I do not let my kids do this as I believe it is a bad practice as the pooch may decide to do it with a duck etc. the only time I allow it is with a deer or pig skin as I want the dog to want to hang on to a animal like that. here are my two pooches playing with a fresh red stag skin. Do you other dog owners do the same???

Elvis, the main question: "How close are you with your dogs?"

On October 10th I had to separate from the best hunting dog I ever had. Her name was Yess and she was a 10 year old "Grosse Munsterlander" When you know that hunting season on small game really starts here on October 15th, then you understand it still hurts when I think back on this season's start.
Here we learn to train the dog first before it's allowed to come in contact with game. But because I lost my old dog so suddenly and my dog's work is my greatest hunting pleasure, I took her successor, a cesky fousec that I collected myself in Czech Republic, at the age of 6 months straight hunting, without any training at all.
I only had 2 things to support my decision: this new dog (see my avatar) was very close to me and does everthing to please me, and second: my youngest daughter started an extra course beside her normal study at the university of Leuven, learning to understand and train dogs. So if anything should go wrong, my daughter should have to clean up the mess

Well I did everything everybody says not to do with a young dog. I took her on the high seat hunting roebuck, took her to meetings and let her lay down at my feeth, she often sits beside me when I drive my car, took her hunting even she didn't wanted to do a decent 'apport', I even took her on pigeon's hunt where she had trouble with the noise of the many shots, ...
but: she trusts me completely and I trust her.
In house she is as soft as can be, but once I take my gun and go out, she changes completely. On January 12th she becomes 9 months old, I still have to do a lot of additional training next summer, but I already have a good hunting dog and a better than ever friend. She loves to go hunting, searches rather fast but still OK for phaisants, hare and rabbits (ducks and work on/over the water will be for next season), she even already helped to retrieve roebuck and she brings everything I shoot on a pigeon hunt, even crows.
I don't say she's trained enough and I know I didn't make it easy for me nor for her, but doing it this way gave us at least 1 year extra pleasure because she already surprised me and my hunting friends a few times.

And after this long introduction just a few words on your war game: just do anything that feels good for you and your dog, but do it together and play very often together. But don't forget to give your dog his childhood because when things turn out well, he will give you his live. Anything you both do together will bring you closer and will make him understand the things you like and want or hate, even without punishment.

But there is 1 big disadvantage: I already think about how it's going to hurt now when we some day have to separate. Because here we have a saying: "You'll survive every dog except your last..."

so I hope your dog also will give you many pleasant surprises.

thank you for that Aloysius. yes I guess if it feels right what the heck lets do it. I also did it "wrong" with the wee fela as he is now 16weeks but has already been out on the hill on a lead attached to my belt while we fired a few rounds at wallabies. the .223 probably wasnt the smartest choice of firearm to introduce him to but no problems at all. in fact when the wee fella got tired I sat him in my pack and carried him home a wallaby bounced out infront of us 3 futile shots later the dog was still asleep!!! I had to tip him out of the pack.one of the best books I have ever read on dogs is by Richard Wolters called game dog see if you can fine a copy it is a great read.

Seems like I read something someplace that you should never play "tug of war" with a dog because of dominance issues. However I'm sure I've done it with all of mine. Of course, come to think of it, none of them were very obedient...

According to some I have also done everything wrong with my labs, but yet I have a lot of people ask me to either train their dog or for advice on training.
My black is a big sissy baby around the house and yard, but it I bring a gun out she is all business. If I take a gun and leave her home she gets mad at me for the next day or two. I bought a chocolate lab after the blacks first duck season because she was working herself to hard and wouldn't stop. Now I have a challenge getting two bird crazy dogs to honor each other. They both just live to please us, great dogs. We occasionally play tug with a white glove but that is all they tug with.

pumpkinslinger I believe the way around the domanance thing is to win. my big dog is 45kgs and I get the angle right I can take him off balance. having the ability to sool/sick the dog on to something is great when I shoot a wallaby etc and need the dog to grab it cause its getting away [not hit right] or to try to grab it and flush it out so we can shoot it.I have seen a lad ridgeback cross that would retrieve live ducklings but would rip up a pig or heel a cattle beast real well. our farm dogs were all multitaskers.my border collie would muster sheep or cattle with finese if the cattle didnt behave they got chewed for there trouble till they did as asked and he was a great pig dog a reliable finder that would bail till we got there and hold any asked. I dont have the time to chase pigs anymore but the dogs will find something we have shot.