is tug of war really bad for aggressive dogs?

i have heard that many times, but wonder if folks here have an opinion about that.

and yeah, it is related to my other post about my daughter's dog.

mostly boyfriend playing, since daughter is pretty scared of this dog, now.

the revised vet bill has sorta sealed this dogs fate. $1200, and he still might need to get his ear amputated. damage was worse than what kids told me. they said he clamped the ear, and wouldn't let go. vet tech said the neck was ripped open.
not sure where he is going at this minute, but he has to go somewhere else.

Just the fact that your daughter is afraid of the dog answers the question. You never want to appear "weak" to an alpha or a dominant dog. If your daughter is afraid of the dog, the dog knows it. I'm a believer in the pack order theory, there is always an alpha of the pack, and a submissive. Rank other than that follows (not everybody believes in it, but I've seen it). Sounds like boyfriend is the alpha for now, that doesn't mean that the dog won't try to take over the alpha position in the future. If your daughter is scared of the dog, the dog is now higher than she is in the pack order in his mind. I don't know at this time if he would consider Zeke or your daughter as the higher rank in the pack. But if either one of them challenge his position, it could be a problem. The question is what he would see as a challenge of his position.

I foster for a rescue (a lab rescue) and I have 2 dogs myself. I am always the alpha of them all, I don't let them get away with anything. My oldest dog is pretty submissive, and I have had dogs challenge him before. It is usually a one time thing, and it establishes things in their minds, but I still maintain control of the situation. I had a foster about 6 months ago that showed the rank thing really clearly. I got a 1 year old female to foster, she was the sweetest dog. She got along with my boys very well and was a great dog. But I started to notice that she started placing herself between my dogs and me while leaning very lovingly on my legs. I started to hear very soft growling when they would come up for pets. Well, that ended in a hurry, she was disciplined and she was not allowed to put herself between me and them, she had to sit off to the side. Problem solved, I thought. Meanwhile, they played together and had a good time. Then, I fell asleep on the couch one day. Without me realizing it, she had placed herself between my dogs and me. My youngest who was only a little older than the foster, was coming up to let me know that he had to go outside. The foster "protected" me and went after him, which of course woke me up immediately. Eddie isn't stupid, he ran the other way and didn't challenge her, and she got punished and put in the crate for misbehaving. Well, that put her above Eddie in her mind, there were no more problems between them, rank was established. Then she started "challenging" Gus, who was 4. She started trying to push Gus around by going neck to neck with him. No growls, just a pushing thing. I don't allow that in my house because it can be a challenge, so I kept breaking them up. They would stop, for a minute, and then be back at it again. I finally decided that I couldn't stop it, so I just stood very close by ready to jump in. I don't know exactly how they established things, but Gus wouldn't let him push him, he pushed back. No growls, no jumping, just a neck to neck pushing. Then she play-bowed to him. However they established it, Gus won that battle and he was alpha to her. My wimpy boy won somehow. From that point on, she was in love with him and sucked up to him, and ignored Eddie. Drove Eddie crazy because he didn't care about rank, he just wanted to play. He was just about doing sommersaults to impress her, and she wouldn't give him the time of day, just wanted to play with Gus. That's my long winded story of what happened, totally bloodless, but rank was established. Luckily, my boys didn't really care about the rank thing and never tried to push it. Of course, that doesn't mean that sometime in the future she wouldn't have challenged Gus, but she got adopted and I never found out.

we don't walk as much as we should, but i do have the whole- sit for your food, eat after me, i'll pet who i want to, thing down pat. (love cesar. he is a smart guy.) i have a pretty thunderous growl, also. that one even works on people, usually. i usually don't have to much trouble with the occasional canine visitor, but both of my daughters have pretty spirited pups.
i dread the day when i am too old and weak to grab a bad dog by the neck and flip his ass over. i will know it is time to give me the needle, then.
i am such a big dog that i regretted that i couldn't take that fella in and school him up, but i am also a smart old dog, and know when to walk away.
sad, sad, shit, but......

Your daughter is, and she has lost the war by being afraid of him. I have the big dog voice too, and I'm a woman. :rofl:

I read your post in your original thread, and I'm sorry it had to go down that way, but I think it is the right decision.

Good for you for paying the bill for your daughter. Not paying it would just end up in court, and I think your daughter would lose the case.

I hope she doesn't give up on rescues, many of them make great dogs. This was just not the dog for her.

she works at a doggie day care, and has had dogs all my life. but i think he bf is the alpha in the house, so......

i hope she sticks with the nice little fella that she has until she finishes school. she has enough to do.

they think it's fun to pull and tug and shake their heads... but the key is that I never let them win. I never let them take anything from me that I don't give to them.

And I never give them anything without making them work for it... i.e. sit, lay down, whatever.

NILF - Nothing in Life is Free. Everything your dog gets, except for air and water, must be earned. Make them sit before you feed them. Make them relax or lay down before you cuddle. Make them wait or stay before putting on their leash to go outside.

I've also taught them to "Give It" meaning, when I am done playing tug of war, I just say "give it" and they let go and give up.

I have a 3yo border collie mix who has a serious dominant streak. She tries to bully or take advantage of others, but doesn't try it with me. I think this is a big part of it. I'm the only one she listens to and the only one she really respects.


Just ideas that worked for me... but every dog is different...