# She did it, she tugged!



## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

I have tried a LOT of toys, a LOT of treats, a LOT of be dragging bait bags on the ground to get the prey drive going, and no tug ever. The closest I ever came was getting her to pounce on a bait bag (but not mouth it) and maybe clamp on a toy (but immediately release it). I *know* my dog can tug b/c she tugs with other dogs!! So her breeder told me something to try that NO sane dog would ever NOT tug....a raw chicken thigh in a sock. It took a few minutes to get a real tug, as anytime I tugged back she would immediately "give up" to me. Eventually I got a nice full bite on the sock, butt on the ground, throwing her weight backwards tug. Unfortunately the game was ended sooner than I planned because the sock died. Next SchH practice I will be there with a pack of tube socks and a pound of chicken!


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## jarn (Jul 18, 2007)

Congrats!!!!!!

Actually, you just made me think....Luc doesn't play w/toys, and obviously doesn't tug, though it's supposed to be good for building confidence if you let them win.

I wrote once about the time I didn't have anything to cut a cornish hen in half and tried to get it from him when he was through half of it to give the rest to Teagan - we tugged there too! 

You've inspired me! I'll try to set it up so it's not like I'm chasing him for his food (which normally I can remove anyways) - it would be amazing if I could build his confidence and help teach him to play!!!! I'm possibly insane







but it would be so cool if he got more confident and started playing w/objects. i'd love to build that in him.


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

Yeah it's something I really NEED to work on. Tug is super beneficial for agility and basically a requirement for Schutzhund. I don't think we will ever progress to bite work, but a girl can dream right? She's a pretty drivey dog when she's "on" so I want to develop those drives with appropriate games and fun. Right now I work really hard to turn her "on" b/c she is not motivated by toys and barely motivated by food. If she can have as much fun tugging with me as she does with other dogs we could go so much farther.


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## valleydog (Jan 18, 2005)

Molly doesn't do much with tug either, though she's intense for food or for the chuckit tennis ball. But today I was in the back back yard where there's a hose I rarely use, and when I turned it on, she grabbed it and tugged so intensely it bewildered me. What is it about that hose?


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

Dena is not much of a tugger either. I can get her to do it a little at home, but she's not that interested in tugging in agility class, and even at home she loses interest quickly. The only toy she's highly motivated by is balls. 

Keefer will tug, when I was waving a toy around to tease her with it once, he was leaping up in the air biting at it. So I don't think I'll have a problem with him.







Well, except for getting him to bite ONLY the toy, and not my hands!

Good luck with Kenya, you're making progress!


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

there's alot of this dog psych i don't understand, like tug. i'm in a GSD Club and last week there was a lecture about drive and tug and how to develope it. i have a tug ring i keep in the closet (no pun intended) because i don't want some freak accident happening, like the ring getting caught over his mouth when we're not home. so after the meeting i couldn't wait to get home to see if he would play tug. i thought he would because when he was younger he pulled the towels off the cloths line. my GF went outside to pick up the towels. she picked up one and he picked up the end and they played tug. now i thought maybe that wasn't the time to play tug. i was thinking maybe this is teaching him to pull the laundry down, he hasn't done it since. so we get home from the meeting and i grab the tug ring and i give it to my GF. we go outside and she wiggles one end of the ring at him and he goes for it and they play tug. last night we played and i held the ring in the air and he started to jump up for it. now he also retrieves a ball after i hide it. he'll find shirts and shoes. i guess this is all apart of drive. my friend came over with his Chihuahua and when he came into the house he immediately grabbed a bone and went to one of the dogs bed. there was a rope on the floor and my buddy folded it over and shook it at his dog and he grabbed it and my friend lift the rope in the air and the Chihauhau's front feet came off of the ground. i just don't understand this mystique about drive. all of my Shepherds would retrieve and play tug. i've had 4 in my 55 years. two from a pey store and two from breeders. the one i have now is very calm in our small home and very active outside. i like reading your posts.


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

Doggiedad, using tug for drive is important to me because we do agility and want to do Schutzhund. I need a way to get her really revved up, and also a game to reward her with. Use food as rewards is only practical for so long. It has worked well with basic training, training agility obstacles, getting two rally titles....but now we need to up the ante because the training is getting more difficult and more intense and it's not enough to lure the dog along with treats. For Schutzhund, tug is how we get the dogs excited and how you progress to pulling on the bite sleeve. Without using tug games, I have no clue how I would get her to bite and tug on a sleeve. It also helps with the dog's confidence. Just after one tug game today, Kenya was beaming and prancing around in a wide circle after she tore the sock to shreds and won the raw chicken inside.


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## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

Woohoo Kenya!!! Little steps forward. Keep working at it, and her drives will come out. She just doesn't know that she has any, as they were never rewarded in the past. I find it very satisfying to give my dog productive, rewarding outlets for her natural instinctive behaviours. Not to mention how satisfying it is for them to have the opportunity to excercise and express natural, innate behaviours, of life-and-death importance, neccessary in a time past for their very survival. 

