# Suggestions for Reward Tug that can be thrown



## Nancy Jocoy (Apr 19, 2006)

Since I have had him, Grim has grown increasingly crazy for the tug and I am reserving it for cadaver training.

I throw at source and he comes back to me and we tug. Right now it is my ball on a string.

I am looking for something that retains it throwability but is a little easier on my shoulders - maybe something I can use with two hands - or has better than a cord and I fear he will pull the cord out of the ball. 

He is a good tugger - does not rebite and just pulls - no thrashing about (with Cyra I fell like I have landed a big fish) but with one arm my shoulder is perpetually sore and it is hard to keep my balance.

Not looking for something so big I cannot throw it with some precision or keep it tucked under my arm.


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## Woody Taylor (Mar 28, 2006)

If you want to keep on using a ball...I use an Orbee, which has two holes, and yank that huge rope that comes with it. I then take some "stripped" poly (3/8 poly from Home Depoy with the white padded inside rope pulled out, leaving only the threaded sheath) and thread that through the ball so it's not going anywhere. It gets dirty and stuff but it's quite thin. 

Not sure if what I'm describing makes sense.

Orbees are a pain for me to find right now, they're always sold out. They also have a Kong version of their balls now. And a big white dice that Annie likes. Orbees are still the best balls around for us, Annie has never damaged one, though she likes dropping them into sewer grates to seriously piss me off.

A much bigger toy, not for tugging, that we like a lot are those nylon Fetchit frisbees. Annie loves those but goes through a lot of them.

I think we've linked to those rubber thingys that are used to milk cows. They sell those with ropes in them, those might work.


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## David Frost (Mar 29, 2006)

We use a jute tug, it's about a foot long, very durable. Gives you plenty to grab a hold of when playing tug. I get them from Ray Allen.

DFrost


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## Woody Taylor (Mar 28, 2006)

David Frost said:


> We use a jute tug, it's about a foot long, very durable. Gives you plenty to grab a hold of when playing tug. I get them from Ray Allen.
> 
> DFrost


Yeah, that black Ray Allen (synthetic) mini tug is awesome, my favorite. I wasn't sure if Nancy was looking for something other than tugs.

4dogtrainers.com has some nice pocket tugs, too...foot long and about an inch or so thick, french linen. I don't like them as much as the Ray Allen tugs but they're cheap and good for tossing/tugging. Only have a handle on once side, though.


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## Kristen Cabe (Mar 27, 2006)

www.dogequipment.com also has a 2-handle tug. I have one and like it.


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## Jacob Tallmon (Aug 13, 2006)

I was able to score a roll of used firehose from the local volunteer department. They blow hoses all the time, and usually just throw them away. I take a length of hose, sew the end, stuff with rags and such, then sew the other end. I can vary the stuffing level, length and whatever. I can sew a loop in the end pretty easy. It is nice to have a 7" or so tug in my back pocket most of the time. Sewing and stuffing the tugs makes for a nice evening in the rain.

I bet if you told the local fire guys that you would make a couple for them, you would have more firehose than you could ever want. I got some of the 1.5" and some of the 3". The 1.5" works well for the "around the house" tug.

YMMV, but I'm happy with it


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## Maren Bell Jones (Jun 7, 2006)

The only thing I don't like about Orbee balls are that the "continents" are coming off on mine. Other than that, they're great. A border collie I fostered a while back went absolutely nuts for them.


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

I use a kong on a nylon rope but instead of having a knot inside (that WILL be popped out by a strong dog) I use a longer rope and go all the way through. Then I knot the two ends together. 
Burn any loose ends to keep it from unravelling.
It's easier for me to hold on to and Thunder has never pulled it apart like he constantly did with the simple kong on a rope.


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## Woody Taylor (Mar 28, 2006)

Maren Bell Jones said:


> The only thing I don't like about Orbee balls are that the "continents" are coming off on mine. Other than that, they're great. A border collie I fostered a while back went absolutely nuts for them.


Your dog does not care about Europe. Few dogs do. :lol:


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## Maren Bell Jones (Jun 7, 2006)

Actually, North and South America came off first! I peeled off Europe and Asia after that as a preemptive strike.


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## Woody Taylor (Mar 28, 2006)

Maren Bell Jones said:


> Actually, North and South America came off first! I peeled off Europe and Asia after that as a preemptive.


You just described our current administration's foreign policy objectives.


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## Nancy Jocoy (Apr 19, 2006)

Thanks for the ideas

I just spent a day at the dentist OWWWW

I do have some firehose but that stuff is HARD to get a needle through.

I will go look at some of the suggested tugs. I think they would be easier to hide in my clothes, under arm, etc. A foot long sounds good - I have one of these big honkers that is like 3 feet long, but it is not the kind of thing you can carry with you.


