Introduction to the Course | + |
Lesson 1 |
Course Information |
|
Lesson 2 |
Changing Your Password |
|
Lesson 3 |
Asking Questions/Getting Feedback |
|
Lesson 4 |
How to Use This Course |
|
Introduction to Tugging | + |
Lesson 1 |
Why do I tug with my dog? |
|
Lesson 2 |
The Most Important Thing |
|
Lesson 3 |
Tugging Demonstration |
|
Lesson 4 |
Choosing a Tug Toy |
|
Lesson 5 |
What About Food Toys? |
|
Lesson 6 |
At What Age Should You Start Tug Training? |
|
Lesson 7 |
Teething and Tugging |
|
Lesson 8 |
Tugging and Other Dog Sports |
|
The Chase | + |
Lesson 1 |
How to Entice Your Dog to Chase the Toy |
|
Lesson 2 |
Demonstration of Good Chasing |
|
Lesson 3 |
Restrained Recall to Toy on a Line (Beginner) |
|
Lesson 4 |
Restrained Recall to Toy in Hand (Advanced) |
|
The Bite | + |
Lesson 1 |
How to Present Toys and Avoid Getting Bitten |
|
Lesson 2 |
How to Tug with Toys on a Line |
|
Lesson 3 |
How to Tug with Medium Length Fleece Toys |
|
Lesson 4 |
How to Tug with Dog on Leash |
|
Lesson 5 |
How to Present the Hol-ee Roller |
|
Lesson 6 |
How to Avoid Further Injury if Your Dog Accidentally Bites You |
|
The Fight | + |
Lesson 1 |
Watch for the Weight Shift |
|
Lesson 2 |
Protect Your Back |
|
Lesson 3 |
Additional Resource: How to Lift Heavy Weight Safely |
|
Lesson 4 |
Protect Your Neck |
|
Lesson 5 |
Tugging With a Toy While on a Leash |
|
The Release | - |
Lesson 1 |
When to Add the Release |
|
Lesson 2 |
How to Get the Toy Back Before You Add a Release Cue |
|
Lesson 3 |
Teaching the Release |
|
Lesson 4 |
Building Duration into the Release |
|
The Retrieve | + |
Lesson 1 |
Demonstration of the Retrieve |
|
Lesson 2 |
Try This Quick Fix First |
|
Lesson 3 |
How to Mark When Teaching the Retrieve |
|
Lesson 4 |
Example of Traditional Retrieve Training |
|
Lesson 5 |
Case Study: Problem Golden Retriever |
|
Lesson 6 |
Case Study: Using Opposition Reflex |
|
Lesson 7 |
Case Study: Success with the Dog |
|
Lesson 8 |
Case Study: Transitioning to Thrown Toy |
|
Lesson 9 |
Case Study: Adding an Obstacle to the Retrieve |
|
Lesson 10 |
Retrieve to Hand or Drop at Feet |
|
Lesson 11 |
Transitioning to a "Dead" Toy |
|
Lesson 12 |
Ellie's First Retrieve |
|
Lesson 13 |
Retrieving with the Holee Roller |
|
Tugging and Retrieve Games | + |
Lesson 1 |
Games Introduction |
|
Lesson 2 |
Enticement |
|
Lesson 3 |
Front Wheel Drive |
|
Lesson 4 |
Muzzle Grab (Improving Grip) |
|
Lesson 5 |
Mommy (or Daddy) Jungle Gym |
|
Lesson 6 |
You're So Strong |
|
Lesson 7 |
Push-Pull |
|
Lesson 8 |
Multi Toy Game |
|
Using Food to Teach Tugging | + |
Lesson 1 |
Dinner Bowl Protocol for Food-Only Dogs |
|
Lesson 2 |
Tugging as a Trick |
|
Lesson 3 |
Tugging as Part of a Behavior Chain |
|
Special Topics | + |
Lesson 1 |
Tugging with sensitive dogs |
|
Lesson 2 |
Transitioning from Fun Toys to Functional Toys (or Leash Tugging) |
|
Lesson 3 |
Leash Tugging Demo with a Small Dog |
|
Lesson 4 |
Establishing a default behavior (eye contact) |
|
Lesson 5 |
Tugging for Competition |
|
Lesson 6 |
Tugging for Training |
|
Lesson 7 |
Should I Hide the Toy? |
|
Lesson 8 |
How to Transport Your Dog Between Sequences |
|
Lesson 9 |
Adding distractions |
|
Lesson 10 |
If Your Dog Tugs at Home But Not at Trials |
|
Lesson 11 |
Tugging on Both Sides of the Ring Gate |
|
Lesson 12 |
How to Tug in Small Spaces at Trials |
|
Lesson 13 |
Use Your Voice: Praise vs Mark on Long Line |
|
Lesson 14 |
Distractions and Toy Selection in New Locations |
|
Lesson 15 |
Helping Your Novice Dog with Your Veteran Dog |
|
Q & A Sessions | + |
Lesson 1 |
May 2020 Q & A |
|
Lesson 2 |
July 2020 Q&A |
|
Lesson 3 |
October 2020 Q&A |
|
Lesson 4 |
February 2021 Q&A |
|
Lesson 5 |
April 2021 Q&A |
|
Resources and Feedback | + |
Lesson 1 |
Make a Suggestion |
|
Lesson 2 |
Testimonial |
|
I have a very fierce tugger, especially at home, class, and when doing FEO. She is a 4 year old Brittany that has not yet learned a release. I have been working on immobilizing the tug and have waited for minutes , with her actively tugging, then cue her to get it again, etc. Should I not use the tug as a reward until I have a reliable release? I have been letting her win in class and just leave the ring, her with tug in mouth, which she eventually drops.
