play with the dog

Hi guys

My AmStaff girl doesn´t really want to play...maybe she runs after the ball 2 or 3 times but thats it...

any idea how I could make "playing" more interesting for her?
maybe to get her playing "tug of war" with me?
she doesn´t like to "hold" the toy at the moment...

any ideas?

thx
sandra

 

I don't know as I've never had that problem. But maybe using food or treats to motivate her?

 

I really don't know but try some food maybe,or just see what she chews on normaly,maybe she would play more with a different toy.Maybe a hide or something.Good luck with her.

 

how is it with her brothers and sisters.the same or is it only your dog who shows that.
maybe she's into other things.have a dog who does nothing else but sleeping.wont play or anything.only thing he fetches and go after is food , rest he is just laying in his basket or at my feet.but outside.he's berserk. next to the bike keeps on going and going,pulling,mill work etc.that makes him happy and wiggle his tail.

 

i know only one brother and one sister...the sister is an absolut play freak and the brother needed a bit time, but does also play right now

 

My sister had this problem with her rescue APBT. He would chase tugs like crazy, but he wouldn't hold on or engage in play. Whenever he was on the bite, they'd praise him like crazy and really get him excited about it. They kept it short also. Try ending the game when your dog seems the most involved. If your dog sees you put the toy up at the moment she wants it most, the next time you bring it out she'll want it badly. Another thing you can do it to back tie her. Tie her up while you play with the toy by yourself, making it look interesting and fun. If you have another dog, you can crate her and make her watch you play tug with that dog. This works for one of my dogs--she gets very jealous and comes out playing hard afterward.

 

DRIVE, DRIVE, DRIVE! She doesn't possess a high prey drive or willingness to chase. Amstaffs or bred for looks APBT(some not all)lack that prey drive your dog doesn't have. I've seen dogs like this turn on to prey items around 2 1/2 years of age. Sometimes its nothing you can do to motivate your dogs prey drive, and thats when agataiton(sp) comes into play.

 

How old is she.. If she's young give her some time to show you what she likes

 

birth is on 5th march 2008 so she´s a bit over one year old! :-)

 

try running with her roller blading so on biting mite nt be her thing????

 

I agree with Mac11 it has to do with lack of drive and it happens to all dogs not just AST's. I have a gamebred RBJ pup right now and she is lacking in drive despite my best efforts. I will either place her or keep her as a pet but I do sports so I need drive.
Now you can bring drive out of dog you just have to find what motivates them. It can take a ton of work and sometimes you have to use compulsion to get it. So if this is just a pet it sounds like she is content to be a couch dog. I do have a few of those and I call them my door stops!


Things you can try if you really want your dog to play with you (if she is just a pet it would be for your benefit not the dogs) You can use toys that you can put food in like these from clean run.
http://www.cleanrun.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&Product_ID=494

Also the bunny fur tug works good
http://www.cleanrun.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&Product_ID=445&ParentCat=320

hope that give you some ideas.

 

I have a couple questions for you

1.did you raise her from a pup

2.how old was she when you started tug of war

3.were you the only one playing with her then till now


The reason I asked is because just like everything else with these dogs
you start slow and increase the level of play

a quick example is when training a pup for hog hunting we use bay pens

from the time they hit the chain till about six or seven months they can only watch no catching for the pups till
bout eight or nine months(20/25lbs) they can catch a young wild hog but not some thing thats gonna kill em but give em a little workout

back to the question

the reason we wait no matter how hot acting the pup is
is the teeth
it may try to catch but just a little damage to the puppy teeth will make a dog not want to keep a hold for the rest of its life
I do the tug thing with pups but basicly work on the hold and pull aspect
if any shacking is done its by the pup till it much older and can play rough

P.S. dont ever snatch anything out of your dogs mouth youll turn them off to the activity

 

Bribing the animal will not further your champaign,some
dogs are slow starters.You want a dog to respond to "you" and be willing to without bribes.
Be patient and you may be rewarded,if it never happens just continue to love the animal for what it is.

Millions of people never get to experience the Breed!