[nagdu] No Tug was RE: Lack of speed

barbandzoe at comcast.net barbandzoe at comcast.net
Wed Nov 20 16:47:01 UTC 2013 

Hi , 
I have worked with dogs as pets and listened to people who train dogs for police work.   They will tell that if, and I  mean if you are having trouble with your dog not doing what you want or need him to do, you should not play tug.  Dogs can see tug as a, I am the boos if I get this toy from you.    I have herd dog trainers tell people that ask what to do because my dog will not listen to me, and yes we play tug, the trainer will say stop tug.   Now if you and your dog are having no trouble and everyone knows the rules, then tug is a game and that is it.    
I could see where a school would not want you to play tug until you two are working as a team, or at least until you know that the dog looks to you as the leader of the team.  
  
  

----- Original Message -----

From: "Raven Tolliver" <ravend729 at gmail.com> 
To: "NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users" <nagdu at nfbnet.org> 
Sent: Wednesday, November 20, 2013 7:20:10 AM 
Subject: Re: [nagdu] No Tug was RE: Lack of speed 

Hi, 
If anything, I would encourage playing tug with your dog. I frequently 
use this game to teach dogs the "drop it" cue. I even use it to train 
dogs to pick things up by teaching -them the "take it" or "get it" cue 
when they take the toy into their mouths. This game is a great way to 
learn and maintain these simple skills. 
The way this game is played is sometimes, the dog ends up with the 
toy, and sometimes, you do. During this game, you implement the "drop 
it" cue, and the dog must give you the toy when you cue him "drop it." 
Otherwise, game over. 
If the dog has issues with guarding, that is a different story, and 
different measures can be taken to deal with that. 
I don't understand why some schools still believe that our dogs are 
looking for every opportunity to dominate us or be the dominant party. 
Yes, there are some dogs who have very assertive and pushy 
personalities, but first and foremost, our dogs want to please us. 
Dogs look for guidance and structure, so when they lack those things, 
yes, certain dogs will tend to take charge. But every dog is not 
trying to get the upper hand; they are not dominating, spiteful, or 
vengeful creatures. So long as you provide for your dog and ensure 
that they reliably obey any cues that you give them, they understand 
that you are their leader. 

On 11/20/13, Julie J. <julielj at neb.rr.com> wrote: 
> I think it depends on the dog.  I play tug with Monty frequently.  If he 
> wins the game, he'll just poke my hand with the toy until I grab it for the 
> 
> next game.  He doesn't gloat or become aggressive when he wins.  Belle will 
> 
> play tug every now and then, but she's not too much into toys anymore. 
> 
> when I was a kid, I had this horrible Beagle.  Playing tug with him would 
> have been a disaster.  Actually he couldn't have toys of any sort because he 
> 
> would guard them and bite if you got too close.  Truly a beast of a dog.  I 
> 
> don't think a dog would make it as a guide if they even had a fraction of 
> that dog's attitude.  But maybe there are sweet dogs that get big heads when 
> 
> they play tug?  I don't know. 
> 
> Julie 
> 
> 
> -----Original Message----- 
> From: Jewel 
> Sent: Wednesday, November 20, 2013 6:39 AM 
> To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users 
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] No Tug was RE: Lack of speed 
> 
> Tug is considered aggressive play. The school said any kind of aggressive 
> play is a no no. This is because if she won the game consistently, she might 
> 
> start thinking she is the boss. This is how the school explained it, anyway. 
> 
> I am not sure I agree, but I follow the rules all the same. 
> Jewel 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone 
> 
>> On Nov 20, 2013, at 12:51 AM, "Nicole Torcolini" 
>> <ntorcolini at wavecable.com> wrote: 
>> 
>> Out of curiosity, might I ask why the school discourages playing tug? Tug 
>> 
>> is 
>> Lexia's favorite game. As a matter of fact, she would much rather have a 
>> small game of tug before you throw the toy than just surrendering it to 
>> you. 
>> Of course, I do use the "drop it" command, and make sure that she always 
>> obeys that. If she stopped obeying "drop it", then I would stop playing 
>> tug. 
>> 
>> 
>> -----Original Message----- 
>> From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Jewel 
>> Sent: Tuesday, November 19, 2013 4:53 PM 
>> To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users 
>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Lack of speed 
>> 
>> Thank you all for the ideas. They are things I will mention to my 
>> instructor. Of course I will call him tomorrow, but having some ideas to 
>> bring to the table will show him I am seriously interested in working on 
>> these problems. Yes, the gentle leader was introduced at school to help 
>> with 
>> sniffing. It helps with that so I don't have to keep giving corrections 
>> that 
>> aren't benefiting in the long run in relation to her sniffing. Faye gets 
>> lots of play time, but I haven't taken her to the dog park yet because of 
>> that deadly virus. She runs around the apartment like a chicken with its 
>> head cut off when I play gonna get you with her. We don't play tug 
>> because 
>> the school advised against it, but we also play a lot of fetch down the 
>> hall, and she sometimes gets to run around in a friend's yard. 
>> She is definitely not getting fat. In fact, I am upping her food intake 
>> because she is looking kinda skinny. She gets a high quality food that is 
>> low on fillers, and only gets healthy homemade treats. She now has so 
>> many 
>> toys I have to rotate them out. And we do obedience training with all 
>> play 
>> sessions. 
>> I took the gentle leader off her this evening and she was back to her 
>> normal 
>> speed, but she did sniff a lot more. So maybe the gentle leader isn't the 
>> solution, but nothing is definitely not the solution either. I will 
>> update 
>> on what my instructor and I decide to try. 
>> Jewel 
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> 
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-- 
Raven 

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