Again I had to do a slight twist on the challenge so we could it it into our weekend.
A good game of tug makes Sophie a happy pup. We use tugging as a reward for a clean run in flyball and sometimes in agility. Tugging with a 68lb lab is hard in my opinion. Add that said lab is usually flying full speed at you over 60+ feet to get the tug...eep!
Our normal flyball routine is Sophie goes to the box, as she hits the box I yell her name and then I run while dangling the tug at my side. The tug is to her what my coffee is to me every morning, that extra shot of energy she needs. She comes flying back and I have about two seconds to brace myself as she catches the tug and swings. She then plops all four on the ground and begins tugging with all her might. Which for a big dog is a whole lot. I eventually let go of the tug to grab her harness. When I do she swings the thing from side to side.
We used to use this tug: Notice it has a tennis ball attached to it. Now remember how I said she swung it around....yeah, I ended up with a whole lot of bruises. The tug had to go!!
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| Tug and image from Crash Test Toys |
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| Tug and image from Crash Test Toys! |
Very old and blurry picture of Sophie tugging (at our first tournament in 2010 right before she was about to enter the ring for the first time to be a warm up dog!)
Looking forward to our next challenge!
AWESOME! Yes, I would definitely agree that 20 Flyball Heats makes up for a reduced amount of tugging. Flyball looks like a real work out, to be honest!
ReplyDeletePS - Are you remembering to visit our blog no later than Tuesday nights so you can enter to win K9 Kamp prizes?! I don't remember seeing your name on my list this week!
ReplyDeleteYou did way better than we did! LOL Good for you.
ReplyDeleteI've used similar tugs with Pallo (just sheepskin and leather that I sewed myself though). He loves them, but they sure get gross and slobbery really fast, and are horrible when running in dirt...
ReplyDeleteKoira does that thrashing thing with her tug too, and at our past tournament I kept getting a dust storm in my eyes every time she did it.
But, I will admit to also being too scared to try lunging while tugging with either of my dogs. They are such tugging maniacs, I would've crashed and burned for sure.
Sophie sounds like one kick butt tugger! My flyball dog Lucy is all about the treats but tugging is so much more fun and interactive -- I just haven't been able to convince her of that ;-) And hey, I've bought stuff from Crash Test Toys too -- cool!
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