Tug of War With Your Dog: Myths vs. Facts

Dogs who enjoy tug are exercising their predatory desires. photo: AdobeStock

Tug of war is a great game you can play with your dog that too often gets a bad rap. Teaching your dog to play tug can not only improve your relationship, but also allows your dog to express normal canine behaviors, while giving them an appropriate outlet to do so. It can also provide another way to reward behaviors you like during training sessions, resulting in a dog who has strong and reliable skills.

Of course, you should avoid playing tug of war if your dog has a history of overexcitement that presents as mouthing. Similarly, if your dog has a history of guarding toys or objects from you, you’ll also want to avoid this game for now. Such dogs can learn to play tug in a healthy way, but teaching these skills needs to be done under the care of a dog behavior professional. For most dogs, however, a game of tug can be a fun way to play and bond with you and a game you can easily teach yourself.

Tug Helps Dogs Safely Exercise Predatory Desires

“Won’t tug of war make my dog aggressive?” This myth has been around for ages, but, in fact, tug of war does not cause aggressive behavior problems. The majority of aggressive behavior problems are the result of genetics, early learning experiences, socialization history, or learned behaviors. Tug of war is a game we play with our dog that exercises their predatory desires and has nothing to do with any of these causes. 

Not all dogs enjoy playing tug, as a dog’s desire to stalk, chase, and shake is somewhat determined by their genetic makeup, but dogs who enjoy tug are exercising their predatory desires. The predatory sequence for dogs is: scent, eye stalk, chase, grab bite, shake, kill bite, dissect, consume. 

Your dog may enjoy a certain part or parts of the predatory sequence more than others, which is often determined by genetic factors. Herding breeds tend to  enjoy the stalk and chase parts of the sequence, while terriers might prefer the grab and shake portion. Some dogs love to rip up their stuffed toys and pull out the guts (aka stuffing), while other breeds may have low or no desire to engage in any steps in the predatory sequence. When we play tug with our dog, we need to keep this predatory sequence in mind, which will help build motivation for the game. 

Teaching Tug

Start by looking for some appropriate tug toys, based on your individual dog. A large, strong dog will do best with a sturdy toy like a fire hose tug, for example. A small dog with a soft bite might do well tugging with a soft toy. Avoid hard rubber toys as well as the traditional rope toys as they can fray and release small pieces of string, which can be dangerous if swallowed. Dogs who need extra motivation might enjoy playing tug with something furry and flowing. Make sure the tug toy is long enough for your dog to grip and for you to hold on to with both of your hands. Avoid tugging with squeaking toys.

To begin teaching tug, grab two tug toys of equal value and invite your dog to play with the first toy by replicating the first couple steps of the predatory sequence. That might look like flinging the toy on the ground, waiting for your dog to look at it, and then making it “run away” to encourage your dog to chase it. Once your dog catches the toy and grabs it, start to tug back (try channeling your inner squirrel fighting for its last breath). Move the toy side to side parallel to the ground, allowing your dog to tug, pull, and shake it while maintaining constant tension in the toy. Avoid bouncing your dog up and down like a pogo stick as this isn’t good for a dog’s spine. 

If your dog lets go of the toy, what happens next? In real life, a squirrel would immediately try to flee; it doesn’t jump back into the dog’s mouth so make the toy mimic that behavior, too. Have the toy “run away.” Don’t give it right back. 

Once your dog is thoroughly into the tug game, let go of the toy on your end and let them gain possession over it. Then grab your second toy and see if you can convince your dog to chase it by repeating the same procedure you did with the first toy. Watching this video may help.

 Common Questions

“My dog won’t play tug; they’re not interested.” If you’re exploring the tug game and your dog is just yawning at you, think about what you’re doing. Are you activating the predatory sequence with your tug toy or are you being a “suicide squirrel,” making it too easy to be interesting.  When a dog won’t engage in the game, many people react by pushing the toy into the dog’s face, wiggling it back and forth. This is off-putting to all but the most motivated dogs. After all, where’s the fun in going after a squirrel that wants to be caught?  

Dogs want to stalk, chase, and then bite so make sure you are focusing on that sequence during the game. If your dog won’t go for the toy, try jiggling it and pulling it away from your dog to see if they decide they’d like to chase it. Don’t make it too easy.

“You need to make sure you always win the game and take the tug from the dog.” This is inaccurate and not an evidence-based statement. Who wants to play a game that they never win? Pulling the toy away from your dog will only serve to activate the chase part of the predatory sequence and will be the complete opposite of a punishment. It’s also very likely to leave your dog feeling frustrated if you whip it behind your back and then don’t allow them to get it.

The best way to end the tug game is to let the dog have the toy, but don’t leave your dog to tear it apart when the game is over. Instead, grab a handful of treats and scatter them on the floor. While your dog is eating them, calmly pick up the tug toys and put them up for another time.

“You need to give your dog a time out if they bite the toy before you tell them to or if they put teeth on your hand.” Nope, this one isn’t accurate either. If you attempt to punish your dog for biting the toy without your permission, you will slowly kill your dog’s desire to play tug with you. We should avoid teaching behavior and cues through punishment; it’s not ethical or efficient. If you get to the training stage where you’d like to teach your dog a cue to take the tug, teach them what you want them to do instead of waiting for them to make a mistake and punishing them when they get it wrong. 

If your dog’s teeth touch your hand while you are playing tug, it’s likely your own  skills that need adjusting. Keeping solid tension in the tug toy the entire time you are playing is important. This keeps the dog gripping the toy firmly and prevents the dog from re-gripping the tug and possibly part of your hand in the process.

Using Tug As a Reinforcer

When your dog is first learning tug, you don’t need to worry about getting them to wait, take it, or drop it. These behaviors will actually decrease your dog’s motivation to play tug. Start by building a foundation where your dog will consistently engage in the two toy tug game as outlined above. After you’ve mastered that, you can make tug contingent on responding to known cues like drop, stay, or down, which will be very easy because you’ll have a dog who is highly motivated to play this fun game with you.

Using tug as a reinforcer for responding to known cues requires that a few steps be mastered first. You’ll need your dog to engage with the tug game consistently and enthusiastically. You’ll need your dog to drop the toy reliably when you give them the cue to do so. You’ll need your dog to automatically bring the tug back to you if you toss it. If you let it go, you want them to push it back toward your hands. You may want to enlist the help of a trainer who is experienced with teaching tug to help you master these steps with your dog. But once you have, tug can become a powerful reinforcer for behaviors you want to see more of.

Each dog/human team is an individual study of one. As with all training, there is no cookie cutter approach guaranteed to work for all dogs and all humans. You may remain content with the simple two toy tug game, using it for bonding and meeting your dog’s predatory needs. It doesn’t have to turn into a reward you use for good behavior. It can just be something you do with your dog for fun.

Tug of war, while still heavily misunderstood by many trainers, is usually a part of the repertoire for most of my own dog training clients. Understanding the predatory sequence and how to respond to your dog during these times is a skill almost all dog lovers could benefit from learning. And with the few exceptions discussed above, almost all dogs will enjoy playing a safe, healthy game of tug. 

So don’t be swayed by outdated myths. Give tug a whirl with your own pup and see how it goes. Chances are good you’ll both wind up winners.