tug toys...

fawkese1

so, i'm wondering how many of you play tug with your dog, and what toy you use to play tug with? do you use it as a reinforcer?

i have been working "tug" into clover's list of non-food reinforcers... but it has taken a while as i've had to build the tug up for him... he does like the game, but only with certain types of toys... we started with a soft frisbee, and now we can play with one of those fire-hose toys... but it is too bulky to keep on hand for training purposes... he doesn't really like to tug with the rope toys... we have a fake sheepskin thing too, but it isn't really sturdy enough... and he seems to be more interested in shredding it, like a stuffy, and it again, is too bulky...

i guess i am looking for something that can't be destroyed in 2 seconds, and that i can easily slip in and out of a pocket, but that is big enough to give us some room for my hand and clover's mouth... oh and that is soft enough that he can get a good grip on it... lol, it would also be great if it floated, but it doesn't have to...

pawzaddict

With Glacier we use old rags, figure its something you can fold up and put in your pocket. He started chewing on towels as we were cleaning up spills and whatnot so we decided to get the old rags out and let him do that. He is able to tear them since they are raggy; he has a tight grip and I was tired of rips in my nice dish towels lol.

Edit: Glaciers grip is pretty good, of course, and it takes a long time for him to actually destroy the rags since I give him a release cue, then let him have it again. But they are easily replaceable

fawkese1

clover has a very reliable release, and leave it on the tug, at this point i can actually hit him with it and he will not take it until cued to do so... we are now just working on the rules when there are distractions around (ie his leave-it disappears when another dog is around) the thing is that with the softer stuff, he doesn't tug it, he gets it in his mouth and just tries to bite it apart, like he'll bite and let go, and not pull. he doesn't even hold on to it if i pull, just let's go and sorta waits for me to hold it still so he can gnaw on it... sorry, hard to describe... tho maybe it is the shape of the things i've been using... maybe if it isn't bunched up, he'll be more likely to tug it...

edit...thanks for your response pawz

Criosphynx

If you plan on using it as a reward

Leerburg | Bite Tugs

You would start mostly on a soft tug, stuffed animals work well for this, it sounds like Clover has a bit of what they call "tug bias" meaning he wont tug on everything.

unfortunately, the best way around tug bias is to expose him to different tugs as a puppy, but you can certainly work on it now...just tug slower and let him win more if its som'thing hes not into...like hard frisbees.

anyway, yeah, I use tug as a reward for Chili, he likes it more than food, but he did have to learn to be comfortable taking it in new places.

I have the leerburg tug dvd is you want to borrow it, it goes over all the things that need to be in place BEFORE you try and use it as a reinforcer, and how to present, remove and place the tug Or I can give you the cliff notes of the dvd by writing them here

fawkese1

omg! that looks like it might be perfect!

on the tug bias... he definitely does... the thing is that i had to encourage clover to play with any toys at all when i first got him, the only things he would touch were sticks and rawhides... now he will play with all sorts of things, but only certain games...
the soft frisbee has been the best, and it fit easily into a pocket, we could fetch with it too, and it floats, but it is tears too easily to be used for that type of tug, and at $20 each...well that just gets to expensive... plus i like to have toys that i place different value on... like for the fire-hose toy, our current tug, it has extremely strict rules, and he has to earn it, every tug/fetch, but for tennis balls, they are way down on the list, and we just leave those out in the yard...lol, i actually put bunches of them in his pool, and he will go and get them all out, then i put them back in, sometimes he will put them back in himself.... anyway, they are a "entertain yourself" type of toy, something that i don't mind other people playing with him with cuz they don't always "get" the rules... he likes them, but has way way more value for the toys that i make him work for...

i let him win a lot, but i was struggling with him not taking the toy to his bed and ripping it each time, then i saw a clip of michael ellis showing someone to encourage the dog to give it right back immediately... back up and get excited, giving your cue... (for clover it is "tug") so i would let him win it, then back up excited saying "tug-tug-tug" now he almost always gives it right back, tho again, when there are other dogs around, he sorta reverts back to taking it to his bed to rip up....

lol, just realized, i'm babbling about it... i would love any info from the video! whatever is easiest for you! thank you!

Criosphynx

awesome! Trust me I know how it is, if toys are not inprinted with variety at the right ages, it can be tough
I got lucky and found one at ross that is soft and floats for like $5, just keep trolling ross. I used this for an "intro to disks"


sounds like clover has more toys than my five!
this!

there are like four rules for the tug and this is one of them you must have before you can use it as a reward...Michael Ellis explains it as "you want the dog to be shoving it AT YOU" you want to be able to push the dog away and hes fighting to get back to you with the toy.

Basically, the reason you want this, besides the obviousness of the dog not running off, is it proves the dog doesn't see it as playing with the toy, they see it as playing with YOU and playing with you is more fun than the toy. If that makes sense...


You don't have to let go of it for him to win...I just release pressure so they can shake it and then I put pressure back on.

Its a five hour vid LOL...


oh, and on that page, there are tugs you can put FOOD into. Som'thing you may want to look into...

also, you familiar with any of the training they do with puppies destined to be disk dogs? I think you could do som' of those things too...

Criosphynx

btw, i think this is a great idea. I use old socks tied in a knot, same idea

fawkese1

was it soft, and a bit rubbery? that one lasted 30 seconds... seriously, he grabbed it, managed to put a small hole in it, then it was all over... the kong floppy one lasted a bit longer, but that was a while ago, when i was trying to get him to play with anything... he wouldn't touch it until i put peanut butter on it, then, he grabbed it on one side and ripped it in half

the one that we used is bright pink and green... but nylon... it lasted longer than the other two, but still isn't quite "right"

maybe... but he doesn't have other dogs to play with, and he can shred/crush stuff so fast that we have to go through many before we find the right ones lol, either that or he is spoiled rotten!

oh totally! and yeah, i saw the clip on the pushing it back, and i was like "oh! duh!" lol... we have been much more focused on our tug since i started doing that....

then i let him win A LOT i always vary the amount that i am pulling and often i let him pull me (not that it is a struggle to "let" him pull me, he is a strong dog!) we also go through different bite/release/leave-it/fetch/tug sequences, he absolutely isn't allowed to tug without the verbal cue, at this point... i don't know if that is too strict, but if i am holding the toy, i don't want to move in a certain way and he grabs it... we were having that problem, i was always holding the toy in a certain way when i cued him to tug, and that was becoming the cue...

maybe i should just watch it then...
i saw those on there, wish that they were at a store somewhere so i could actually handle them...
i am not currently familiar, but i think i will be now!

Criosphynx

Lol, sounds like Clover is a bit more destructive than what Iam used to!


you should see him work his dog. Theres like a fifteen min scene in the begining of him playing tug with his mal. It was amazing. The dogs commands are all in french (i think) really fun to watch.

they call it "value transfer" I *think* basically, you feed the dog only when the toy is around, and feed off of the toy if possible...disk dog trainers will feed puppies off of disks

pawzaddict

glad my idea wasnt stupid lol

As for wanting the dog to shove it at you, thats actually interesting as Peyton and Harvick do this a lot, I was not sure what that was about.