Honestly, I think it depends on how you leave the ring. Together and in control? If so, leave the ring and then resume tugging outside the ring and give her some re-bites and then just withold on one of the releases. She may not let go as well with other dogs around, but it’s a good “second environment” to do your release training in. Feel free to send video.
I’ll post a vid of my puppy learning this this afternoon, but I’ve got a qn.
If we’re taking an already tugging adult large breed back to these basics to fix their grab & release, how do you immobilise the toy when the dog is capable of pulling you along with even the smallest bit?
I would still TRY this method. I brace my arms against my legs kindof putting my fists on the inside of my knees. For many dogs, even if they COULD be stronger than you, it’s enough of a deterrent and takes away a lot of the “fun”.
Try that and send a video.
I’ve got video of all the of my dogs to get an idea what I need to work on for each.
My thoughts (feel free to correct me 🙂 )
Freya (puppy) doesn’t have a release at all, so definitely more.
https://youtu.be/AcXafcODh4Q?si=9PJkU6VAC0LjPfKT
Blue (wft) has a brilliant grab and release but if the environment gets hard, he gets going (away).
https://youtu.be/PqGzCpbFozY?si=FR_MiEgpJYCSHSvZ
Alaric (gsd) very good bite (go figure 🤣), poor body movement by me, has a bad habit of “seeing new you, dropping old toy”.
Does the uncued rebate like your poodle…. Just he’s 80lb
https://youtu.be/3TQ10UOmINc?si=wHY3NWlH8R–Kvn3
https://link.getonform.com/view?id=eTdSnL5yinqGwNFNYkKF
For your big dog, I’d like to see video of you with a single toy working on the release and we’ll see where we go from there.
Here is Casper tugging.
It is interesting to me that you labeled touching the dog during tug as “distraction”. I have always considered it part of the “fight” aspect. At any rate, he was very good. I did this in the barn to reduce his energy level somewhat.
https://youtu.be/q5ukXVNBa2Y
Excellent work! I have some tips for you: https://link.getonform.com/view?id=4IciO2x5FeJ5rXX9qQql
I have added the release to our game like you suggested on my other two videos. I think our biggest challenge is that he has a really soft bite and isn’t always super enthusiastic about tugging. I have to work pretty hard to get what you see in the video. Any thoughts or do I just continue? https://youtu.be/xTVLH2aoIHQ
Looks great, well done!! More of same, new places, gradually introduce distractions like objects on ground, empty food bowls, etc. https://link.getonform.com/view?id=no1rJVRQUObXQWqzngtS
Thanks! I have been trying to stand up more straight in my backyard and it’s going well. Today I brought his toy on our walk and I tried in two locations to get him interested. He was not at all. I even stood there for a while until he got bored and then brought the toy out and was super animated but no interest. I decided to try a third location and set up the video to show you and he actually tugged! First new environment. I used the leash to make the toy more interesting and he was grabbing a lot above the toy at the leash. In one of your first videos you talk about that. Do you have a better suggestion than what I did? I feel my leash/tug handling was messy in this video and I was mainly trying to reward him for actual tugging and did one thank you release. I am so thrilled he tugged in a new place and glad I didn’t give up after the first two
https://youtu.be/sVEMhC3q2TQ
FANTASTIC JOB!! You handled everything perfectly. I’m quite content to let a dog tug on the leash itself since that is usually my ultimate goal with a dog anyway. With a dog who tugs on a leash, you’ll almost always have a leash with you, including as you enter the ring, so you can enter the ring with the dog tugging on leash.
