Tug Isn't The Be All and End All

There. I've said it! Although to be fair, I've been saying it for years 🤷‍♀️

There's been a long-standing view amongst many, certainly in the 'dog sports' world, that tugging with your dog is the gold standard of rewarding. That if your dog won't tug, then they'll never be as succesful as a dog that does. Or that if you can't teach your dog to tug (and enjoy it), then you're failing some how. This has annoyed me for YEARS.

Only the learner can decide what is rewarding.

It's as simple as that; the dog gets to decide what they do and don't like, and we can only know the effect of an offered consequence (treat/toy/tug) by the impact it has on whatever we were training at the time.

Vinnie was famous for carrying two balls!

My first springer, Vinnie, LOVED tennis balls. Was completely obsessed with them. He would do anything for his beloved tennis balls, so they were a really effective award in our training. More than once, I was told 'just put a tennis ball on a bit of rope'. Until you've had a truly ball-obsessed dog, you won't understand how a tennis ball on a bit of rope is NOT a tennis ball.

So I refused to push the matter, and continued to use tennis balls when appropriate (and food the rest of the time - he would have clicker trained for cardboard 😂)

Ripley does tug, just not when training

Next up, Ripley. He seemed to love tug as a youngster. Except... not away from home. He couldn't even retrieve a toy away from home. I persevered, because he did seem to really enjoy it. In hindsight, I know I pushed this for too long 😢 I suspect it had long-term implications on his agility career, and contributed to his early retirement.

We tried lots of different toys, and they worked for a short while, but never consistently enough to be used as effective rewards. The very best thing I discovered for him was the Paws Pocket toys. Sadly, a little bit later than ideal, but we still had a LOT of success at a lot of different things 💕

I use tug to maintain a connection at times

Then we come to Peak. And I KNEW that I needed to pay attention to his preferences in relation to rewards. As it happens he LOVES tug - he will tug anything, anywhere, anytime. He has tug skills that would make many jealous. Except... It's not his favourite thing, and actually it can have a negative impact on his arousal. He prefers to possess, and so tugging stresses him a little. So I use it sparingly in our training 😉 For example, I will tug with him just before an agility run, but have to trade for food at that point (even though he does generally have a good 'drop').

I'm intentionally manipulating his arousal in that moment. After the run, he gets to hold and carry his toy, which helps him to come back down!

In short? Don't persist with tug because somebody else says you should, or because you think it's the best way to reward a dog. Consider your reasons, and also consider your dog's opinion on the matter! If they don't enjoy tug, then trying to push it could have seriously implications for your training (and relationship in general). If they get too amped up by tug, then that also impacts on your training. By all means, bring in the tug to see how your dog responds in higher arousal, but you may well find you make more, and faster, progress starting out with lower value rewards.