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## Jerry Lyda (Apr 4, 2006)

Nancy there's two hoses in one. Pull the rubber inards out with needle nose pliers. I make my own. I use hot glue to keep them together. I also put handles for both ends. I stuff them with plastic bags from the grocery stores. Makes them as soft or as hard as you want them.


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## susan tuck (Mar 28, 2006)

I like Ray Allens' jute rolls better than the synthetic material tugs. I also like orbee balls, I just got some more from Leerburg, I think they still have them in stock.


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## David Frost (Mar 29, 2006)

<<<I think they would be easier to hide in my clothes, under arm, >>>

Ain't nothin' like a spit drenched armpit when you are training dogs. ha ha.

DFrost


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## Woody Taylor (Mar 28, 2006)

susan tuck said:


> I like Ray Allens' jute rolls better than the synthetic material tugs. I also like orbee balls, I just got some more from Leerburg, I think they still have them in stock.


Get the glow-in-the-dark Orbees if you can. They are cool.

The Ray Allen tug I use (can't link to it) is the "Ultra Mini Tug", product number 12, at rayallen.com 

It's cool because it's the only tug I have seen that has comfortable handles (not single-strip stuff that cuts/burns your hands) and the handles are sewn into the tug ends...so they're "open" all the time and you don't have to sweat threading your hands through a closed nylon loop. Also handy when you are wearing fat gloves when it's cold out.

A slightly smaller tug that is very throwable is at 4dogtrainers.com (I cannot get that site to come up on my browser, which is kind of interesting). It's 12x1ish, only has a handle on one end, but plenty of real estate so you can grip the tug itself. Those you can hide under your arm, etc.


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## susan tuck (Mar 28, 2006)

I just don't like that synthetic material, but it is just because my dog holds quieter on jute, I'm afraid of piano biting, I think maybe he is a little insecure on the other stuff.


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## Nancy Jocoy (Apr 19, 2006)

I looked at some and there are some with one handle, two handles and NO HANDLES

I am thinking we could live with no handlesat all pretty well. He is very solid in his bite and does not regrip and is calm running your hand all over him, head head, his mouth, etc while he is holding it. 

I have had some pretty good nicks with other dogs, including my own.


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## Woody Taylor (Mar 28, 2006)

I definitely like two handles. Anything that give you more to grab onto for tug is a good thing, IMO. That's why I like that Ray Allen tug so much, the way it's sewn means the handles are always open.

My dog doesn't have targeting problems, either, I just like the handles because you can hide it with just them sticking out, etc.

Handles...in my opinion...make it easier to play that Balabanov-style stuff...you can go "dead" more emphatically than if you're just gripping the tug.

I am probably talking out of my a$$ at this point, but I think I think everything I just wrote. :lol:


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## Mike Schoonbrood (Mar 27, 2006)

I used to like 2 handled tugs, now I prefer a single handle tug, it's all personal preference. I like firehose tugs for dogs who need to learn to grip harder, it's slippery so anything less than the dogs hardest effort means they loose the tug. I like french linen tugs for doing OB because it's easy for the dog to grip n swing the dog around with... no sense in trying to improve grips and improve OB in one shot  Never used a jute tug, but I hate Jute in general :lol: so a jute tug would probably not be my choice. I saw a leather (suede?) tug from Gappay this weekend, didn't use it but it looked halfway decent, perhaps a little too fat for my taste, but I think a club member is using one of those now so I'll have to get a verdict from here on suede tugs.


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## Kristen Cabe (Mar 27, 2006)

The one I got from dogequipment.com has the handles sewn all the way through each 'side' of the tug, so they can't pull out, and are always 'open' like Woody was talking about. They are 1 inch wide, too, so not bad for cutting into the hands.


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## Woody Taylor (Mar 28, 2006)

Mike Schoonbrood said:


> I saw a leather (suede?) tug from Gappay this weekend, didn't use it but it looked halfway decent, perhaps a little too fat for my taste, but I think a club member is using one of those now so I'll have to get a verdict from here on suede tugs.


Heh. The notion of getting my dog excited about chewing on leather never got me very excited. :lol:


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

Woody Taylor said:


> Mike Schoonbrood said:
> 
> 
> > I saw a leather (suede?) tug from Gappay this weekend, didn't use it but it looked halfway decent, perhaps a little too fat for my taste, but I think a club member is using one of those now so I'll have to get a verdict from here on suede tugs.
> ...


Well, Mike DOES wear a leather apron. :roll:  :wink: 

BTW, I've used the Gappay leather tugs. They offer the dog a nice grip.


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