Clean Run - February 2016 - 57

Confessions
of a
Non-Tugger
By Kathy Lofthouse

© TTL ACTION PHOTOGRAPHY

Most of us have seen or heard of the strong connection between a tugging dog and his handler. Tugging is
tremendously popular for a reason. Who would not like their dog at just the right level of arousal, ready to get out
onto the course and run while remaining completely focused on the handler? Who would not like to reward the dog
for being in a certain position or to reward their dog almost instantly upon leaving the ring?

Unfortunately, for some of us, due to
physical limitations, a good rousing
game of tug is out of the question.
Does this mean that our dog is destined to be a lackluster competitor and
unable to enjoy agility?
Not at all!
Back in 1984, a few months after getting my first dog, I was watching fireworks on the 4th of July. Shortly after
the firework display began, the deck,
on which I and several others were
standing, collapsed and fell down the
hillside. After a frightening ambulance
ride strapped to a board, four days in
traction and three months in a neck
brace I was released from disability
feeling profoundly grateful for being
able to walk, as well as determined
that the residual effects from a broken
neck would not deter me from enjoying training my dog.
Although my competitive runs are not
as numerous as they may have been
and my dogs do not pursue long-term
quests for 100s of qualifying runs, their
percentage rate of successful runs has
remained fairly high. I attribute this to
my efforts to stay as physically strong
as possible and the power of a playful
attitude.
February 16 | Clean Run

From my first dog onwards, fun and
games have always been a large part
of our achievements in competition.
For example, my English Shepherd,
Rufus, not only achieved his success in
agility through play, but learned the
obedience exercises for his U-CDX in
short order and earned his title in style:
all for the reward of a ball. When Rufus
became the first 30" dog in Southern
California to earn his USDAA Agility
Dog title, he did it for his giant Kong
toy. My Border Collie, Nel, earned her
ADCH and MACH2 for the love of playing with her soccer ball.
I firmly believe that if playfulness is
encouraged in close proximity to the
handler, playfulness can lend itself to
rewarding the dog in place, as tugging
does. I have found one of the keys to
the popularity of tugging is that of the
"energy" exchange and harmonic balance engendered between dog and
handler. In training and competing
with my dogs I have learned to develop that mutual energy with other toys,
as well as food.

to tug. I wanted to utilize their keenness, but wasn't sure how I would be
able to hold up my end of the game.
As Daz grew to be very powerful, it
was critical that I develop some variant
of tugging whereby he could remain
engaged with me in drive without
tweaking my neck too much! Instead
of regular tugging we developed a
game where I use his agility leash (or
any leash these days) and hold on gently to one end. He will take hold of the
leash and I will soon let go so he can
engage in a dance of joy which is both
his reward and his warm-up for agility. The game is about the energetic
bond between dog and handler and
now, even as a senior dog, Daz literally
lights up when we play.

Tugging for the Non-Tugger
When they arrived from England at
eight weeks of age my Lunarlites Border Collies, TC and Daz already loved

Even if I let go of the leash during our "fake tugging" game,
the playful energy still flows between us.
57
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run - February 2016