I like to add some petting, where I sit on the ground and bond with the dog so they get some additional reinforcement, you can try this depending on the mood of you and your dog.
After a great session like this the dog will be a little bit worn out so be careful about having a second session in the same place or even someplace nearby too soon. It might be better to bring the dog out a different day, but you can find out by trying to have multiple sessions out. I have packed the dogs up in a van and stopped in 4-5 different places and tugged for one minute and packed them back up and gone some place else.
Here is where we are at. The first link is with his preferred toy in my backyard. He’s getting much stronger and into it. The release is there sometimes, but not every time. Still working on that. The second video is my second time trying to tug with the holee roller. I left the whole thing so you could see how hard I had to work to get him into it. But success! We go out to different places to tug, I would say we are at about a 60% success rate. Sometimes he is just too interested in the world around and has zero interest in the tug toy no matter which one I take out. Sometimes I pack up and head somewhere else and have success and sometimes I just come home. He doesn’t run away with the toy really, but doesn’t bring it back. I don’t know if we are ready to add that at home? https://youtu.be/m7H0O4ZVGDU
https://youtu.be/GXr9dKPxm9o
Great work again! I think you can add tugging while on a loose leash in your yard but in new places just keep working on combining the attention he offers with the tugging reward and focus on weight shift while keeping sessions really short. https://link.getonform.com/view?id=b3oCLx2SlqlrcLHPR3th
One question from the video feedback – if I am at a new location and present the toy, should I work at trying to get him to tug or just put it away if he isn’t interested at all? Usually I have to work at it somewhat like I did with the holee roller video
I think it’s okay to work at it but I’d watch closely–it’s hard to know where to draw the line but it’s ok to stop if he shows no interest at all.
I’m really struggling in new environments. He finds everything more stimulating and has no interest in the toy. I’ve tried a few things such as putting it on a leash, moving away from distractions, lowering my expectations, but I can’t seem to engage him. Any suggestions?
Start with hand touching and food and treats and non tugging play and rewards. When he’s more comfortable, preferably the next session, try tugging.
We continue to struggle in new environments so I’ve been working more at home to strengthen his tugging. He also prefers to tug in the evening. During the day if I bring him out he is often disinterested. I didn’t have the leash on in this video but have been practicing tugging with it on and it doesn’t seem to bother him. I’ve added in touches which he used to dislike as he’s a very soft dog but it fires him up a bit now. Still working on the release cue. Here he got distracted but I got him back which I was happy about as I don’t always.
https://youtu.be/3rgON8sfy1o
Looks great! Keep up the good work!
Any suggestions for new places or different times of day, or where I should go from here?
You’re in that part of skill development where doing the skill in a way the dog enjoys will build value, so it makes sense not to push as hard. Avoid places they don’t tug well, focus on when and where they’re happy to play, use mostly the toys they enjoy, and think of it like brushing your teeth–you just do it but it’s largely unchanged. In a few weeks, you can add retrieve work on leash in their favorite place when they tug well.
Getting the dog working in places they’re uncomfortable is unrelated to tugging–I’d prefer you work in those places with food and simple games and tricks the dog can do, and when they’re better with that then you can reintroduce tugging and see if it happens.
Thank you; makes perfect sense!
New question: when I take Tilly out in the mornings he mouths and want to tug with my mitts and boots. I will present the toy but he doesn’t engage, only with my mitts. Do you have suggestions? He is super fired up and would tug super on my mitts. I can take video if that would be helpful
Buy more mitts to replace the ones you have, and tug with the ones he likes. You may find it’s how you tug rather than the mitts, but there’s only one way to find out!
Being that I’m starting this late in the game with a few bad habits built in (pup is 7 months) will this technique work for her?
Yes, it should. Try it and let me know what happens.
Ironically, it will work especially well if the dog doesn’t want to let go!
At the end of this training session, when you wish to quit the session entirely, you allow the dog to run off with the toy and wait until they lose interest?
It depends on the dog, I tried it with both puppies and the golden reached the point where she would bring it back and let me pet her while she held it. The poodle would not. After having this one year experiment, I would use it for dogs that value running off with it, but only in the beginning, and as soon as they learn the release, they should be left “wanting more” after a few re-bites, rather than allowed to run off with it.