The first time Lilly played with her new Tug-a-Jug, it took her more than 2 hours to figure it out. She tried everything she could think of, every toy method she’s learned to date, but still the mysteries of the Tug-a-Jug endured.
Essentially, the Tug-a-Jug is a food-dispensing toy, but the harder the dog pulls on the rope, the less food comes out. Actually, no food comes out with that method.
It’s like that Chinese finger puzzle, where the more you pull the tighter it gets. Only by pushing in can you get relief.
But, it look Lilly a while to figure it out.
She tried the Buster Cube method … rolling the jug around with her feet and nose, hoping food would fall out.
She tried the Kong method … poking her tongue in the narrow end, hoping to pull food out.
She got mad and tried chewing open the big end, with no luck.
She tried dropping it.
She tried swinging it.
Eventually, she figured out how to tip the jug over and push the rope in to get the food, but even that takes a long time.
So, if you need to keep your dog busy for a while, I highly recommend the Tug-a-Jug. But, I do suggest starting outside, away from anything breakable since the plastic jug is really hard. Now that she understands it better, I let her play with it inside (supervised, of course).
I first heard about it last year from Animal Behavior Associates. They even have a video on their website, showing the toy in action with their pets. Check it out.
Another Lilly Playing Video
I wrote last year about Lilly’s Tug-a-Jug. Here’s a companion video I shot last
week. …