Throughout the ages, we have heard trainers and behaviorist cite the evils of playing tug of war with our dogs.

"It will create aggression" ... "Be the alpha, don't ever let the dog win"

While these theories may be perfectly sound for some people, we have to consider if the benefits of playing tug-of-war with your dog will outweigh the potential negative consequences. Lets see!

First, what are the benefits? Playing games with your dog such as tug of war are important for having an interactive experience with your dog. Dogs are highly social creatures and its important for owners to spend quality time playing with and socializing their dog. The more time you spend with your dog, the stronger the bond will become.

Another benefit that a lot of people may or may not be aware of is drive satisfaction. While it is debatable whether there even is such a thing, I believe dogs do have certain inherent drives that should be satisfied in the dog. Some of these drives include pack drive, food drive, play drive, etc. Along this line of thinking, I do believe that some dogs have a desire to bite and play tug. We see this more so in some dogs than others. For example, consider when your watching a litter of puppies. The puppy who swings the tug toy around by himself or engages with another dog probably has a higher drive to bite (or what may be termed "fight drive"). This has very little to do with aggression towards people or dogs. Some dogs are simply more content when they have a toy in their mouth.

So whether you believe in it or not, the bottom line is that playing tug of war is often an enjoyable game for most dogs and their owners.

Now, lets talk about all the rumors that go around about the evils of playing tug of war with your dog.

Can it make your dog more aggressive?  
My personal opinion is no. Dogs that are not exhibiting aggression outside of the game of tug or war are not likely to suddenly become aggressive based on the game. Now if your dog is exhibiting issues with problems like resource guarding (food, toys, etc), refuses to move off the bed, has handling issues, or
exhibits aggression in any other way ... then perhaps tug of war should not be played with the dog until the other issues are resolved. But in my 10 years of training dogs, I've never seen problems created with the game of tug of war when it is played correctly.

What are the rules of the tug-of-war game?
While many behaviorist and trainers can write a dissertation on how the game of tug of war is suppose to be played, I personally like to keep it simple. I'm a believer that dog training has to be very clear and fair to the dog. If its not black and white in your mind, how can you convey this to the dog?

When I'm playing the game of tug of war, I have a few rules.

First, the dog has to know how to give up the item on command. Whatever your cue word is..."off," "drop it," "leave it," etc, the dog has to respond immediately and on one command. You shouldn't have to beg your dog to give the toy back. The easiest way to teach the dog to drop an item is with a simple trade. Get the dog engaged on the item, give your cue to the dog to have them let go, and then offer either another toy or a piece of food. Immediately re-engage the dog on the toy so they learn that when they let go, it doesn't always mean that the game is ending and you are leaving with their item.

Secondly, the dog can never touch skin or clothing when playing tug of war. Accidental nips are unacceptable, no matter how insignificant. If I feel the dog's tooth touch my skin or clothing, the game immediately ends.

Thirdly, the game ends when I say that it ends. If your having trouble where you tell the dog the game is over and they won't stop, this is an issue. the dog should have enough impulse control to calm down on cue. There are many ways to teach the dog, but the easiest is a time-out in a crate or outside. Removing the dog from the environment eliminates the dog getting mouthy, jumping, or trying to steal the toy again.


While there are many people who will simply believe that tug of war is not an acceptable game to play with a dog, I believe that there must be balanced to the game. Once you have rules and a balanced approach to how you both are to act, the game can be extremely beneficial to your dog and the bond you have with your dog.


Photographs by Tri-Studio Photography