Quote: Nicole hardman

I would find something irresistable to the dog, not a traditional tug or rag to start with. I use lifelike looking stuffed rabbits and squirrels. You can probably find something on a hunters website that they use to train their dogs, I imagine.

Then I would kennel them before playtime. How long depends on the dog. Some go batty and need something to do quickly. An hour builds my boy up perfectly.

Then take them out to play just like you were taught. When you are finished, whether or not they tug, put them back in their kennel for a time. Take them out again to perform things they do very well with their favorite reward.

Keep at this pattern that becomes a predictable routine for them and see if they start loving tug. If they do then, hooray, you brought it out! If not then, oh well, you just taught them to do something else that isn't their favorite thing to do.

Your exactly on the same page, Nicole.That's how I'm doing that adventure.

The dogs have all kind of different toys which can be used for tugging. But you're right, maybe I can find something that gives them the drive. Hunter's website, great idea. The only thing is, that hunters normally choose dogs, who really do have enough prey drive. Nevertheless! It will be worth trying and perhaps even writing there. If nothing will work, then of course there are many other ways of having fun. One speciality: Running with them in all different unexpected curves, standing still for a while, jumping away and so on.They love that, but of course I cannot compete with a dog. I will be the first letting hanging out the tongue!
Thanks for your tips!

"Al kinds of toys"

This can sometimes create issues of the dog having to much.

One or two toys that the dogs enjoy.

Even then they should be YOUR property that the dogs have to earn and only gain access to them when your training with them.

Think about a small child with a room full of toys. They get bored with most all of them if they have constant access with them.

Hi, I should have written: I have lots of toys. I needed this to find out on what the react.

And all those toys are in a box, inaccessivel to them.
I only use toys during training and of course when I am playing with one of them. Additionally I use only one toy at a time, sometimes a second one, if I want to find out if this motivates better.
The best toy - except from animal, that enter our Garden, - am myself. They love to chase me, especially, when I change rapidly direction, jump etc,but I can not compete with a dog. My tongue will hang out long before theirs!

 Quote: Duane Hull

Hi, Christina;

My post was certainly not directed at any one person in particular. As Nicole said, these topics feed into a pool of information that is shared by many different types of dog people, and some of the replies apply to casual dog owners as well as working dog fanatics.

My intent is to remind all of us that the most important common factor is the relationship with our dogs. I have used all of the methods that Nicole suggested (plus many more from world class handlers) to build drive for my dog. My goal was also to build engagement in a game that would be rewarding for the dog and could be used as a training reward. However, what I came to realize is that, even though my dog enjoys playing tug with me, it will never be as rewarding as some of the other rewards in our reward system. Therefore, the engagement and focus that my dog gives in training are better when I use a reward that she values more than tug.

I also found that there were better means of fostering drive and engagement WITH THIS DOG than the typical means suggested by top-shelf competitors (who were training a different class of dog altogether). No matter how exciting I tried to make myself for my dog, she would get only so excited for the tug.

Good looking out.

LOVELY response, Duane

Of course nobody means to offend anyone here -- And we all appreciate our dear Christina !!! "I love Food-Driven dogs because they're EASY for me to train", LOL, I agree with THAT 100% ... "Whatever kind of Reward WORKS Best for the particular dog we're training", YES

Thanks Duane and Candy,I agree 100% with you. My dogs recieve until now only food rewards, because they are crazy about them and the training is fun.
To have fun with them and they with me is the most important thing of course. Nevertheless I still think, that they might not have recognized yet, that this game could be fun. Perhaps they even haven't yet understood that it is a game.
I think this must be my fault, as I never played with them tug of war when they were younger. So I don't want to give in, but find ways how I could make it better and maybe even achieve it.
Of course it is clear to me, they will always remain food driven.

They also love to play, but various other things, so I don't see any reason why they should not learn tugging, of course without the slightest force. Two of them are likely to get it some day, I guess, but I cannot look into the future. The other two are more likely not to learn it,I presume, as they are even not interested, when I throw a ball.But who knows? Then I simply will accept this, I have no intention to go in direction of any competition. Everything only for home use.

Thanks for your interest, Candy and Duane.

I must here quote Bob. "Old dogs love to learn new tricks."

Keep fingers crossed for me

Tie a rag to a string and run around the yard. I can guarantee they will chase it!! Start from there.

Chasing a rag on a string does not always translate to tug being a valued reward. many dogs will chase but still not have a biddable prey drive. The reason Christine wants to play tug with each of her dogs is that she was hoping to build tug into her reward system, just as I tried to do with a mature GSD bitch that I adopted.

If you search my old posts, you will find a thread where I chronicled two plus years of building drive and focus with that dog. There was a time when she would not chase a rag tied to a string, even after she started playing tug and doing bitework.

I've never had a dog that would not play with me. Perhaps it is just me then.... I thought it was the toy?

They do play with me, Jeffrey, but not tug. I also had tried many times to do it the way you describe. Then they chase me, but when I try to make them tug by moving the rag like a bait, the game is over.

Duane I think, your right. Chasing is a wonderful game, but it does not necessarily lead to tugging, although in some cases it might.Dogs are so surprisingly different. I've read, what you chronicled in old posts and I'm trying out everything. I will not give in, somehow, somewhen I must find the knack, which probably will not be for every of my dogs the same.

Thank you both for your answers.It is always worth hearing of other peoples techniques and be consistent in trying.

Don't ever give up. I am not trying to discourage anyone. I am posting to remind all trainers to train with whatever motivates the dog the most. There are many things that our dogs can enjoy with us, but not all re suitable as a reward for training.

Jeffrey; you are absolutely correct in one regard... You imprinted all of your dogs with not only a desire to chase and tug, but also with a desire to engage with you. I suspect that you also may favor a breed that has naturally strong prey drive. When retraining older dogs that have not been imprinted with these behaviors, it is not always possible to get the utmost maximum levels of drives to surface. And, yes, it is also the toy. Dogs with natural drives absolutely will become fixed on a particular toy. When that happens, that toy is the highest value reward that you can ever train with.

MY mature GSD was raised with children. I suspect that teeth on humans and games encouraging possession and/or guarding of resources were discouraged, based mainly on the issues I have had to overcome since rehoming her. I have uncovered enough prey and defensive drives to get her to do bitework, but those drives are not strong enough for her to develop into a competitor on the field.