[Keechak]

I know when Jack was younger I would wrestle with him by putting on some gloves so he couldn't accidentally bite my hand. He knew that when the gloves came out it was wrestle time and that he didn't have to hold back. Without the gloves he had a soft mouth.

Perhaps the Gloves were kind of the same thing as a Schutzhund sleeve. To the dog the glove (sleeve) is the toy.

Well I know my friend's dog Jet loves to rough house but I usually don't do it with him because he is extremely mouthy and it can be painful. I figured I would do the same thing with Jet as I used to do with Jack, so I got out a down jacket and some winter gloves and I got Jet all ryled up and we had a fun wrestling session, then after about 3 minutes I got up and said "That's Enough!" and he just let go and sat down.

I hope he will learn as Jack did when a hard mouth is acceptable and when it's not. When he gets mouthy without me wearing gloves I make the Yelp sound and then get up and walk away.

Does anyone else here ever get rough with their dogs.

 

[hulkamaniac]

I tried with Zero the other day. He looked at me like I was crazy. If I tried with Brutus I'm sure he would explain to me that he's much too old and dignified for that type of behavior.

 

[LittleFr0g]

I do in the mornings with Kuma before I get dressed. It's the only time I do it, I initate the play and end it, and I've taught him to be gentle with his mouth. We have a great time.

 

[JustTess]

My DS12 does with Ilya. They do a sort of head/paw slap then chase each other around the sofa. (My DS12 wants to be a dog sometimes and forget about chores and homework) This can go on all day

 

[alphadoginthehouse]

When I was a wee small child, we had a boxer named Bruno. I could crawl on him, sing to him, basically do whatever I wanted...he would just lay there. My dad would get out the garden gloves and rough house with him. It was the only time he played hard. Otherwise, he was a very gentle dog. He would never hurt us kids!

 

[Erick Aguilar]

Yeah, i wrestle with him.. when i clap on my knees he knows it's time to play rough.

 

[Inga]

I rough house with my dogs all the time. I think that is part of what I love about this breed. All of mine (after a little time) were of sound enough mind to understand it is alright sometimes and not at others. People would be shocked to hear the noises coming out of my house or yard on occasion when we are playing. Oliver growls very fiercely when attacking me and biting my head and arms. lol All just in play, he has the softest mouth and is quite careful. Carsten mouths very soft but uses his weight to take me out and sits on my. (look out Shaina if you ever meet Carsten, lol )

 

[Katzyn]

My cat Stratus and I play rough, and he's finally learned that when I say, "I'm done", he backs off. He can get really into it, as SillyLilyKitty could tell you. XD

 

[Westhighlander]

Sure do but I only have to use one hand to do it.

 

[Sunshyne]

All the time, it's one of Chloe's most favorite things. She is very gentle with her mouth, is always very aware it's me, never takes it too far, and she has tons of fun.

 

[wvasko]

Well with the dog approaching 10 and I being 2 weeks older than dirt I don't think I can call it rough housing anymore. but we try.

 

[Keechak]

I like to try and get a good grip on their body and then knock them over on their side or back and then "bite" with my hands at their neck and they try to bite my hands, it's quite fun. And the bigger the dog the more of a challenge it is lol

 

[buzonesbirdie]

We do--about once a day with each dog. Lady will come over to you when she wants to play and put a paw on your leg and let out this little soft growl. If we start with her then she plays if we say no she will leave but look sad. Andromeda and Bella will jump on and off their couch looking at us and if they are called over its play time--they do understand no and all 3 of them will stop if you say "ow". They are all very gentle

 

[ambercober]

DH and I do all the time and it's hilarious to watch Taylor go!!!! No carpets to speak of in this house and he hops like crazy when we get him going so it's funny to see him slip around *smiles*. Also we get him 'talking' during the rough housing and since he doesn't really bark it's a bunch of low growly/moany kinds of sounds that just sets us to giggling *lol.

 

[Elana55]

I do very little of this. Patricia McConnell in her book, "the Other End of The Leash" really recommends against it EVER. She says that her customers, mostly men, are crestfallen when she lays down this rule when she works with them and their dogs.

I used to play rough with my last dog.. but I have not with this dog. I do get her tug toy out on a rope and we raise a lot of cain with that. She will bite my arm if she is feeling a bit wild.. and I do not encourage or really discourage this as I do not know if I am going to try any sort of Schuthund with this dog. I probably won't but you never know.

My last dog I could tell to bite (and she would bite who she was playing with) and then I could tell her to bite HARD and she would.. (mostly my X husband who liked to rough it up with her). She also used to chase him if I told her to and leap in the air and hit him in the middle of the back.. More than once she knocked him down and he as a big guy. That dog would have been an AWESOME K9 or Schutzhund dog.

 

[Inga]

I do very little of this. Patricia McConnell in her book, "the Other End of The Leash" really recommends against it EVER. She says that her customers, mostly men, are crestfallen when she lays down this rule when she works with them and their dogs.

.

I love Patricia McConnell and I listen to her show all the time, but this one thing I do not agree with. NOT for all people or all dogs. I guess IF My dogs ever get to be too much or if they couldn't or wouldn't settle on command when I chose to end the game, I might give it up. As it is, in this house anyway, I chose the beginning and end time of the game and it has always worked for me.

I can't say enough good things about Patricia McConnell though. Anyone who has a chance should listen to her show "Calling all pets" on Saturdays at Noon. Wisconsin public radio. It is fun to hear. It is a call in show and some of the people calling in are a riot. She is great!

 

[RonE]

I used to do that with my big lab. I didn't have to worry about his teeth but he would knock me on my butt, so I always made sure I had someplace soft to land.

I can't rough-house with Esther 'cause she would beat me up. And I can't rough-house with Molly 'cause Esther would beat me up.

 

[Mdawn]

We do with Uallis on occasion, although I don't (bf does though) now as much as I used to because he's gotten too big to safely rough house with. In no way, shape or form does he try to hurt but he does as a consequence of his size. The incident that brought this home to me was when he stood on me (200lb of dog) and put most of his weight on the foot that was on my hip. I honestly thought he was going to break my hip and it hurt so bad I was in tears. It was the first time I'd EVER been scared of Uallis in any aspect. Since then the rules of the "game" have been changed...I still play tug with Uallis and may rough house a bit with him while I'm standing up but I won't get down on the floor with him and do it anymore.

It is a no-no to rough house with Eddie because he has a hard mouth when he gets over excited. We still play tug and stuff with him every now and then but mostly we play "soccer" with him in place of wrestling.

 

[bfoster]

I don't really rough house with them- but they sure do with each other--
if I didn't know them I would be afraid someone was going to get hurt (get that puppy's head out of your mouth!!)

 

[alphadoginthehouse]

I used to do that with my big lab. I didn't have to worry about his teeth but he would knock me on my butt, so I always made sure I had someplace soft to land.

I can't rough-house with Esther 'cause she would beat me up. And I can't rough-house with Molly 'cause Esther would beat me up.

Well, we can all see who rules YOUR household!