People will tell you"don't play tug-of-war with this type of dog!". Oh yes you can, and should! They need to learn, hopefully from an early age that play is good, but play can be a wonderful time to communicate with your dog the rules of playing nice with your human. A good little game to play goes like this...
Prerequisite: Dog must know how to sit on voice command, and release toy when told.
Find a toy, preferably a tug type toy, rope, ball on a rope, something you can hold onto.
Get dog engaged in active play for 30seconds to a minute.
Stop, stand up with toy out of sight, arms up, say, "sit".
(If you are outside, or around other dogs, you will probably need to do this on leash at first)
Sometimes dog will not sit right away because they are very revved up, that's ok, wait a couple seconds and tell them again, no eye contact. As soon as the sit does happen, begin to play again. If during this game your dog becomes too excited and nips your hand, you stand up and the sit must happen again. They may not bite you during play even if it is accidental. If dog is jumping in excitement this should be ignored until the sit occurs, at that time resume play. This is a fun and interactive way to show your dog how to gain control over his emotions.
