When each dog completes the obstacle course....the dog gets his leash
and the owner and dog .. play TUG THE LEASH
?????????????????????????????????? WHAT IS THAT ??? and it is
every single dog !

"thepearl" wrote in message
ups.com...
When each dog completes the obstacle course....the dog gets his leash
and the owner and dog .. play TUG THE LEASH
?????????????????????????????????? WHAT IS THAT ??? and it is
every single dog !



Well, first of all, not all dogs do that even in the venues where it's
allowed. (I gather you've been watching agility on TV? Just like most other
things, they don't show you the whole picture.)

Second, some venues don't allow it. In the venue I primarily compete in,
it'll get you NQ'd, so you won't see ANY dogs doing it. Or at least hardly
any; once in a while you'll see it - and then you'll see the judge signal a
"elimination", and after that an owner whining about it. Too bad for her
that she didn't bother to read the rules before entering.

But to answer your question, it's very simple: the owners are rewarding
their dogs by playing tug with them, and/or having the dog redirect the
drive from running onto the toy. (In that context, the leash is a toy.)
The reason it's not "legal" in some venues is that since toys and food
aren't allowed in the competition ring, it's considered equally unallowable
for people to skirt the rules by substituting the leash.


Sarah F.
V-NATCH Brenin, CGC; AD; S-TN-N, TG-O, TN-O, S-EAC-V, S-EJC-V, O-EGC-V
Gwydion, Buddha Cat
NATCH Morag Thistledown, Novice and Open Triple Superiors, Novice & Open
Versatility, TN-E, S-EJC, O-EAC, O-EGC
Robyn Roofwalker, Master of Meezer Mischief
Rocsi Cadarn, Novice Triple Superior, Novice & Open Versatility, S-OAC,
S-OJC, O-OGC, O-EJC, EAC; AG1, OGTG

thepearl said in rec.pets.dogs.behavior:

When each dog completes the obstacle course....the dog gets
his leash and the owner and dog .. play TUG THE LEASH

It's a reward - tug is probably Friday's biggest reward, and
since in training his slip lead is close at hand, we play tug
with that.

In competition my venue faults for "toys in the ring". A leash
becomes a toy when it's used for tug, so a good "leave it" is
worth having.

--
--Matt. Rocky's a Dog.

On Thu, 14 Jul 2005 23:31:42 -0400, in rec.pets.dogs.behavior, Sionnach
wrote:


"thepearl" wrote in message
oups.com...
When each dog completes the obstacle course....the dog gets his leash
and the owner and dog .. play TUG THE LEASH
?????????????????????????????????? WHAT IS THAT ??? and it is
every single dog !



Well, first of all, not all dogs do that even in the venues where it's
allowed. (I gather you've been watching agility on TV? Just like most other
things, they don't show you the whole picture.)

Second, some venues don't allow it. In the venue I primarily compete in,
it'll get you NQ'd, so you won't see ANY dogs doing it. Or at least hardly
any; once in a while you'll see it - and then you'll see the judge signal a
"elimination", and after that an owner whining about it. Too bad for her
that she didn't bother to read the rules before entering.

But to answer your question, it's very simple: the owners are rewarding
their dogs by playing tug with them, and/or having the dog redirect the
drive from running onto the toy. (In that context, the leash is a toy.)
The reason it's not "legal" in some venues is that since toys and food
aren't allowed in the competition ring, it's considered equally unallowable
for people to skirt the rules by substituting the leash.

In the UK you'll often see people (including me) playing tuggy with the
leash while waiting in line to competel, to get their dog ready to run.

Doug
--
Doug Weller -- exorcise the demon to reply
Doug & Helen's Dogs http://www.dougandhelen.com
A Director and Moderator of The Hall of Ma'at http://www.hallofmaat.com
Doug's Archaeology Site: http://www.ramtops.co.uk

"Doug Weller" wrote:

In the UK you'll often see people (including me) playing tuggy with the
leash while waiting in line to competel, to get their dog ready to run.

That's fairly common here, as well, although in NADAC (the venue I run in)
there's an expectation that you'll do it in a reasonably controlled
fashion - IOW not in such a way that it's not a significant
disturbance/distraction to other dogs.

I do it with two of my three, although not as much as I used to now that
they've matured somewhat. With the lurcher, it's low-key playing to get her
in the mood of cooperative play. With the Jack Russell, when she started
competing at 20 months it was a way for her to defuse/expend energy while
waiting her turn. And infinitely preferable to pulling towards the ring and
baying. G
She's now 4, and has learned to save her energy for the ring much better.
Yes, JRTs can learn self-control! :-D


Sarah F.
V-NATCH Brenin, CGC; AD; S-TN-N, TG-O, TN-O, S-EAC-V, S-EJC-V, O-EGC-V
Gwydion, Buddha Cat
NATCH Morag Thistledown, Novice and Open Triple Superiors, Novice & Open
Versatility, TN-E, S-EJC, O-EAC, O-EGC
Robyn Roofwalker, Master of Meezer Mischief
Rocsi Cadarn, Novice Triple Superior, Novice & Open Versatility, S-OAC,
S-OJC, O-OGC, O-EJC, EAC; AG1, OGTG

Pigdog doesn't do agility, but he does enjoy walking himself. If I
give him the loop end of the leash he'll trot off pleased as peaches
with himself, and he stays right on my heel too. Damned thing I ever
saw, a pitbull walking itself

On 14 Jul 2005 20:01:46 -0700, "thepearl"
spewed forth :

When each dog completes the obstacle course....the dog gets his leash
and the owner and dog .. play TUG THE LEASH
?????????????????????????????????? WHAT IS THAT ??? and it is
every single dog !


+++++++++++++

Reply to the list as I do not publish an email address to USENET.
This practice has cut my spam by more than 95%.
Of course, I did have to abandon a perfectly good email account...

"Wooly" wrote in message
...
Pigdog doesn't do agility, but he does enjoy walking himself. If I
give him the loop end of the leash he'll trot off pleased as peaches
with himself, and he stays right on my heel too. Damned thing I ever
saw, a pitbull walking itself


When Cin was little, we did obedience lessons and those that competed always
played lead tuggy.

For my own cause, I used this to teach my dog to pick her lead up and hand
it to me should I drop it - a very useful trick and one that came in handy
today!

Diana

--
Cindy the weimaraner's web site:
http://cindy-incidentally.mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk

Doug Weller said in rec.pets.dogs.behavior:

In the UK you'll often see people (including me) playing
tuggy with the leash while waiting in line to competel, to
get their dog ready to run.

My Rocky only plays tug with other dogs, rarely with me. Friday
loves tug with both man and beast and prefers it over food
treats. With him, I use tug as a reward as opposed to a
motivator - he certainly doesn't need any encouragement to get
wound up for a run (though my friends take great delight in
seeing how wound up they can make him).

--
--Matt. Rocky's a Dog.