Why and How to Teach your Puppy Tug-of-War
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The What: Tug-of-War ~ A supposedly controversial game to play with your dog!
Many people have advised me not to play tug-of-war with my dogs. I’ve been told and read things such as: it can promote aggressive behavior; it encourages the dog to claim objects and become possessive; it riles them up too much; it can lead to biting and inappropriate play behavior, etc. etc.
All of that is a bunch of bologna to me!! When played with a few ground rules (which are described below in the How section), tug is a fantastic game that you should play with your puppy or dog!
The Why: Why you SHOULD play tug with your dog!
Healthy and constructive way to release energy
Foundation for dog sport activities such as frisbee - check out my post on why Tug-of-War is essential to playing frisbee with your dog (coming soon!)
Teaches your puppy or dog self-control
Teaches appropriate play behavior with people
Teaches confidence
A reward instead of food or treats - check out my post about the differences between using food and toy rewards (coming soon!)
The How: How to teach your dog to play Tug-of-War!
First, we will go over the simple ground rules:
You are in charge and in control of the game. You, yes you! Not your dog.
You decide when the game starts and stops
The game will stop if your dog’s mouth comes in contact with any human skin, or if your dog gets over excited or displays inappropriate behavior (which I will leave up to your discretion). If you need to stop the game, become as boring as possible. Do not yell or react - just stay quiet and do not move or wiggle the toy. Remove the toy and walk away. Your dog will learn that if he plays inappropriately, the game and fun will stop.
Next, you need a tug toy! The most common tug toy that people are familiar with is a knitted rope. Those work wonderfully, but don’t let your imagination stop there - you can play tug-of-war with practically any dog toy! Anything that is big enough for your dog and yourself to hold onto will work. You can find different types of tug toys here!
If your dog is not motivated by a rope toy, you can use things like a soft squeaky toy (the octopus toy above), a dog frisbee or a woven fleece tug (the red and white toy above), like the ones that I make here in my Etsy shop. If you need something more interesting and exciting for your pup, try a toy that is composed of animal hide and a rope handle (like the toy with the bright green handle above) - my puppy goes crazy for this!
Once you pick your toy, you can offer it to your dog. They should grab on and play! If you need to work on building toy drive with your puppy or dog, you can read more about it another one of my posts (coming soon)!
Assuming your dog is tugging and playing with you, you can tug back and play for as long as you’d like. Remember, YOU control the game! Let your dog win every once in a while to keep their interest in the game. You want your dog to LOVE Tug-of-War!
Ending a tug game is the perfect time to teach or reinforce your dog’s ‘drop’, ‘let go’ or ‘leave it’ command. At first, you should say the command, ‘drop’ while acting very boring - do not move yourself or the toy and stay quiet! If your dog lets go of the toy, immediately praise with ‘yes!’ or ‘good!’ and then play another game of tug. Repeat as many times as you’d like!
If your dog does not release the toy, you can bribe them with a treat. If they let go of the toy to take the treat, praise as soon as they let go of the toy, then give them the treat, and you can start a new game of tug! You can slowly phase the treat reward out once your dog understands the command. If you are ending the play session, make sure you end it after a successful ‘drop’ command and praise! Practice makes perfect - the more you play with your dog and are consistent with how the game is played, the more you and your dog will get out of the game!
Remember: Have fun and you are in charge of the game! If you follow these steps and ground rules, you and your dog will have a great time playing Tug-of-War!
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