On June 14, the title of this blog was “Is it OK to have contests with your dog?” Since then, I’ve seen some new views on this subject.
In My Doggie Says…, I wrote that one of Jamie’s favorite things to do was to play tug-of-war. She had several favorite tug toys, and we had lots of fun tug games. I never let the game get too exciting; Jamie and I would pull back and forth, and usually I would end the game in a “draw,” or let her win by a little.
But this Spring when we got Callie, the breeder told me that tug-of-war is a bad idea, because it fosters aggression. I can understand this if the game gets out of hand, so I didn’t play tug with Callie. The other argument that is sometimes used against playing tug is that it dilutes the owner’s “alpha” standing.
So then this article, by Nan Arthur, shows up on clickertraining.com: How to Calm Your Dog by Playing Tug. The article gives both sides of the argument, but Nan teaches that, with proper training (of both you and your dog 🙂 ), tug-of-war can actually have a calming effect on your dog. Her training method involves using a clicker, which I find to be pretty labor intensive, but I guess it works. The basic idea is to start by training the dog to “release” the tug toy on command. Then you gradually (very gradually) work into more of a tug game, but with the “release” command always available if things get too heated.
Here, from bestfriendspetcare.com, is another, somewhat simpler, approach to playing tug with your dog. The basic idea here is still to train your dog to “release” on command. And there are some rules, including “don’t chase your dog if it runs with the tug toy” and “don’t play if your dog gets aggressive.”
Finally, here are two articles from the San Francisco SPCA on the subject of playing tug with your dog. These articles give both sides of the argument, as well as some rules for playing tug. But the conclusion is that tug, kept under control, can help bolster the confidence of your dog. I really like this argument. Why not give your dog a chance to win a few little battles? It doesn’t mean you have to relinquish your alpha status.
A reader, Amy, commented on the previous blog that she likes the concept of “benevolent, but alpha.” This makes sense to me — you give in a little, occasionally, but maintain your alpha position.
I don’t know if this qualifies as “tug” or not, but sometimes Callie brings me her favorite “stinky” (pacifier) toys and plays a little game with me. She gives it to me, but she doesn’t really give it to me. She acts like she’s giving it to me, but she doesn’t really let go. Because it’s her special “stinky” toy, I don’t really want to force her to “release” it. So I accept the “gift” and then let her keep it, or I give it back to her right away. We might go back and forth half a dozen times this way. This seems to reinforce the calming affect of the “stinky” toy. It’s a relaxing little exchange, and Callie usually takes the toy back to where she started, lies down and snuggles with it, or “gums” it for a while. Done this way, it seems to reinforce her calming process.
[…] One thing I try not to do is to get into a game of “tug of war.” I did play “tug” with Jamie, before Callie arrived, but I was pretty careful not to get into an aggressive, growling contest. It was just a little back and forth and then on to something else. Some people have pretty strong views about not playing tug of war with your dog. (See the August 7, 2007 My Doggie Says… blog post.) […]