NEW tug game twist

Watching Leslie McDevitt's Games Demo dvd, there are a ton of really interesting tidbits she goes over that aren't covered in the book.

We worked on stays adding distractions of the furry kind and Leslie's tug game twist tonight after our hike. Having a multi-dog household and working with one dog at a time, is the perfect opportunity to teach patient and polite = your turn may be NEXT :P




The NEAT-O twist when playing tug with your dog in the Games Demonstration DVD was when Leslie was tugging with her dog Easy they naturally came up with this twist to "drop" the tug toy and then wait to start the game again.  She uses her body to cue the tug game is over, and the only way to start it back up again is for the dog to perform a default behaviour. That's pretty standard body language 101. You use it when walking (stop when dog starts to move ahead), or to calm a dog down, just by standing still, not doing anything and it's natural that they'll follow suit.

Leslie's twist....

Either eye contact in a sit, or eye contact in a down starts the game.  To cue which one she'd prefer, all she did was stop the game by holding the tug toy close to her body either at her waist or below her knees, and was quiet and waited Easy out.

By the placement of her hands either;

1-at her waist = Easy stopped tugging and performed a sit/stay and looked at Leslie...the default behaviour.... in hopes that the tug game would start up again.
or
2-lower down near her knees = Easy would release the tug toy and automatically down and look at Leslie in hopes the tug games would start back up again.

I love it when together you and your dog make up a game/cue by being open in your communication.  Not just you looking for a behaviour, once you've given a cue, then waiting for the "right' or "wrong" response.

Shaping games are great for that.  It's a fun way to exercise your and your dog's creative side :) 

I love this! Adds yet another fun game when playing tug AND is GREAT for dogs who are easily over aroused...who need these games to teach them that keeping their enthusiasm in check means you get to PLAY the game!