Tug Away - It's Okay To Play

Should you play tug with your dog or not? Over the years there has been different, and usually contradictory, advice given. Well it seems that we now have some clarity and some research on the issue. So let’s take a fresh look at the game of tug…

Why the difference of opinion?

There have been a number of reasons why trainers, vets, behaviourists and others have cautioned owners against playing tug with their dogs. Some of the reasons include:

• The game pits you against your dog.
• If your dog wins then they will think that they can beat you in a battle of strength or wills.
• The game sets many dogs up to quickly get to a level of arousal that is over the top and potentially dangerous.
• Fingers and hands are at risk of being bitten.
• The game teaches dogs to use the full force of their teeth around people.
• Playing tug makes dogs aggressive.
• It can make them possessive of the toy.
• It teaches them to tug on other things you don’t want.
• It can physically damage both your spine and your dog’s neck and spine.

Sure there is a grain of truth in many of these but there are also simple precautions that you take to ensure that they don’t occur or are minimised – and let’s face it nothing in life is risk free (not even doing nothing).

The benefits of tug

Playing tug has benefits for both of you including its role as:

• A great way to exercise without needing much space or time and that can be done indoors or out.
• A good way to help dogs let off steam/ excess energy quickly.
• An awesome reward for good training or other performances.
• A great and fun way of teaching your dog self control.
• A way to redirect mouthy dogs teeth to an appropriate object.

So how should you play tug?

Here’s what the literature has to say about playing tug safely with your dog:

• Establish and stick to the rules of the game –
• The dog must only take the toy when told to – you need to teach him about this rule before playing.
• They must give it up when asked – again teach him about this rule before playing.
• They must not get so excited that they lose control – this is something you need to monitor and you can do this by short bursts of tug and then asking the dog to give up the toy and/or sit or drop – and then rewarding them for complying by playing again.
• No teeth on skin or clothes – if this happens (even inadvertently) then say ouch and immediately end the session for a period.
• Tug is only acceptable with the nominated tug toy/s ad/or when given the specific cue – consistency in the rules above should help you here as will having designated tug toys that are put away after each session.
•  Let the dog do the tugging and shaking – Don’t jerk his head back and forwards and up and down that’s a sure way to develop neck problems) instead pull straight back
• Do not let your dog hang from his teeth – at least his hind feet should always be in contact with the ground.
• People who cannot play by the rules do not play this game.
• If your dog is aggressive or domineering then find another more cooperative game to play.
• Nip unacceptable behaviours in the bud by immediately stopping the game.

Other advice

• It’s also been said that it’s okay to play tug as long as you win every time. Well research by Rooney and Bradshaw seems to show that there is no correlation between dogs winning games of tug and the relative status of the human-dog pair. However:
• It was found that the most playful dogs can be very pushy with their owners if they are left with the toy at the end of the play session – so I recommend that you take the toy away at the end of the session. This also makes it a more valuable toy because it is for special time only and should help maintain your dog’s interest in the game.
• I also recommend that while you let your dog win some games – you make sure you win some too, possibly even most of them. You both need to want to play the game and losing all the time isn’t fun for anyone.
   
• The best tug toys:
• Are long ones – long enough to keep your hand away from those teeth.
• Made of a substance that invites your dog to grab and hold but won’t cause damage.
• Are sturdy enough to withstand significant abuse.
• Are comfortable and easy for you to maintain a grip on.
   
• Tug may not be an appropriate game for your children to play with your dog. But if you decide to give it a go make sure that the same rules are strictly adhered to (and yes you will need to teach the dog to obey the rules with children too – and supervise, supervise, supervise).

Teaching the rules

• One way to teach take it and give involves:
• Selecting a toy that your dog enjoys. Say the cue you want to use ‘take it’ for instance and quickly and playfully hand the toy to your dog.
• Don’t expect him to hold it for long – maybe just a few seconds (you should know how attached your dog is to it) so be ready to say the cue you want to use for them to give up the toy (‘mine’ or ‘drop’ for instance) and immediately show them a treat so that they drop the toy into your waiting hand.
• Repeat over a number of training sessions – keeping sessions short and fun. You should be able to gradually increase the length of time your dog is holding the toy before giving it to you and you should be able to remove the treat waved under their nose and just bring it out when they have dropped the toy as a reward.
• Now you can start asking for your dog to take and give different toys and also start weaning off the food rewards by playing with them sometimes, treats sometimes and sometimes throwing the toy for them to chase and/or fetch.

                If you need to you can start with your dog on leash – and of course you’re starting in a quiet area
                without too many distractions as that’s always the best place to learn something new.

• For information of other methods of teaching off and take it, the rules of tug and using it as a reward check out the following from Dr Ian Dunbar at DogStarDaily:
• Teaching off and take it with food - http://www.dogstardaily.com/training/all-or-none-reward-train-off-and-take-it 
• Tug of War - http://www.dogstardaily.com/videos/tug-war-0
• Find Your Tug Toy - http://www.dogstardaily.com/videos/find-tug-toy-0 

But my dog doesn’t like tug

• It seems that most dogs are almost obsessed with tug or have no interest. Very few seem to sit in the middle. You can choose to try and teach him to tug or you can move onto another game he enjoys more – remember this is meant to be fun for you both.
• You might be able to teach him to pull and enjoy it by:
• Getting out a new toy and playing with it where your dog can see you but not letting them play with it (not for too long as this then becomes teasing) and then noticeably put the toy away somewhere safe they can’t see it.
• Later or the next day repeat and keep repeating until your dog shows great interest in what you are up to and is really wanting to play with the toy.
• Then you can bring the toy out and use it to really rev up your dog so that they are just salivating to get at it (remember safety though so don’t go too over the top or you might get bitten). This is often achieved by waving and flicking the toy across the floor and up in the air and tantalisingly just out of reach and then letting the dog make contact (any contact) – then go over the top with praise, being a real cheerleader and making a fuss. If they maintain contact try pulling slightly against them and see if they maintain their pressure and start to tug. If so you might want to put a cue to this like ‘pull’ or ‘tug’ so that you can use it to get games started.
• If he does pull but without a great deal of enthusiasm then you can become a cheerleader and become more and more excited when he does even the slightest pull and then as he pulls harder. You might feel and look like a bit of a fool at first – but you’re entertaining your dog, yourself and possibly the neighbourhood all in one : )

References

• Amy Ammen and Kitty Foth-Regner – Hip Ideas for Hyper Dogs
• D. Caroline Coile – Beyond Fetch. Fun, Interactive Activities for You and Your Dog.
• Jean Donaldson – Dogs Are From Neptune
• Karen B. London and Patricia B. McConnell – Play Together, Stay Together. Happy and Healthy Play Between People and Dogs
• Kyra Sundance – 101 Dog Tricks. Step-by-Step Activities to Engage, Challenge, and Bond with Your Dog
• Manuela Zaitz – Trick School for Dogs. Fun Games to Challenge and Bond
• Pat Miller – Play with Your Dog

To read Rooney and Bradshaw’s research visit http://www.psyeta.org/jaaws/full_articles/6.2/rooney.pdf

As always open to questions and/or suggestions.

Now I've found another great resource for teaching tug to dogs that don't seem to go for it naturally and for using tug to reinforce recall (come) for your dog.  Check out one of the Dina Zaphiras videos on DogStarDaily TV America's Dog Trainers at http://www.dogstardaily.com/videos/tv/part-2-dina-zaphiris-%E2%80%93-behavior-savior.