Love the chicken in the sock idea! Never would have thought of that. 

doggiedad, if you are interested in dog psychology and understanding drives, I really reccomend you give Schutzhund a try. I've been training for close to two years now, and it seems to me that I am just beginning to have my eyes and understanding opened to what makes dogs tick. Just beginning. 

The more I do it, the more mind-blowingly fascinating it is. Lest people think it is just training behaviours in a dog, it is not. It is UNDERSTANDING your dog, and putting that understanding to work. 

Liesje, dream big and have fun!


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

Great post! People ask me about SchH a lot, knowing I have a GSD and assuming that's what she does. They all think it's about training "attack" dogs and that's just not true. It's hard to explain it to them, especially since I don't understand a lot of it yet myself. It's not about training a dog to bite, it's about bringing out the German Shepherd in my German Shepherd!


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

> Originally Posted By: LiesjeGreat post! People ask me about SchH a lot, knowing I have a GSD and assuming that's what she does. They all think it's about training "attack" dogs and that's just not true. It's not about training a dog to bite, it's about bringing out the German Shepherd in my German Shepherd!


I would also like to bring out the GS in my GS, but in my case Onyx has alot of drive, but is anxious in many situations, and to encourage her confidence I think SchH training will be good for her. She did not understand the bitework(noise and stick scared her)when she saw it for the first time observing another dog/handler so I had to remove her during this. But the ob and tracking side of it will be good for her. I will try the chix in the sock tomorrow night!


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

After the bite work on Friday she seemed pretty calm and gentle! Kira was nutso! I wonder if Onyx would have taken it better if only Bella had done the bite work. She seems so calm and sweet it was hard to imagine her biting! Hopefully someone can show us some tracking next time. I want to get outside. I already asked Warren to bring is gun and test Kenya for me. I have no idea if she's gun shy and we cannot even fire blanks here in the city.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

I think if the bitework was outside, Onyx' reaction would have been different. I think she thought Warren was hurting the dog.
Right when we got out of the car, little Kayla ran up barking at her, I held Onyx tight as she was not really ok with it~ and then Kaylas mom barked at her when we went inside, so Onyx was put in a defensive mode right off. Kayla is such a cute pup! 
My DH took Onyx once to the gun club and she was ok with it but that was over a year ago, I am curious to see how she'd react, too. Thunder doesn't bother her at all.


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## nathalie1977 (Sep 4, 2006)

Awesome!!! It's great when something just 'clicks' in your dog's mind!


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## kelso (Jan 22, 2007)

Yeah for you guys!! That is great







Allie doesnt tug with me either, just with Kelso so I know she can do it. Great idea i will have to try it.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

when trying to explain Schutzhund work why don't you tell people it's a sport that was developed for the GSD.


> Originally Posted By: LiesjeGreat post! People ask me about SchH a lot, knowing I have a GSD and assuming that's what she does. They all think it's about training "attack" dogs and that's just not true. It's hard to explain it to them, especially since I don't understand a lot of it yet myself. It's not about training a dog to bite, it's about bringing out the German Shepherd in my German Shepherd!


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

as far as my interest in dog psychology and understanding drives i know this. when i ask my dog to sit, stay or lay he does it with a one word command. when i throw his ball he brings it back to me. when i hide different articles he'll search untill he finds them. when we're walking in the woods on a narrow trail and some one approachs us i can say "Loki, other side" and he moves over to the far right so the people or dogs or horses can pass. when it comes to tug he'll play tug with a rope toy, tug ring or stick. now i'm saying this to say that even though i don't know all about the different drives and mental workings of the GSD my boy is becoming well trained. now giving your dog productive,rewarding outlets for her natural behavior and to exercise and express natural, innate behaviours of life and death importance wouldn't that apply more to wild dogs. domesticated dogs were taken care by their humans weren't they??


> Originally Posted By: CastlemaidWoohoo Kenya!!! Little steps forward. Keep working at it, and her drives will come out. She just doesn't know that she has any, as they were never rewarded in the past. I find it very satisfying to give my dog productive, rewarding outlets for her natural instinctive behaviours. Not to mention how satisfying it is for them to have the opportunity to excercise and express natural, innate behaviours, of life-and-death importance, neccessary in a time past for their very survival.
> 
> Love the chicken in the sock idea! Never would have thought of that.
> 
> ...


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## 24kgsd (Aug 26, 2005)

> Originally Posted By: Liesje Kira was nutso!


Kira is CRAZY for the sleeve, but she is also one of the most out-going and friendliest dogs you will meet! 

Julie


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

> Originally Posted By: GSDRule
> 
> 
> > Originally Posted By: Liesje Kira was nutso!
> ...


And also beautiful. Can't wait to see more of her.


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