Switching off to a tug!

I've always wanted to get Dylan switching off to a tug when he plays flyball. Most the dogs get rewarded with tug toys when they complete the course. Dylan has always been rewarded with food. Because of his tendency to overrun the runback, I always wanted to have a good reason for him to come to me. Since having the ball is something he finds so rewarding, he doesn't value the tug enough to drop the ball and grab a tug.

A couple of weeks ago, I was thinking and came to the realization that it would be simple to teach Dylan that grabbing a tug is part of the game. He's been playing flyball for a couple of years but he can certainly learn to come to a tug before he gets rewarded. Then I have the benefits of having my dog in a place I can hold onto him in case another dog gets in his way. I can't believe I never thought of it before. Hopefully, he will eventually find the tug so rewarding that I can phase out the food, He already loves to tug he's just not accustomed to playing with both at the same time.

We have been playing a game off and on where I throw the ball, have him fetch it, then have him drop the ball and play tug. Then we start over again. I am proud to say today was the first time that he seemed to be anxious to grab the tug when he had the ball in his mouth. He would try to grab the tug a few times and then realize he couldn't when he had the ball. After a couple tries, he actually dropped the ball and played tug!! YIPPEE!!! Hopefully, he now understands and it won't take him long to just be dropping the ball automatically when he gets to the tug. Once he understands and plays the game well, I will have to introduce it to him on the flyball course. Maybe, I will see if we can do newbie practice for a week or so two so that I can practice it with him one on one!