SHOULD I BE PLAYING TUG AND FETCH WITH MY PUPPY?
When puppies are young, we restrict their exercise to protect them from any damage that may occur to their still-developing joints.
Often, people try to make up for the lack of physical exercise on walks by playing games with them in the house so that they can 'burn off some energy'. Tug and fetch are the two popular ones that I hear mentioned on a daily basis.
But are these activities causing more harm than good? Quite possibly!!!
Puppies struggle to manage their emotions when they are young which means that they get over-excited very easily and then cannot calm themselves down. Playing games which increase arousal levels result in a frenzied, hyperactive puppy who then is likely much more nippy/jumpy/barky and generally a nightmare to deal with straight afterwards.
Tug games teach a puppy to grab onto a toy and bite bite bite with their little sharp teeth, which contradicts what we want from them when we AREN'T playing tug games (no biting please puppy!).
As well as increasing arousal levels with repetitive fetch games, fetch is really tough on a dog's joints (especially for young puppies which are basically soft and mushy inside so prone to fractures and broken bones during development) so it isn't advised.
I am not saying that you shouldn't play games with your puppy - just that you should be playing APPROPRIATE games when they are young if you know that you are having problems after playing.
There are PLENTY of activities that you can introduce your puppy to which still build that all-important bond between dog and owner and which provide fantastic mental stimulation which will bring a pup's arousal levels down and help them relax as well as tiring them out!
I love introductory scentwork games, brain puzzles, filled Kongs and Lickimats. And you don't need to spend a fortune on fancy brain puzzles for dogs to entertain them. There are plenty of Facebook groups dedicated to activites that provide mental stimulation for dogs - my favourite is 'Beyond the Bowl - Canine Enrichment'.
I do teach tug games in my classes but we play with rules to make sure that we aren't setting the puppies up for a hard time afterwards. However, our main focus is on building relaxation and calmness into a puppy - one of the most valuable life skills you can teach!
If you are struggling with how best to entertain your puppy, we can help! Get in touch for some one to one training by e-mail:
