Tug training.

[Moll. 1,770]

I am gonna give it a go with Keepa (Staffy x Whippet). I have not had Keepa from being a small pup, so have not been able to train her as i would the others. She can be VERY headstrong and i would like her recall and stay to be better.

How do you do tug training with an adult dog? Had her out tonight doing tug, she is keen, almost retrieves it, will leave on command if i have a treat for her.

[Casso 1,261]

I am gonna give it a go with Keepa (Staffy x Whippet). I have not had Keepa from being a small pup, so have not been able to train her as i would the others. She can be VERY headstrong and i would like her recall and stay to be better.

How do you do tug training with an adult dog? Had her out tonight doing tug, she is keen, almost retrieves it, will leave on command if i have a treat for her.

Good start then, i start them on a long lead ,easy at the start,not too hard , let her pull hard then win it from you,the lead will stop her from fecking off with it,praise her ,call her up again and repeat, lose the lead when the dog has it sussed,

i work the heeling exercise with the dog once the dog is hooked,making the dog walking beside while holding the item up against my chest,giving the "heel" command,they twig that in no time,,

i use a stop or give command for the dog to stop and just stay still while giving the command, or give the treat as you do ,but as you develop the understanding of the complete control over the dog you have, the dog will feel what you want,

so when i give the stop command ,i take the item , then straight away go back to playing again, that way the dog feels the stop command as access to more energy,,potential energy in the dogs mind equal more energy,

tug play has no limitations if you have the dog hooked,the dog wont leave your side you can take her anywhere and have complete control,

Terriers and terrier x are ideal for this sort of stimulation, try it for a while ,you'll be surprised how interesting you become to the dog,

play with a hungry dog, use recall to start play, what i mean by that, dont play straight away let the dog sniff round and and do her own thing,then call her up and commence play, it cements the recall in the dogs mind, always leave the dog wanting more, build frustration at the start lowering it down and quickly pulling it away before she gets it,repeat over and over,

You'll figure it out, get the dog hooked and the only limitations in what your dog can achieve, lie in your ability as a trainer,,best of luck

ps you must let the mutt win,every time, might seem strange but that the clincher for the dog,,

Edited October 13, 2011 by Casso

[Moll. 1,770]

Thank you Casso, was just about what we did, apart from any heel work and after the leave command i threw the tug for her, should i have commenced tugging straight away again rather than throw it?

 

Can tug be used for the stay command, we fail terribly at this, for all she is headstrong she is also a nervy dog.

[Casso 1,261]

Thank you Casso, was just about what we did, apart from any heel work and after the leave command i threw the tug for her, should i have commenced tugging straight away again rather than throw it?

 

Can tug be used for the stay command, we fail terribly at this, for all she is headstrong she is also a nervy dog.

thats all good, with the leave command as long as the dog is bringing back the item after its thrown its fine

you'll pick up on what the dog pref are's in time , running dogs like an item been thrown because they're more stimulated by movement, terriers seem to like just getting stuck back in again,

i use a" down" for the stay,having the dog down facing me with eye contact, start with only a few second duration, with "yes" as a releaser,once the dog knows the "yes" is what he's looking for (,the YES is important for all the exercise it informs the dog its done something right,) you can build up the duration , when you get that complete focus from the dog you can feel the dog is actively trying to second guess what your looking for,a bigger point in all this is that the dog is in "drive", usually a mindset in the dog where we lose control of him,

i know its called play but to the dog its a lot more, its also a way for the dog to make contact with us with its primary facility, his mouth,

dogs mouth each other all the time it forms bonds and relax's them ,modern dog training frowns on and neglects the importance of it, but then again they dont NEED their dogs to do what we WANT ours to do,

,no corrections for physical contact of any kind, the mutt must be relaxed coming into your space, i sometimes get the dog to jump up putting his paws on my chest before commencing play,,it actually deceases jumping up at other times,, all contact is good, and for nervous dogs contact with us is vital to bring them on,,petting and fussing can unsettle a sensitive mutt

i would ask anyone out with the dog, how much contact are you getting while out, no contact, some contact, its a good way to reading where you stand with the dog ,,

best of luck with it,,

[Moll. 1,770]

 

thats all good, with the leave command as long as the dog is bringing back the item after its thrown its fine

She does but not all the way, she stops short and proceeds to try to destroy the tug

 

you'll pick up on what the dog pref are's in time , running dogs like an item been thrown because they're more stimulated by movement, terriers seem to like just getting stuck back in again,

She does seem to have both traits, which i think is a good thing for this training?

 

i use a" down" for the stay,having the dog down facing me with eye contact, start with only a few second duration, with "yes" as a releaser,once the dog knows the "yes" is what he's looking for (,the YES is important for all the exercise it informs the dog its done something right,) you can build up the duration , when you get that complete focus from the dog you can feel the dog is actively trying to second guess what your looking for,a bigger point in all this is that the dog is in "drive", usually a mindset in the dog where we lose control of him,

This is my biggest problem Casso, all of mine have trained to stay relatively easily, but Keepa will not make eye contact at this time, she is always looking elsewhere, and i am not sure if it is being easily distracted or the fact she does not want to make eye contact with me (if you get my drift) She is aware when i am moving away from her, just 2 steps back and she has to try to follow me, she is an intelligent dog and the type you can never let her get away with anything even once!

 

i know its called play but to the dog its a lot more, its also a way for the dog to make contact with us with its primary facility, his mouth,

dogs mouth each other all the time it forms bonds and relax's them ,modern dog training frowns on and neglects the importance of it, but then again they dont NEED their dogs to do what we WANT ours to do,

,no corrections for physical contact of any kind, the mutt must be relaxed coming into your space,

She has always been corrected for this, terrible for jumping up, and other dog jealousy makes her want to be 'on top' of you when you are with another dog. It is something very hard to live with so how do i stop it without chastisement please, and can my prior chastisement be undone?

 

i sometimes get the dog to jump up putting his paws on my chest before commencing play,,it actually deceases jumping up at other times,, all contact is good, and for nervous dogs contact with us is vital to bring them on,,petting and fussing can unsettle a sensitive mutt

I am confused by this Casso, do i encourage her to jump/have a pet, or not because she can be sensitive?

 

i would ask anyone out with the dog, how much contact are you getting while out, no contact, some contact, its a good way to reading where you stand with the dog ,,

Not very much at all, she is part of a pack and all outdoor walking is working. Which leads to another question. Will the tug ever overcome her desire to hunt? Remember she is an adult dog used to hunting. Tug is ok in a flat short grassed field where there are no scents, but i somehow feel prey would override her desire to tug in different situations

.

best of luck with it,,

 

Thank you for your advice

[Casso 1,261]

lot going on there moll

1/ get 2 tug items, you bringing energy in the form of the second ,will bring her in with the first, also stopping short because of previous history with you, but it can be overcome because she sounds like high drive,

 

2/when she is mad for tugging, break then get eye contact to continue play,just a few seconds at the start, give the YES then continue, you also need to be down on her level, crouched down in other words, to be honest i let the dog figure out what i want, the dog here will try every trick it knows to continue playing , jumping up and down, barking ,turning round, what im saying i try to have time on my hands and let the mutt interact with me, listening to me,"No not that,try something else" the connection is what we want, the journey can be better than the destination, if you know what i mean,

 

3/ teach her to jump up on you using a phrase,hup or something,DONT WEAR YOUR SUNDAY BEST, this is the way i see it, my dog is attracted to me, he wants to be near me ,he wants to make contact with me,he makes contact by jumping up,simples, i understand this fact and i am completely aware it is not exceptable in the pet dog world,but i dont keep a pet dog i keep a working partner, whom im trying to do business with, how can i work with something if im never available?? therefore, i am on the other end of the phone for him whenever he wants to make contact with me,,if you get my drift, everything can be undone within reason, trust in the good nature of the dog,but she will have to relearn to feel safe in your space but she will learn that quicker in drive than at any other time,,

 

4/ encourage contact ,YES give her a little rub round the mouth with her front feet on you, this action will form a new association,let her sustain that contact while petting her

 

5/ prey will override the tug toy ,because for her its learnt behavior, let me just give you a simple breakdown on things,,she has learnt to be charged up by prey ,like an electric charge ,you can see it in the dog, the dog goes stiff ,and then tries to get rid of the charge by chasing hunting whatever because it needs to ground that charge, its like when our dogs are charged up they are more likely to fight or get stuck into something they would normally ignore ,its not personal with them its just getting back to calm for them,that all it is, getting back to neutral again, its the same charge in them that they need to ground, people preceive these displays as dominance behavior sometimes, if you can be seen by the dog as a way of grounding this charge ,you will have the same attraction to the dog as the rabbit does, but there are other elements you would have to work on too,,

i might have blinded ya with science a bit there, but the intelligence is in the drive,not the dog, if you can get your head round that,and its that same drive that will inform the dog how to form a new relationship with you through tug play, pm if your stuck Moll,,