Tag: Tennis Tug

Things Your Dog Will Love: Infini-Tug Dog Toy

If your house is anything like ours you’ve probably got dog toys everywhere on the floor in every room. Dogs love toys so much that they’ll make anything into a toy given enough time, boredom, and lack of supervision.

Puppy Pax’e making toys out of everything!
Toys are also one of the most powerful tools to have in our positive reinforcement bag of tricks and there’s always been one that I keep hidden away – only pulled out on super-special occasions – whose value at the moment I take it out is almost as good as a bag of hot dogs.
Teaching self-control with a rousing game of tug!
When I need to go nuclear with dogs to distract them, direct them, reward them or (my favorite) teach them self control, I push the button with the Infini-Tug Dog Toy

The Infini-Tug Dog Toy is deceptively simple in its design, which is essentially a three-foot length of braided fleece wound through a ball at the end.

I started using the Infini-Tug Dog Toy at a shelter with a dog named Wesley who had some resource guarding issues.

I know it sounds crazy to play tug with a resource guarder, but we only play according to the rules and only began once he had a pretty good drop-it command.

The magic of this game was that he didn’t have to guard it:  he knew that he could drop-it when asked and he’d get it back again.  It has done a great job in helping me reinforce simple commands for him and a great job at teaching him that many things just don’t have to be guarded.  (Stay tuned for more on crazy Wesley in future posts.)

When puppy Pinball came to live with us, I was in the middle of writing A Dog Named Boo and had to devise a game that he could play while I typed.  Tucking the tennis tug securely under my foot or thigh – when sitting – I could work as he tugged away.

I can’t tell you why you would want a Infini-Tug Dog Toy, but I will tell you what I use it for:
  • With Wesley at the shelter,  because he got the Infini-Tug Dog Toy for good behaviors I was able to begin whittling away at some pretty big issues in return.
  • If Pinball is in one of his “I’m young and have a lot of energy so why not eat the pillows?!” moods, I can redirect this level of energy to the Infini-Tug Dog Toy  which wears him out and saves my pillows.
  • Finally, if the dogs have been really, really good I’ll give them the Infini-Tug Dog Toy for a couple of minutes just for fun.

The Infini-Tug Dog Toy is a great dog toy that’s cheap, pretty durable for a tug toy (remember to put it away when done), and I think your dog would get a blast out of it.  Mine certainly do.

Remember:  this is a supervised toy.  Do not leave it with them alone because they will tear it apart (after all that’s what tug is all about)! Always put the toy away when the game is over.

The Thieving Puppy, or How to Teach the Rules of Tug

Teaching your dog the rules of tug and setting up boundaries helps control their natural tugging behavior and gives you both what you want.

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Ask Professor Boo is our recurring, positive reinforcement dog training and behavior question and answer column. If there’s a question that you would like to ask Professor Boo, please feel free to contact him.

Q: We’ve just got a new puppy and while he’s got all the rough-around-the-edges things that go along with being a puppy he does one thing that’s driving us crazy: everything becomes a game of tug. If he grabs a pillow off the couch – tug. If he grabs a towel in the bathroom – tug. If he grabs our pants – tug. How can we stop him?
A: First things first: tug is an innate behavior but you can shape and give it rules.

Just what is it tug? In short, you’re seeing a social manifestation of millions of years of their evolution.

As canids evolved and their hunting techniques developed to allow the hunting of larger prey. As a result, tug offered a solution to new issues:

  • Bigger prey require a collective effort to take them down
  • And, larger prey need to be divided up by the group

At some point one canine grabbed one end of a kill and another canine grabbed the other end and tug was born. What started as a solution to communal hunting and eating became what we see today in dogs as the game of tug.

Teaching your puppy how to tug appropriately is a great foundation skill that addresses:
  • Drop-it and leave-it skills
  • Self control skills
  • Trust and focus
  • Practice following rules and boundaries
Pax’e puppy practices tug and self control
The Rules of Tug
  • Ask your dog for a sit or down
  • Engage the game with a cue like “tug” or “take it”.
  • Use a toy large enough so that your hands will be clear of the dog’s mouth. I just love the Tennis Tug!
    • I like to use only one or two designated tug toys because this reduces confusion and focuses their tug energies on their Super Special Tug Toy.
  • When the dog pulls or shakes side-to-side,
    • You can relax your resistance or drop the toy completely.
    • You can continue the game this way if your back and arm joints are strong enough but – if you’re like me – stick with the straight-on tug.
  • When the dog pulls front-to-back or straight-on
    • Keep your resistance on the toy and play the game.
  • If the dog’s teeth hit your hand or clothing at any point
    • Drop the toy, fold your arms, and look or even walk away from the dog.
  • If the dog’s paws briefly land on you
    • You can choose to do the same look or walk away. If they are using you as a lever with the paws up against your body, drop the toy and look or walk away.
    • The dog will probably come back to you with the toy after something like this.
    • When they do, ask for a sit and restart the game using the cue you’ve chosen.
  • If the dog begins tugging any article of clothing
    • Disengage from the dog and give them a time-out from you and the game.

If your dog is a tugger, you will be shocked to see how quickly he/she will learn the rules. Tug is of such high value to most dogs that the game itself becomes a reward for other great behaviors.

Good luck, let me know how it goes, and stay positive!