Should you play tug-of-war with your dog? Is it dangerous? Will it make her aggressive? Or is all that just silliness? What could be better than a game of tug? How could it hurt?
Tug-of-war can be either a curse or a boon, it's all in how you go about it. If played without structure, the game left unchecked, it can become a nightmare. You could end up with a dog that tugs at her own leash when you are trying to walk her, a dog that tugs at your pant leg when you try to walk or play, or worse, a dog that tugs at your arms or hair!
But it doesn't have to be that way. Tug is a wonderful game when you teach your dog to play it in a civilized manner. How do we love tug? Let us count the ways....
When taught properly tug-of-war teaches your dog tremendous control. Your dog will learn impulse control when excited, and jaw control when playing with humans. He'll learn "leave it", "take it", "tug", and "drop it".
Tug-of-war is an excellent interactive game in which
you provide the fun! No one likes to play tug alone, therefore your dog will learn to associate playing tug with you with good times. And blending fun with learning is the key to high-powered training!
Most dogs really enjoy the physicality of the game. Tug makes for an outstanding life-reward, especially in sport or when you are training in highly-charged or distracting settings when food rewards hardly cut it. Use a short game of tug-of-war to break up obedience exercises, heeling on a walk, on the agility field, or when your dog comes when called at the park.
Tug is fun to incorporate into other games such as "search and rescue"!You can even use tug to distract a reactive dog, or barker (it's hard to bark and tug at the same time) once she's addicted to the game.
