what is acceptable "play" for lab pup

[DeerKiller]

I have a 9 Week old, what are acceptable forms of play? Trying to form a good bond without creating bad habits.

I always hear that you are not supposed to play tug of war games... The only thing my lab gets excited about is biting and rag dolling (swinging side to side) his chew toys. So far i have been getting him a little excited by moving his toy's around and just letting him have it... would this be considered tug of war? I am starting to think that i shouldn't encourage this behavior because he is getting more bold about biting and now tries to bite my hands and doesn't seem to have a good feeling for what is acceptable for biting and what is not.

[Sharon]

Anytime it is the pup against you , and the pup "wins" it is not good.

[GUNDOGS]

dont worry too much about creating a good bond..you and the pup will create a life long bond in many ways with little to no effort, just spending time going for short walks, having him come over to you and petting him..throwing a ball for him and encouraging him to retrieve it, and brushing him ect..i wouldnt encourage tug o war but more fetching games instead, rolling a soccer ball and let him chase it is a fun game too my pup is a pro soccer player and rolls it to the fence with her nose also go to some water and take him along to run along the waters edge.. things like that are fun and your pup will love them all..9 weeks old, i love that age and i love that puppy breath ...ruth

[Onk]

Coffee breath right Ruth!? Thats what my wife claims it smells like. We once had a Lab and fetching just about anything was Bo's passion....and later it was fetch in water. He did'nt care about any other games or hobbies except eating like a horse!

[SeniorCoot]

I would never ever play tug of war nor do any of my pups get squeeky toys- is tug of war what you want to PLAY when dog brings duck or pheasant to you in fall?? Squeeky toys make for hard mouth dogs later on my pups have their own Kongs- i never require them to bring them to me and only play with the kongs if pup brings it to me on own and wants me to throw it and i do that very seldom- My dogs do NOT lack form attention or affection and are with us alsomst all the time in spring/summer outside and lots of time together in fall/ winter hunting and walking etc.

[nooblet]

I dont know dude, opinions are like.... I think we all konw the rest.

So here's mine! Your dog will learn the difference between tug of war, a squeeky toy and a duck/pheasant etc. When you are in the back yard with dog toys are you wearing "those" boots? "That" hat? Carrying a gun? Do you have "that" look in your eye? No. Your dog will come to know the difference betwen backyard antics and hunting. My dog plays tug of war (with others and not me mind you) and has all sorts of squeeky toys. No problems on birds in the field. It's just "fetch" - dogs goes out and comes back with bird. It's a totally different game to them.

Also dude, your dog is so young. This upcomming season is really only going to be exposure and fun. I dont think a little toy will harm him.

good luck!

[baileydog2007]

Tug of war with a pup is a ton different than tug of war with your gundog. They aint stupid. Dogs know the difference in right and wrong. If you and you PUP play tug of war, not a big deal at all IMO. Pups need to be pups. I would not play tug of war with a bumper, anything you use for retrievier training or a bird, but other than that, dont worry, its a pup. They'll play, piss you off, make you smile, piss you off, chew up your better halves favorite shoes, piss you off, and then they'll piss you off. But in the end, you'll love em, swear they can do wrong, defend them like you wouldnt your most trusted friend, and love em like they do you, unconditionally. Its tug of war as a pup, its not FT training, they kn ow the difference. Let em be pups for cripes sakes. "Play" of any kind should be accepted. Dogs know the difference. Pups will be pups, much like kids will be kids. They know whats right and wrong, as long as you have been instilling that along the way. A birddog is not a machine, they need to be young and have fun too, if they dont, youre asking for trouble IMO.

[SeniorCoot]

YUP- Opinions are like Butts we all have them and I'll stick with mine- (opinions and butt) My pups and dogs enjoy boat rides- running with 4 wheelers- swimming-getting petted etc but NOT playing with squeky toys or ever tug of war. Nuff said

[displaced_texan]

I don't do tug of war or squeaky toys.

I find tug of war annoying even with dogs that don't hunt. We have two of those in out house.

There is one squeaky toy. It belongs to the wife's Coonhound and stays outside. It irritates me and both the pointers.

[mountaindogs]

Tug of war with a pup is a ton different than tug of war with your gundog. They aint stupid. Dogs know the difference in right and wrong. If you and you PUP play tug of war, not a big deal at all IMO. Pups need to be pups. I would not play tug of war with a bumper, anything you use for retrievier training or a bird, but other than that, dont worry, its a pup. They'll play, piss you off, make you smile, piss you off, chew up your better halves favorite shoes, piss you off, and then they'll piss you off. But in the end, you'll love em, swear they can do wrong, defend them like you wouldnt your most trusted friend, and love em like they do you, unconditionally. Its tug of war as a pup, its not FT training, they kn ow the difference. Let em be pups for cripes sakes. "Play" of any kind should be accepted. Dogs know the difference. Pups will be pups, much like kids will be kids. They know whats right and wrong, as long as you have been instilling that along the way. A birddog is not a machine, they need to be young and have fun too, if they dont, youre asking for trouble IMO.

AGREE

I let my puppies play tug. I use it to teach them when enough is enough and a drop command. As puppies it's easy to pry open that mouth, and is the perfect time to teach them IMO. I also let them, even the lab, free/play fetch (chase as I throw) without waiting for a release, but I give her a command to let her know that this is play, not work. They know the difference, and the enjoy games. Too many rules makes dog owning dull for both of you. Love your puppy. You are more likely to ruin them by not letting them ever have any fun, than letting the fun sometimes overstep the bounds.

[Swagg]

YUP- Opinions are like Butts we all have them and I'll stick with mine- (opinions and butt) My pups and dogs enjoy boat rides- running with 4 wheelers- swimming-getting petted etc but NOT playing with squeky toys or ever tug of war. Nuff said

are those you or your dogs enjoying that stuff I told my pup she could never drive again after her last crash:)

[SeniorCoot]

Jake (3yr YLM) thinks boat is his- and he gets mad when he must stay home like today-Haven't let him drive yet- But he loves the wind on front deck.

[crackerd]

What's "acceptable play" for a Lab pup, say at 9 weeks? Probably something like this -



- which ain't just acceptable but enthusiastically encouraged. Later on, the secret to training them up is keeping their attitude toward training at the same level it's at for "play" when they're puppies. And Labs - actually all gundogs if you're smart enough to give them the early introduction -



love "playing" with birds from the get-go.

MG