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 Quote: Matt Goto

Hi guys, figured this topic is a good place to ask my question. Recently discovered this form of playing with my pup (he is almost one, american bulldog catahoula mx). I have watched the power of playing tug with your dog a few times and also the power of training dogs with food. We are constantly working on both forms of training.

The area we are struggling in is my dog doesn't want to bite the middle of the tug when I hold it with both hands. He will bite one end if I hold it with one hand and play tug that way, but when I present it with two hands and give him a space to bite, he will either bite and let go quickly, like before we can even tug, or try and bite underneath like there is an imaginary piece of the tug there. I have tried presenting the tug and making it jump, running away with it and then presenting, having him chase the tug, but still struggling.

Curious if anyone has had this happen before or if you have any suggestions. I really think mastering this will help in all aspects of our training and building our bond. Thank you in advance for your help, first post here.

It could "possibly" be the dog is hesitating because of the chance of grabbing your hand.
Try working with a longer tug.
Playing one handed tug isn't all that bad but it can become a bit hard to lock up the tug when you work on the out.
A somewhat soft dog can also feel it's trying to take something form you and that can be taboo with some dogs.

i have experienced some of those problems as well matt . . .

i make my own tugs which are rings made out of about three wraps of 1/4" blue poly rope wrapped up with a couple layers of electrical tape , then wrapped over that with hockey tape .

i make them about 8" in diameter . they give you a safe place to put your hands , allow for a clear presentation , makes a great handle for the tug game , and rolls well when thrown . sometimes i'll put a knot on one of the ropes to make the roll a bit more random .

henry has a good tug , and it is getting better all the time , and he will engage in a good " fight " ( for a border collie lol ), but putting movement into the reward game is more motivating for him .

hope that helps . . .

Thanks for the insight guys. He actually outs pretty well, from me training him to drop things I didn't want in his mouth in the first place, so playing one hand tug and not getting an out isn't a huge problem. I guess you could say I just want to strive for perfection.

I think you make a good point Ian in stating the movement of the reward, i.e. the random rolling of your homemade tugs, is what really gets him going. I am still trying to find that one aspect of play that really gets him tuned up while still being able to keep him in proximity and where I am always in control.

He and I are still new to the tug game so I won't give up hope yet. The homemade ones sound interesting and could be good for once I get him to bring it back on a regular basis.

So would working in one handed tug while still trying to get him to bite when I hold with two hands not be a bad thing? I don't want to create something he only relies on. Thanks again for the responses.

FWIW, I reward my dog's "out" with another bite, and she bites harder and with less abandon on the reward bites. You might try the same angle. Engage with one hand, initially, then "out" and give a rebite with both hands. He may lose some inhibition if you can get his drive to peak.

How do you present the tug? Hopefully you aren't going forward or shoving the tug at the dog. You want to be moving away to create prey and that makes the dog more willing to go after it.

I am presenting it with it always jumping away. I think he may be timid to bite my hands. I can get him to initially lung and grab if I start moving or present after an out. The issue is he wont clamp down hard when I hold with two hands. He will bite and as soon as I go to tug, whether it is lightly or hard, with two hands he will release it.

I started presenting with two hands, then moving to tugging with one hand, this sometimes works and sometimes doesnt. I also have started to present the tug high above his head with two hands so he has to jump for it, he will always try and grab it when I do this, but wont grab if I present with two hands in front of his face and make a jumping back motion (as seen by Ellis in the video and other handlers doing).

I have the intermediate tug set, so I have tried the synthetic, fire hose, and leather tugs. When I first discovered this training method, I made a tug out of an old t-shirt before I bought the tugs. He would bite and clamp on the t-shirt when I presented with two hands. Does this bring any insight to anyone on maybe discovering why my pup is having these issues?

thanks again for all your guys help.

Besides being timid about the bite, he might also be soft to personal pressure, which might explain why he might bite with two hands but then let go. Try keeping your head back and to one side, and avoid eye contact or glaring at him while you play. Don't stand over a dog that is sensitive to personal pressure, or it may put him in avoidance. When you are tugging, try giving the appearance of trying to escape with the tug, moreso than that of fighting for it.

Duane has a good point about personal pressure.
You presentation can be threatening to him. to much "fight" from you could be a turn off.

When I greet a soft dog or even a puppy I don't know I will be on one knee turned sideways to the dog/pup.
A soft puppy I will even lay on my back.
Those positions will put the dog more on eye level and you not going to be hoovering over it.
See how your dog reacts when your down on your knee. don't use the tug or anything else. You just want to see if the dog is more comfortable with you at his level.

Thanks for the other perspectives. I will try them later today and let you know how it goes.