Tug O War

Tug O War is a great game to play with Cooper.  It really feeds his whole body's need to pull.  He loves his rope toys.  When he hangs on and pulls, you can lift him right up off the ground.  He'll hang on as long as he can.  I always make sure not to yank so as not to shock his mouth or cause a sore.  Sometimes when we play this game outside I spin him around slowly.  He's so funny.  You would think he would be afraid of going around in circles, but it doesn't seem to phase him.

We have had to teach him that it isn't ok to grab clothing and pull.  He has ripped clothes and even a leather jacket when not following this rule.

He plays in a calmer manner when tugging with my six year old grandson Logan.  He will wait for Logan to start pulling before he begins to pull too.  Logan's whole body jerks as Cooper tugs and tugs him across the floor.  Cooper is very strong, so he overpowers Logan easily.  Logan's giggles make it easier for Cooper to overpower him also.  Logan gets laughing so hard that he can hardly hold the rope much less give Cooper any competition.

When Jesse plays Tug O War with Cooper he doesn't play fair.  He tickles and touches Cooper's front feet.  Cooper tries to protect them.  So while he holds the rope, growling and trying to pull, he hides his feet under his body and shifts from side to side keeping his feet away from Jesse's touch.  Without being able to use his front feet, it's almost impossible for Cooper to really pull so the best he can do is hold on and wait until he can use his front feet again to push backward and really hold his ground.  He's so funny when he finally gets to pull.  He jumps up onto his feet with the intention of really getting down to business!  He growls and does his tug, tug, tug rhythm that is so strong.  You really have to hold on.  I would love to have his strength measured to see how hard his little 20 pound body can actually pull.  It feels like he can double his weight when he pulls back like that.  Maybe some day I will see if I can get an electronic scale and measure it.