Clean Run Magazine - May 2007 - 29

The Controversy Tug By Leslie Renaud Agility and tug have become synonymous in recent years. I have heard more than one instructor say, “If your dog won’t tug, you’re not ready for beginning agility,” or worse, “You can’t join the class until your dog has learned to tug.” I have been following this trend with great interest since I primarily work with students who have dogs that have motivation and/or stress issues. Through this work I have met many well-meaning handlers who have been told that without the ability to tug, a dog can never reach his agility potential. These handlers have dogs that stress pant and offer avoidance behaviors in the competitive environment, often not taking treats, much less latching onto and tugging a toy with great passion. These dogs are teamed with well-intentioned handlers who unwittingly increase the performance pressure by insisting that their dogs tug because they believe it will be the answer to their prayers. They believe tugging will create a fast, confident, and engaged dog that embraces agility with unbridled enthusiasm. If these dogs do tug, it’s not because they have a passion for the act of tugging, but rather it is a rote behavior or a means to an end. The result is a lackluster performance and even more stress. There is tremendous pressure on young teams to develop this presumably much-needed tugging skill. In fact, there is an underlying premise that if your dog doesn’t tug, something is wrong with you, and furthermore, your dog will never be fast or happy doing agility. In fact, just because a dog tugs does not mean he will be fast and furious on course. I have never believed that a dog can be bought or bribed for better performance. Performance passion is a product of a great relationship between team members, a thorough understanding of the job that each member of the team is responsible for, and a sense of teamwork. My dogs run with joy and passion because that is the kind of relationship we have and they understand their job. They are bonded to me (and me to them), and they want to be with me, engaged in any activity that will allow us to share one-on-one time together. Tug is a useful and valuable training tool, and while I don’t believe it’s the be-all and end-all in any training program, it can serve a useful purpose when used properly. I do, however, see tug used improperly with greater and greater frequency. Improper use of tug can create the wrong kind of stimulus at the wrong time. We’ll get to that in a bit. Creating Tug Drive Dogs that view tug as a reward have tug drive. With some dogs, creating tug drive is easy—you present the toy, they grab on, and tug wildly. Congratulations, if you have such a dog. I’ve never had one of these dogs myself, but rather have had to invest time to develop tug drive. Creating tug drive is possible for most any dog, but not every handler has the patience or the fortitude to work through the process. Even if handlers successfully create tug drive, many do not know how to transfer it to agility training. There are other factors as well. Have you considered how you will channel the May 07 | Clean Run © MATTALLISONPHOTOGRAPHY.COM 29

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Clean Run Magazine - May 2007

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