Some people say that you should never play tug of war with your dog. They say that to the dog, this is a dominance struggle and if you’re struggling for dominance with them, you must be on their level – and if you’re on the same level as them, they don’t have to respect you or think of you as their “pack leader”.

I disagree with the idea that you should not play tug of war with your dog. Tug of war can be great fun for both you and your pet. It can get your dog energized and excited before a run or other physical activity and for some smaller dogs tug of war can even be a great mini-exercise session in itself. Keeda and I really get into it, especially over her favorite sock. I grip one end, she grips the other, and we go at it. Does she feel like she has power over me when we play? Does she suddenly go “deaf” to my commands and cues and takes on an air of the dominant dog? Not at all. However, we do follow two basic rules of engagement in our tug of war games:

The Owner Always Wins

Keeda and I have lots of fun “battling” over her sock. But in the end, I always win. We’ll tug for a few minutes, but I get the sock in the end. And then, I might hand or toss the sock back to her to play with willingly. In other words she never wins the play-fight, I do. Keeda knows that without my permission she will not get the sock or toy we’re playing with. The toy is in my control and if she’s good, she gets to play with it.

“Drop It” is Law

Keeda knows the command “drop it”. No matter how fierce our tug of war game gets, if I say “drop it”, it’s game over and she releases the sock. I usually do this a couple of times per game. She knows that if she’s instructed to drop the toy the game is over, at least for now. And of course, she gets lots of praise and sometimes gets the toy back for behaving.

Playing tug of war with your dog can be lots of fun. When my dog and I play, she goes into excitement mode and knows that we’re about to start doing something fun – whether that be playing some games, going to the park, running, or cycling. Tug of war is like our way of warming up for some exercise. So to those people who aren’t sure if tug of war is some sort of “dominance” struggle, I say go for it.

How your dog perceives the game really depends on the individual dog, but I believe that virtually any dog can learn to play a safe, respectful game of tug of war without it having to turn into a challenge for the upper hand. Of course it’s important to go by your own past experiences and use your own judgment. You know your dog better than anyone.