, that is the object of her drives, and she's got all the aggression of a Golden Retriever. We follow basic tug rules like this is only done with me, this is only done with me in this particular place, I will let you win but if I say "Out" it's out, etc. She is dead quiet on the tug. Have not had any problems at all with our tug games flowing over into bad behaviors elsewhere.
Thanks in advance for your thoughts.
Edited to add another appeal of the sleeve for me is getting my hands out of the way. She's just a puppy but it's still no fun to take a tooth on the knuckle, welding glove or not.
So my 9 m.o. pup is about to get through her second Grappy jute tug and I'm wondering what's a natural step up. She will not be formally trained in sporting or PPD bitework anytime soon but she loves tug and hitting the tug and I incorporate it into daily retrieving and obedience sessions. We also do extended tugs that get pretty intense, I guess, in terms of making her hang on for extended durations before I let her win. I use it for concentrated play when I don't have a lot of time to spend with her at certain points of the day.
I wear leather welding gloves but like today, for instance, she can still put quite a shot on my knuckles if she's running up at me and her aim is a bit off. Real estate on the tug is pretty small because I hold the jute itself (not sure if this makes sense, basically, I don't let it hang in the air and I hold it to move it around and get her worked up to hit it).
Would it make any sense to try out a puppy or intermediate sleeve? I'd like to do this just because I think it would be fun for both of us. I think a full-out jute sleeve would be overkill...I ideally want something light that I can fold down in a backpack and carry around to the park, etc with my other dog junk. A big tug would be fine, there's just something appealing about her tugging on a sleeve to me.
I probably sound pretty ignorant, I know there are differing opinions about working your own dog like this and potentially having them see you as a target. Annie's very much focused on the tug, that is the object of her drives, and she's got all the aggression of a Golden Retriever. We follow basic tug rules like this is only done with me, this is only done with me in this particular place, I will let you win but if I say "Out" it's out, etc. She is dead quiet on the tug. Have not had any problems at all with our tug games flowing over into bad behaviors elsewhere.
Thanks in advance for your thoughts.
Edited to add another appeal of the sleeve for me is getting my hands out of the way. She's just a puppy but it's still no fun to take a tooth on the knuckle, welding glove or not.