Clean Run Magazine - May 2007 - 31

a problem. The dog has just finished his run and is aroused because of the activity of running. That arousal is increased with a game of tug. Great, right? The handler begins making her way from the ring to her crating area, dog in tow; the dog is behind her, tugging wildly. She only knows her dog is with her, because she can feel the dog tugging on the leash, which is really nothing more than a toy at this point. Perhaps she stops to talk to a friend for some feedback on the run, or for a quick pat on the back. Now the handler is even more distracted. So, now we have an aroused dog, connected to his handler via a game of tug—a game that the handler isn’t paying attention to. Wow, they are cool, don’t you think? Fast run, tugging dog, and they don’t even need a leash! In my opinion, this isn’t good at all; we now have manufactured, misunderstood, and poorly managed arousal. I do not wish to imply that tug is the big, bad, ugly side of agility because I do not feel that way, but I am concerned with the arousal that tug can create, and whether the handlers creating that arousal have an understanding of what they are dealing with. © CLEAN RUN Pro #3: Stress relief When my young dog would become worried or concerned about something, I could easily redirect him to focus on our relationship with a game of tug. He had already learned to enjoy playing tug with me, so when I saw him focus on something that caused him concern or worry, I would produce his toy and say Get It. He would immediately engage me in a game of tug. It diminished his worry and I could remove him from what bothered him, without allowing him to focus on anything other than me and one of our favorite games. He is now to the point that if he feels any type of stress or concern, he will reach for his leash and initiate a game of tug. © KAREN HOCKER PHOTOGRAPHY The Benefits of Tugging Now that I have painted some red flags for tug and alerted you to the downside, let me balance it out by sharing just a few of the many pros of tugging. Primarily, agility is a game. If I expect my dog to engage in that game, I must develop in him a desire to play with me. I play lots of games with my dogs, from hide and seek to tug of war. We wrestle and we play chase games. For my dogs, tug is a bonding exercise, as are the other games we play. Tug doesn’t have a secret purpose or ulterior motive. Tug simply places emphasis on play, and play is a major part of our relationship and our bond. There are several areas where tug is integrated into my training program. This list is not exhaustive, but highlights just some of the areas where tug is useful and beneficial for my dogs and their performance. My top four are: Pro #4: Interactive reward A tug toy allows me to use tossed toy rewards without encouraging disconnected play. I toss the toy, my dog retrieves it, and returns it to me for active engagement. Since agility is a team sport, the act of tug segues into this team aspect very nicely. We are a team and we do things together—nothing else matters. I have never been anti-tug. I think tug is a wonderful training tool, I use it myself, and I encourage my students to do the same— but only when the arousal that tug creates is channeled for optimum performance instead of emotional overload, and only when that arousal is managed properly. Pro #1: Team bonding I find any type of play-based game to be extremely bonding for me and my dogs. Not all my dogs love tug naturally, but with time they come to enjoy it as something we do together, which eventually leads to passion for the activity. It is not a rote behavior or a means to an end. It’s something we enjoy and something that strengthens the bond in our relationship. Proper Use of Tugging There is one competitor in my area who I simply adore watching. She runs more than one dog, and she has been competing in agility for a good many years. She is an avid trainer, a very successful handler, and she knows how to balance food and tug for optimum performance. When she waits her turn to run, she stays close to her dogs. She does not talk to anyone, nor does she take her eyes off her dogs. She uses food pre-run, and she engages her dogs calmly, with great focus. There is nothing frantic about her or her dogs as they wait their turn. Her dogs do not hyper-focus on the dogs running before her—she would never allow this. Did I mention that her dogs run like the wind and win their classes, or are in the placements more often than not in a very competitive field? There are some other potential negative effects of tugging. Tug can push a dog over the top and outside his optimum working window, especially if he has a passion for the activity. And, if a dog is not tug driven, but offers tug as a rote behavior (and I see this a lot), then it can create stress. Instead of arousing the dog, tug can have the reverse effect, leaving the dog in a somewhat depressed state. It can wear the dog out and reduce the energy of the performance that is about to ensue. Pro #2: Behavior proofing When my dogs have learned a new skill, which I build slowly, and I wish to increase the excitement and work on proofing performance, I will use tugging to increase my dog’s arousal and to begin building greater understanding under ever-increasing stimuli. Tug is one of the few games that will increase my dogs’ arousal to a level similar to that of the competitive environment. May 07 | Clean Run 31

Clean Run Magazine - May 2007

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run Magazine - May 2007