Do you think it is the owners responsibility to ???

Question

I just read a response to another question about whether or not pit bulls and rottweilers have jaws that lock and one response got me thinking...

Should the owner of a powerful dog be able to insist that their dog let go of something on demand? Do you think it is a problem if they owner does not force the dog to drop whatever they have?

For example, lets say a pit bull owner is playing tug-o-war with their dog and decides the game is over and the dog refuses to let go of the rope...should the owner allow this and just let the dog keep the rope or should they insist that the dog give it? Sholuld they insist every time or just sometimes?

I have a Collie and if I ask her to give something, I do not let her keep it no matter how bad she may want it.

Answer 1

Toughie. I would train them to let go on command but not so far that they won't even want to hold anything around you. Hope that helps.

Answer 2

People need to socialize their dogs and teach them how to play... it doesn't matter what breed a dog is, it can be aggressive if it's not trained to live in harmony with people... and dogs should not the pack leader when living with humans.

Answer 3

ALL dogs no matter how strong, big, or little should be taught this because if you need to get something dangerous away from them you'll be able to if they're trained.  

Answer 4

Yes they need to have total control over their dog regardless of the breed. If you cant control a pet while playing how could you when he or she is in attack mode?

Answer 5

I have a Pit Bull and a mixed/mutt dog both have to give back whatever toy they are playing with when I want. Sometimes they don't like to or even want to but I feel it's best to keep the leader of the pack in order. (so to say).

No matter the breed I believe owners should be responsible enough if they are going to own a dog to train them properly.

Playing tug of war IMO is wrong anyway.

Answer 6

Our puppy training/obedience class suggested (rather strongly) that you should always insist the dog drop the item in that situation, rather than letting the dog "win".  If you play tug-o-war with the dog and let him win like that, you are making him the alpha.  Also, if a dog has a powerful jaw then you need to train him to be obedient when you tell him to drop something.

So yes, I do think the owner is responsible for training the dog to follow commands.  That's part of the difference between good owners and bad owners - training.

Answer 7

I think every dog regardless of breed should learn a "drop it" command. Some dogs are really stubborn though, I've had some problems with one of my dogs and toy possession where they don't want to let go of the toy, and if the dog doesn't I refuse to play and ignore, which gets the response I'm looking for.

As for locking jaws, no breed of dog has locking jaws, and the strongest bite force recorded for the domestic dog is 500, which I believe belongs to a quite large Mastiff breed dog; the average jaws strength for a medium-large sized dog is 330.

Answer 8

They should insist to give it up, otherwise the dog will become diobedient and stubborn. He will refuse to obey you, and you'll have greater problems when she'll grow up.