~ The Rules of Tug o' War ~

Tug o' War can be a wonderful game and training tool to use with your dog. There are still plenty of misconceptions that tugging with your dog will cause aggression or create "dominance problems", but as long as you follow a few simple rules, tugging can be a positive and highly beneficial pastime with your dog.

Who Should Tug

If you plan to do any kind of advanced training with your dog for things like obedience or tracking or flyball, it is highly recommended that you cultivate strong tugging behavior. Even further, if you plan on doing any agility, you can expect your instructors to actually make tugging practice part of your homework and formal training process! But if you don't plan to do all that training, you can still enjoy the benefits of tugging.

Tug is a fabulous training tool and relationship builder because it can help you bond with your dog in an intimate game where you not only pit strength against each other but also against the poor, innocent tug toy as you cooperate to "kill" it. Furthermore, tugging promotes your dog's self-control while in a highly excitable state -- one of the reasons it's used so commonly in agility training. Far from promoting aggression, properly-played tug o' war can increase the bond between you and your dog and actually raise your leadership status.

It is true that tugging is not appropriate for all dogs. You should think carefully about tugging with your dog if any of the following are true:

  • your dog has any history of of resource guarding (over-protectiveness of toys, or even food)
  • your dog out-weighs or out-muscles you by enough of a margin that you might be injured, even just by accident
  • your dog displays over-the-top behavior when excited by the tug toy (you can always work on this and come back to tugging later)
  • some members of the household play rough games with the dog, including tug, without following "the rules", causing the dog to behave roughly with those family members and visitors who do not welcome such inappropriate behavior
  • your dog refuses to yield the tug toy when you ask -- teach "Drop It" behavior with less exciting objects before trying to tug

The Rules

So as long as you follow these rules, tug can be a safe and rewarding playtime activity or a super-duper training reward:

  1. YOU decide when to play.

    2. Many trainers recommend keeping tug toys put away until you decide it's playtime. This puts you in control of the game, and also makes the tug toy much more valuable and exciting than if it were lying around the living room floor all day.

  2. YOU decide when the game is over

    3. When it's time to stop playing, you must be able to say "Out" or "Drop" or "Mine" and get the tug back. The dog should yield the toy willingly -- you should never, ever pry it out of the dog's mouth or wrestle him for it. You also never want to simply let go of the tug and walk away. The only exception is that if a dog is very soft or timid, you can let him "win" sometimes to give him more confidence.

  3. Keep bouts of tugging short

    4. It's a good idea to stop and start playing tug several times in a session. In other words, rather than tugging intensely for 3 minutes straight, tug for 15-30 seconds, ask for the tug back, maybe even ask for a sit or other controlled behavior, then start the game again. This is especially important for a dog that gets a little over the top because it gives her a chance to regain some self-control between rounds.

  4. Zero tolerance for clumsy teeth

    5. If your dog's teeth nick skin or clothing, even slightly or by accident, then GAME OVER. You may even yelp an "Ouch!". Dogs have incredibly precise control of their jaws, or rather they *can* have incredibly precise control if you give him feedback when they mess up. It would be very easy for your dog to accidentally chomp your hand while re-gripping the tug, so they need to understand right up front that it is their responsibility to watch for your body parts while playing. Even "in the heat of the moment", your dog is fully capable of watching out for your fingers and clothes, and must be expected to do so.

  5. Not everyone gets to play

    6. Never let your dog play tug with small children or even other adults that do not or can not follow these rules to the letter. As a precaution, some trainers recommend not letting anyone else play tug with your dog ever, but you can make that judgement call based on your knowledge of your own dog and how your dog reacts when excited or when around strange people and children.

  6. Go easy on puppies

    7. You can start playing gentle tug games with tiny baby puppies, but be careful how vigorously you tug while your pup's mouth is still developing -- your pup may feel ready to play roughly before he is developed enough for it to be safe. Be particularly careful during periods that your pup is losing teeth. There may be some points in your pup's development where you take a break from playing tug for a short time -- be alert for signs that you may want to back off for a bit.

  7. Have fun!

    8. No matter what else you do, don't ever forget that it's all about you and your dog having a good, safe time together. Enjoy!

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Author: Erica Pytlovany
    Created On: August 24, 2006
    Last Modified: August 24, 2006
    Feedback/comments welcome at: training AT blackacorndogs.com (remove spaces and substitute AT for '@' )

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