Should you play tug with your dog?
Have you ever played tug with your dog and been alarmed when your sweet pup turned into a growling, thrashing monster?
It’s human nature to get freaked out when dogs growl and show their teeth. To get a bit nerdy for a second, we’ve inherited our ancestors’ fear of growling animals with sharp, pointy teeth because for them, this was a significant threat! For us living in the modern world with our Starbucks and cellphones, we’re at much less risk of being killed by animals than say, cars or smoking.
But back to tug! A common fear is that playing tug with dogs will make them more aggressive. It makes sense, because dogs act kind of aggressive when they’re really into the game. But there’s no need to worry, because tug won’t make your dog more aggressive.
A 2003 study by researchers named Rooney and Bradshaw observed 50 dogs playing tug with their guardians. The researchers concluded that tug didn’t make the dogs more aggressive, and actually contributed to the dogs having more confident interactions with their handlers.
Aside from building confidence in your dog, tug is a perfect “legal” activity for dogs with high prey drive. All dogs have baked-in natural behaviours: maybe your dog loves to chew, shred, or dig. Rather than punish your dog for being a dog, we can give them preferred outlets for these behaviours. So after a rousing game of tug, your dog may be less likely to chase every critter he sees on a walk, because this need has already been met.
When you play tug with your dog, especially a dog with baked-in predatory behaviour, make the toy or tug object “come alive”: Move it around like a live animal trying to avoid getting caught. When your dog grabs it, mimic an animal struggling and trying to get away. Your dog will love it!
Now, just because tug doesn’t cause aggression doesn’t mean it has to be a free-for-all. The game does involve grabbing and biting, and you don’t want your dog chomping down on your fingers instead of the toy!
This is where the rules of tug come in. Your dog can enjoy this fun game, but he has to play by the rules (just like all games)! Here are two big rules to teach your dog:
1. Your dog must “drop” the tug object on cue. A certified force-free trainer can help you with this! If you want to train it yourself, here are the steps:
-during the game of tuy, say the cue “drop”
-stop moving the toy, i.e. make it “go dead”
-wait for your dog to let go
-after he lets go, feed him a treat, then let him re-take the toy
2. If your dog puts his mouth on anything but the tug object, the game is over. At first, go easy on your dog if he’s a bit sloppy with his mouth. Keep practicing “drop” until he’s dropping the toy on cue pretty reliably. Later on, if he “breaks the rules” and puts his mouth on your hands or clothes, it’s game over, bub: The tug object gets put away on a high shelf for the rest of the day.
Installing these rules should ensure tug games don’t get too rough! Having said that, young kids shouldn’t be permitted to play tug with dogs. There’s too much risk that an excited dog will cause the child to fall over and hurt themselves.
If you live in Toronto and need help teaching your dog the rules of tug, check out my private day training services. I can also coach you on this virtually.
