Amy loves to play tug-of-war. She is not specific about which toy she wants to play the game with. Anything would work. Not only with us, but with other dogs too. She initiates the game by taking the toy to the other party, be it her doggie friends or us. I know that the rules of the tug-of-war says that we initiate and end the game and make sure that we win every time. If the humans don’t win, they say that it could promote dominance in the dog. Its another way of ensuring that the dog knows that you are in-charge.
Here she is, playing tug with Sephora in my backyard
Though I usually try to follow the books closely with Amy, I think it is o.k. for her to let us know when she wants to play. If we are not busy, we could always have a little fun! She is really good with leaving us alone when we don’t want to play. Also, since she knows ‘drop it’, stopping the game anytime she is getting worked up is easy! We also let her win often. Not just that she does because she has a lot more balance on four legs, or that she is more aggressive about the toy than we are, but also letting her win gives her an ego boost. Amy used to be very passive and scared when we brought her home. She gets scared easily, especially with men and we suspect that she had been abused. Even in the dog park or the beach, when she sees another dog, she would run to it, but then most of the time sits down or lies on her belly. Though it is good in some ways that she is very passive in letting the other dog know that she is not a threat, we don’t want her to feel so much threatened and vulnerable. And one should see her happiness when she could pull that rope off my hand 
