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Playing Tug (and other games)
Hello all. I rescued Stella, an American Bully, just over a year ago (she’s almost two years old now) and have used Robert’s videos to achieve a great deal with her. She’s got great obedience and is very food motivated, but can’t figure out how to get her to play tug! I tried everything Robert recommends, and when I first bring out the tug, she seems excited. She’ll play for a few seconds, I’ll let her win, but then when I try to get the toy again to play she just stops and looks at me. Or sometimes she’ll just stop in the middle of tugging, or after winning just drop it and look up at me. It’s like she suddenly loses all interest in playing, unless I let her keep the toy (which I don’t do since I know you’re not supposed to, but have done on occasion just to see how she reacts) and then she’ll just chew on it and try to tear it up. I used to think maybe I was playing too rough and it hurt her neck or something, but she plays much more vigorously with other dogs, so that can’t be the case. She gets possessive, so if another dog has a toy, she’ll go crazy trying to take it away (yeah, she used to get aggressive too, but have learned to correct that behavior/stop the game before she gets too riled up). I get that some dogs just aren’t as playful or toy motivated, but if she can be so invigorated when playing with other dogs, why can’t I get a similar reaction out of her? She’s generally a huge couch potato, so it would be nice to have something other than food to motivate her/exercise her throughout the day. She’s also pretty dominant so I worry I may have just overdone it with corrections early on in training (would quickly and perhaps too harshly correct any sort of growling/biting at first, she’s my first dog and I didn’t know that much about training and all I knew was stuff I’d learned from Cesar Millan in the beginning before finding Robert’s stuff…) Any tips are appreciated.
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4 Replies
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I have a 120 pound XL American Bully. His drives are pretty low for the tug also. I use a sloth dog toy instead (it brings up his drives because of his terrier roots) he goes nuts for it. So crazy sometimes he breaks his obedience and jumps to grab it, but like you said I go easy on Those corrections because I dont want to kill his drives. He can also be a very lazy couch potatoe. He doesnt like to play too early in the morning, his drives are higher in the afternoon or nighttimw. I would call him medium drive but when it comes to squeakers and stuff toys he goes nuts. He also had the issue of chewing the toys so I just make sure our playtime is all about engagement, if he starts to chew the toy I run him. We out and stop the game always when he is having fun and only get a few minutes before he gets tires. Focus on fun, wiggle the toy in front of her, run with it, do not out to much. If she starts to chew just get very motivated to run with her. Let her be possessive in the game of tug and running the object. Keep your tug short before she outs on her own, just teach her its fun and stay away from too much obedience. I was killing my dogs play drive that way but we have fixed it thanks to Robert’s help! I use Amazon’s fluff and tuff toys. They hold up. They have a rabbit one she might love
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That’s a great looking dog! Stella’s a serial plush toy destroyer, so I stopped using those, but will have to give these a try. I certainly feel I killed her drives somewhat, now I very much wish I hadnt, but I guess I’ll just need to use more exciting toys!
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Also I give you credit for correcting her. Even if they seem like too much sometimes (I’ve felt the same with my dog) they seriously need it. They can be very pushy dogs so it’s important they understand that dominant behavior with us is not acceptable. Rarely my corrections are too weak (I’m 140 pounds and my dog is 120) so I tend to be very direct and strong with my technique. And always reward after, it works wonders. They need that reward after, they are sensitive dogs and will struggle without it
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Yeah I feel you on them being pushy. I use an e-collar with Stella and it’s been a game changer!
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