Yote is somewhat food motivated, but not to the extent of my other two. He is also really really active so I have been trying to use tug as a reward.

Up until now Tug has consisted of him tugging, letting go, me throwing it and then him bringing it back so we can start over. This has worked great, but trying to do a short session between behaviors isn't working at all.

The problem is that he gets so worked up that he looses all focus and all he wants is to tug. He will let go but then he is bouncing all around and jumping up to grab it. I have ended up with a rip in a favorite shirt and some teeth marks on my chest where he missed and got me instead.
Needless to say when he starts jumping around and barking like an idiot we stop playing and I end the "game"

So obviously he really loves to play tug, but I need some suggestions to get some type of control over it so that I can use it as a reward. I think because he enjoys it so much it might be a good way to teach him some more complicated things, and also get a little bit of energy out while training as well.

He turns two in a few weeks, but he is no where near mature, we are working on impulse control, but progress is slow.

Can you put the tug out of sight and give him a sit command? As soon as his butt hits the ground, pay him. Once he's sitting quick and looks like he gets it, add a little time before the reward.

One of my dogs is Ball crazy and looses focus when a ball is scented or sighted.

When I am working with her, and she get a little crazy, or stops listening I put the ball in my pocket. Then I will give her instructions, it can take a minute some times, but she eventually focuses and we get back to training.

It is a fine line because if you wait too long to give the reward the dog may/will loose interest in you because it forgets you have something it wants. Too soon and the dog starts to expect the reward without doing anything for it (or you get the sit/stay/down/bark reaction to every command!).

I like the toy reward idea because it saves me money on dog food/treats, and toys last a lot longer. I can blast through $10 worth of delicious Roll Over in 2 days, but $1.99 in tennis balls lasts a month.

 Quote: Leo BOND

... It is a fine line because if you wait too long to give the reward the dog may/will loose interest in you because it forgets you have something it wants. Too soon and the dog starts to expect the reward without doing anything for it (or you get the sit/stay/down/bark reaction to every command!).

You're not using marker training?

 Quote: Leo BOND

... I like the toy reward idea because it saves me money on dog food/treats, and toys last a lot longer. I can blast through $10 worth of delicious Roll Over in 2 days, but $1.99 in tennis balls lasts a month.

Nothing wrong with toy rewards, of course, but I just want to point out that one boneless chicken breast easily baked or poached yields dozens of tiny (I like M&M size or pencil-eraser size) greaseless rewards. Maybe a hundred or more.

Connie,
You didn't aske me but I am answering that question anyway LOL

I wasn't using the marker training with the tug because my timing isn't very good with it yet.

We are doing super basic stuff like sit and down that we do with no rewards on a regular basis. Just to get the hang of using the tug as a reward.

I can get his butt to touch the ground but it springs right back up and he is bouncing and barking and trying to get the tug. I have put it behind my back but out of sight is not out of mind, he is quite persistent in getting to whatever it is he thinks he should have.

I also never use store bought dog treats for training, A lot of times when I cook meat I make one extra piece or extra burger and then chop it into tiny pieces, I also use leftovers a lot and put it all in a baggy in the fridge.

Those 88 cent packs of hot dogs chopped into M&M sizes pieces go a LONG way too. One 25 cent string cheese stick can make well over 50 treats for training as well.

 Quote: Jennifer Lee

I also never use store bought dog treats for training, A lot of times when I cook meat I make one extra piece or extra burger and then chop it into tiny pieces, I also use leftovers a lot and put it all in a baggy in the fridge.

Those 88 cent packs of hot dogs chopped into M&M sizes pieces go a LONG way too. One 25 cent string cheese stick can make well over 50 treats for training as well.

And a mixed bag of these is great. Fluff it up with Simon & Huey's (a zillion per package) or Zuke's Minis and you have a trick-or-treat bag.

 Quote: jennifer lee

I wasn't using the marker training with the tug because my timing isn't very good with it yet. .... I can get his butt to touch the ground but it springs right back up and he is bouncing and barking and trying to get the tug. I have put it behind my back but out of sight is not out of mind, he is quite persistent in getting to whatever it is he thinks he should have.

The timing thing is something that is HELPED, not exacerbated, by markers.

Load the marker. I can't say too often that this is Step One and cannot be skipped. Don't assume that you have done it until the dog looks for the reward when you give the marker (clicker or verbal, whatever).

Now ... when the dog's butt hits the ground, you MARK. The dog now knows that the marker means "reward coming!"

Duration can be introduced later, when you have the marker loaded and then 100% response on the sit, with the command named and the dog complying every time.... THEN you can introduce duration, slowly, and then gradually with random lengths of time.

Please post back if I'm muddying the waters here.

Back on topic....

We just tried this again for a minute, only this time I did it in the hallway so he didn't have so much room to jump around.

It resulted in a serious case of the zoomies up and down the hallway.
This tells me that it is a great motivator for him if I can figure out how to channel it into some focus!!

I literally can get one sit or down, one game of tug, then when he releases all ability to focus is gone because he is so darn excited.

ETA: I do use the clicker for training, especially with new behaviors and he fully understands the meaning of it.

I guess my concern was with the space of time between the mark and the reward.

And also because I have never really used a toy as a reward, except for throwing it for Nico, but she was so forgiving and easy to train it didn't matter as much if I messed it up!! I didn't want to confuse the success of the clicker.