pull games when being puppy

[dakota]

hello,

What do you think about pulling games when you have a pup?
Not about his character but about his health.

Does it infect the stand of the teeth?


like overbite and underbite?

[jmann4]

I've never heard of that. If anything it will pull out the baby teeth.

[Fish]

Why would you want to if the chance is there to pull teeth out, even if baby teeth. But on the other hand I have seen a picture with Diain Jessup holding up a pup with his teeth clamped down on something, she is holding him about a foot off the floor. I think the caption said something about training him for a spring pole. She knows alot more than I do bout dogs so if she does it go for it, with in reason.

[mad4bullies]

Ive played quite rough tug games with both my pups. Its never done any harm (they both have perfect 'scissor' bites) and they love it. My 3yr old staffie loved to tug and even hang in the air from about 7 or 8 wks old! Shes always been mad for a game of tug.

[dakota]

not that I ever would play rough but , I though when you play some tug game like for 5 minutes it could damage the teeth, that is what your read about.

it is just a question for myself , because I could not stand the tough that if I play a game where my pup pulls and later on he has overbite I would blame myself doing wrong.

so that is why I asked. So gentle play and pull isn't bad at all if you use it wisely?

[Leslie H]

I think the "affect the bite" myth is an excuse made up by breeders to explain bites that went bad. An overbite in this breed is very unusual. As the lower jaw grows for longer than the upper, minor overbites may correct themselves. Underbites typically get worse, or stay the same, and are far more common. Not surprising w/our bulldog heritage. I have yet to see an underbite correct, though a couple people I trust say they've seen 1 or 2.
I've never heard that bad bites were a major issue in breeds like malinios or dutch shepherds, where frequently pups are encouraged to tug.

[JB]

Before my dog's perm teeth came in, I wouldn't pull back too much on the tug, I'd let her pull and just hold the tug. I'd maybe give it a little shake once in a while. I was just being really gentle with her because she was pretty delicate back then. I wouldn't worry about it affecting your dog's bite, but I also wouldn't pull your dog around the house by her mouth for 4 hours when her adult teeth are just starting to come in. Just use some common sense.