Dutch Shepherd Forum

Hi everyone,

So- I have been trying to get my new 12-week old puppy to play tug-of-war with me and a 10' tug.. However, she wont bite it. She tries to chew it occasionally but she wont bite or try to pull it away...any suggestions on how I can get her to bite and hang on? Thanks

Wait till she's finished teething in a few months

I'm a complete newbie here though I will share my experience so far. My 14 week old puppy Z loves his plaited sheepskin tug, it's nice and soft and he can get a good grip on it. I try to make sure Z is full of energy before we play, usually fresh up from a nap. He gets excited when I would drag the tug on the ground to encourage him to move after it and want to get it. I used to let him "win" the tug as soon as he would grab it and now I am making him work a little harder for his "win". I also bought him a French linen puppy tug though I found that way too hard and it is not easy for him to grab it so I'll bring that out once he has teethed and in the mean time try to spend time bending it each day to soften it up a bit.

there also must be a drive for the tug, that is the prey drive.

Use something softer. When ICE was a pup I made braided fleece tugs.

Thank you. I think the issue is softness. The tugs I have bought are quite hard and tough. I will try starting her off on a shredded towl or something like that.

ICE wrote: ↑Wed May 24, 2017 12:58 pm Use something softer. When ICE was a pup I made braided fleece tugs.

Good idea

Update: the bite suit tugs were probably just too hard. I followed ICE's suggestion, cut a towel into strips and she tugs just fine. Thanks for the help.