I've never been a great fan of playing tug, my first introduction was a year ago at an older puppy class. For all I don't like it much, and I think it's because I don't really understand it, Cassie does like it, and because I currently find myself in a situation of needing to improve recall I would like to re-introduce tuggy! Trouble is, at 28 kg and lean and fit, she's more than capable of dragging me off my feet or into the undergrowth which is why I stopped really, and a few months ago I was having trouble with her going "over threshold" with the jumping and nipping etc., so really needed to keep things calm. I want to try and use tuggy to deflect her from hunting out the poo from my neighbours new dog, which has lead to a couple of failed recalls, before I twigged what was happening, and also the rotting windfall apples which are still about. I couple of times I've twirled the lead around as a last ditch effort -- and she has returned to me, so maybe I can play a proper game to reward her. My question is , is there a book or any link on here that people would recommend? I only know the version I learnt last year, but it doesn't allow her to win, so I'm a bit confused as to how to end the session without taking the "high value" toy, which she only ever has for tug, away from her. @Joy, I think you are the forum Tug Queen, perhaps you can help?
Craig Ogilvie has a good book: http://craigogilviedogtraining.com/books/ If you can get to any of his workshops, it might be worth it.
Thank you for the accolade. I don’t think I looked at videos for tug, it’s just something I’ve played with each dog I’ve owned. Molly’s the first, though, where I’ve used it deliberately/ consciously as a reward for particular behaviours. I’ve used lots of different tug toys over time -plaited ropes, soft toys etc but her current favourite is a short (around 2foot) length of bungy cord with an old sock tied at each end. It’s a rare day that we don’t have a game with this. I keep the tug time very short, probably no more than 20 seconds, then give my cue ‘ready’ so she lets go, then I either say ‘go’ and toss it for her ( she picks it up, brings it to me and we tug again) or I ask for another behaviour (sit, down, walk to heel) before saying ‘go’ and tossing it. Oh yes, sometimes when she releases it, I throw it around but don’t give the ‘go’ cue at first -this builds the excitement. But I also make sure that I don’t always make her wait or do something - several times during the session I’ll restart the tug as soon as she has released it. The whole game might last 5 or 6 minutes. I suppose in a sense Molly never wins -we don’t play roughly so neither of us forcibly removes it from the other - and at the very end when I’m going to put it away I say ‘game over’ and reward with a treat. That’s the only time I use food during the game now. I don’t know if playing tug will help you. Molly prefers it to ‘fetch’ and it keeps her focused on me. I think games generally are great for focus - I had a cocker spaniel once and did no formal training but played endlessly with her and she was wonderful. I’d love to see Craig Ogilvie. I tried to book a session when he was touring near here but sadly it was cancelled.
Charlie thinks the objective of a game of tug is to see the human flat on her face in a pile of mud. And Betsy is still VERY bitey if things get out of hand. My right arm is currently covered in huge black bruises because I let a game of 'I'm gonna catch your bum' get out of hand. Improved her recall no end though. Neither of these things stop me playing tug with my dogs. If you can get a copy of Controlled Unleased look up 'off switch' exercises - I think Control Unleased the Puppy Programme is a little better than Control Unleashed for this. I won't repeat all of the techniques here, because I don't feel it's fair on the authors of books, but you could also google it of course. This teaches you both how to end a game of tug - much harder with Charlie than Betsy (that's kind of a good thing, because Betsy does WAY more damage to her human than Charlie does) because I knew to get a 'out' cue in super early with Betsy, having been pre-warned with Charlie what happens when you don't have one... The general keys are to have a way of ending the game and get that solid before you try to rev up your dog in more exciting circumstances. And learn how to recognise when your dog is going to be incapable of thinking, and stop just before that point (for the off switch game). Once you've got 'out' and 'off switch' going, then you can go crazy with tug for amazing rewards. Obviously, since I'm currently sat with my right arm in a bucket of ice, you had better read the book rather than relying on any advice I type about spotting the point at which your dog will lose it. Betsy 'wins' at tug, because her response is to immediately scamper back and thrust the toy back into my hand. Charlie doesn't, because his response is to gallop round the field, victorious, with the tug toy and that's not quite the point.... But take heart - if your dog goes nuts* for tug (or indeed anything) then that's brilliant. You can use it and the more powerful a reinforcer you have, the better your training can be. *Edited. There is 'going nuts' and then there is Charlie. If your dog REALLY is obsessive or seriously bonkers, that's not so good. There is too much of a good thing...
Betsy's! Only I found out what happens when she wins that particular game. IMG_3705 by julieandcharlie julieandcharlie, on Flickr
Think what it was like BEFORE I did any training with her. It's fine - it was my fault. This is just a Betsy thing. It's what she does over threshold. Luckily, it's actually very difficult to get her to go over threshold. But all good experience.
I thought that I would play tug with one of my dogs who isn’t interested and so I have attended Craig’s lecture and also a workshop. The things I took away from his instruction was a) don't play for very long - he suggests 20 second bouts of tug. b) keep the tuggy low and sweep from side to side in long gentle strokes c) allow the dog to win and ask again to play. I think he calls it a ‘snap back’
This is how I play tuggy with Bramble, I use a long bungy with a large sheepskin tuggy at the end. It is better to have a substantial tuggy, something she can really get her teeth into. I guess It has taken a while to get her interested, having 3 dogs has it's drawbacks when she would rather engage in play with them than me. Although I have started using a "ready, ready"cue before we begin, to let her know I am ready to play. When we are actually tugging, I also push (gently) the tuggy towards her, as opposed to "pulling" away from her. I do this to prevent snatching the tuggy, not sure if it works or not though! . The games are very short, and a win for me is when she brings the tuggy back to me to play again, mainly because it has been a challenge in getting her to play at all, she is just so serious about life!
There are definitely two types, or buckets, of problems playing tug -at least at first, although the aim is to end up in the same place with a good game that's reinforcing and yet under control. One is the dog that's not all that interested. The other is the dog that is far too enthusiastic. I think @selina27 's problem is the overly enthusiastic dog. You can skip all the generating interest in the toy stuff with this kind of dog - in fact, it's an absolute must to skip it, and move straight to being calm around tug exercises.
Hi @selina27 , a little late from your original post but thought you might find the article on playing tug useful. I couldn't remember where I had seen it and came across it by chance this morning http://cleverdogcompany.com/sarahs-articles/
