Rick Walker Posted September 12, 2002 Share Posted September 12, 2002 alright guys-I discovered a great grip exercise. All that is needed is a 120-pound rottweiler hooked to a 6' rope lead with a loop in it. I was standing outside with her, letting her do her "buisness" and lazily holding onto her leash with my index and middle finger. It is pretty dark and I was paying no attention to her at all. A cat, or something a cats size, streaked by us. The dog bolted-I had zero time to react. Yes-I held on and stoped her after only a foot or so movement on my part. My step-son hasn't been so lucky. He is often dragged for many feet-screaming the whole way! I guess this is incorperating speed work and crushing into one?? Kinda like hanging the gripper from a string and reaching up fast and mashing it :p i am lucky I didn't lose 2 important fingers- Rick Walker :hehe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul valpreda Posted September 12, 2002 Share Posted September 12, 2002 I used to do the same type of grip workout with my pitbull. I don't have him anymore, but he sure was fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gripmeister Posted September 12, 2002 Share Posted September 12, 2002 I can relate to that. I have two Rottweilers, 1 male and 1 female. Yeah, they sure can make for a grip challenge. Only my opinion...so please don't take it the wrong way, but I'd work on controlling her prey drive, especially for her own safety. There's a big difference between a basic obedience class and "proofing". Yeah, nice to teach dogs to sit, down and to come when called...but having total recall when a dog is in full prey drive is a whole different ball game, despite the fringe benefits of "grip training". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bseedot Posted September 12, 2002 Share Posted September 12, 2002 I play tug-o-war with my Rottie, although I don't pull- I just hang on and let him do the pulling. I generally use a piece of canvas and it gets very difficult to hold once he gets his slobber all over it :p Great grip work. I agree with curbing the prey drive, for both the animal's and others' safety. The Rottweiler breed has a large prey drive, coupled with the size and strength to do something about it. BC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gripmeister Posted September 12, 2002 Share Posted September 12, 2002 Granted, a strong, secure grip is surely needed to play tug-o-war with one of these guys, especially a large adult male (although the females are typically more dominant). When training for schutzhund and personal protection, we use games of tug to develop the dogs bite drive, challenging the dog with timed tugs, then letting it win, coupled with lots of praise and reward. Also use the same approach but with either "out" or "give", to practice release on command (and not letting the dog win). Only saying this because games of tug do develop and reinforce this type drive in dogs, which can unfortunately turn into an unforeseen problem, just from what appeared to be a fun game (and grip exercise ). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sybersnott Posted September 12, 2002 Share Posted September 12, 2002 My sister's German Shepard is a large male about 150 pounds. He has a play toy that is a rope bone, a 2 inch thick rope that he likes to play tug-o-war with. According to my sister, I am the only person that she has seen hold on to the rope the entire time he pulls on it, and I'm talking about holding it in the middle and not on the end. Most people lose their grip on it after about a minute. I went for about 10 to 15 minutes tugging against the dog until the dog realized he couldn't get that rope outta my hand. At that point, he gave up because he was tired. Great fun!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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