Long line and hose tugs

[Drea]

I got my long line the other day, and I've noticed that Tucker will start to chew it and play tug with it ("where do I put my energy?"). Can you offer suggestions on how I can minimize this?

Also, I like your hose tugs; is there a certain type of hose that you like to use?

[neilsattin]

Hi Drea,

A few thoughts.

When Tucker has the leash on and starts chewing it, he's literally showing you that he has an excess of energy and needs something to do with it (as you correctly diagnosed). In those moments, can you redirect him to tug/pushing? Can you get him to chase you? Can you get him to keep walking down the trail? Can you push him off balance, then run in the other direction?

Basically the sky's the limit - your goal is simply to show him exactly what to do with his energy, what he should be "biting", in that moment. Initially tug might work better than pushing in that regard, at least while you're getting the hand of pushing.

At the moment, I like to use natural rubber hoses. They're the least toxic hose out there (though none of them are completely non-toxic, to be fair, so you don't want to let dogs idly chew on them).

I've been on the search for a great tug toy, and in the meantime also have a manufacturer lined up to make something perfect when the investment $$$ is there. For now, I just keep cutting lengths of natural rubber hose.

[BrownieNJoyce]

Hi. Although Brownie is not tugging yet, I found out about these tug-toys and ordered a couple in the large size. I believe I posted about them previously but it was before I ordered. Neil--do you think it's important to have something straight like the hose or is it okay that the design of these add a bit of initial give/stretch? It'll be great if you can design your own someday.
I like that they are non-toxic and feel like rubber (flexible but really strong).

B?mi | West Paw Design

[Drea]

Those look interesting, too bad they are so pricey.

Tucker likes the rope tugs, but when he whips his head back and forth near my legs, it hurts! He also likes the Kong Wubba, and they hurt, too, though not as much (not sure why). I have a lot of toys (tugs and others) that are singles. I need to remember to buy two of the tugs.

[Chris]

If anyone lives near a dairy farm you can get the best tug toy a dog could want. I got given a rubber liner that they milk the cows with, it is so great.

Really flexible, soft on the hands for tugging and the dogs just love them to bite. In 4 months they have only cut the head off two of them and they really get a hard time from a couple of GSD's. Real cheap to buy but even better the cow farmer throws them away ever so many months so I get them by the bag full FREE

[Valerie]

I was just at a local family-owned dairy letting the boys visit their BC puppies there (so cute!). I'll have to ask them if they are discarding anything like this.