Rough and Tough

Emme is learning to growl when she plays tug with Rudy. Following advice from a number of different dog books we read, neither Ken nor I play tug with the dogs. Many different authors cautioned that playing tug with a dog is teaching an aggressive game and setting the dog up to believing that he/she is the alpha dog if it wins the tug game. I don't know if that is true, but we read it so many times that we decided there were other games we could play with the dogs so we never play tug.

Emme and Rudy play tug together, though, usually choosing the flimsiest toy to play with. We have a few really sturdy tug toys that they pass up. They grab instead a fluffy; one grabs the head and the other a tail or leg. The fluffies don't always survive this game and I can't tell you how many of them have a visit to my sewing room to have a seam mended or a leg sewn back on.

It is funny to watch a big, dark 80 pound dog tugging one end of a toy and a little, white, fluffy 12 pound dog pulling on the other end. Rudy pulls enough to make a game, but not enough to throw Emme around the room, as I am sure he could do if he chose. While he is tugging, he growls which does not scare Emme but does provide an audio accompaniment to the game. Emme is usually silent. Determined, eager, but quiet. Just the last day or so, she has begun to growl when they play tug. It is not too intimidating coming from a dog that looks a little like a dust mop. But now it is part of the game too.