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by Tarakiwa on 24 July 2012 - 14:07
Drive
Drive is the propensity of a dog to exhibit a particular pattern of behaviours when faced with particular stimuli. Drives are triggered by these particular stimuli and expressed in a typical and predictable way that is associated with the particular stimulus. Drives can be enhanced or diminished through experience (e.g., training, environment, et cetera), but they cannot be created or eliminated. Traditionally defined in the working dog literature as an exaggerated, instinctual response to certain stimuli and situations, drive is most narrowly and clearly defined as a willingness, vigour, or enthusiasm to engage in certain behaviour, contexts, or situations.
There are problems with this definition in both the behavioural and genetics communities because we cannot measure or even accurately define one of the key parts of the operational definition: “instinctual”/ “instinctive”. Also, if dogs can be considered “low drive” the response cannot be exaggerated, and the ability to enhance or diminish a response is a key part of the operational definition of drive. Finally, while you may easily compare 2 dogs in front of you where one has relatively “higher drive” than the other, this type of relativistic comparison cannot be quantitatively tested and validated within or between observers, and does not provide a phenotype that can be used in genetic analyses, or behavioural tests to improve technique.
Prey Drive
Prey drive is part of a dog's food gathering behaviour. In a predatory animal that means prey drive governs hunting and killing techniques. Chasing, flushing, pouncing, biting, and shaking-to-death, are the most important of these techniques when we are talking about protection training. In order to stimulate these instinctive techniques in the dog, we have to keep in mind what a real prey animal does when it is hunted. Prey is always on the move, it always moves in an evasive fashion, and it is panic-stricken. These behaviours in turn trigger pursuit, pouncing, biting, pulling, and shaking-to-death in the dog. Prey drive is inborn, and is a trainable instinct, meaning it can be enhanced or reduced. Prey drive can be exhausted, meaning that a time will come when the dog "doesn't feel like performing the desired behaviours any more."
Defence Drive
Defence drive counts as one of the dog's aggression behaviours, and it can appear in conjunction with other behaviours. Threatening, staring, and biting are typical defensive reactions. Defence behaviour is generally triggered by threats, real or perceived, or open aggression. The goal of defence behaviour is always to create avoidance behaviour in the threatener. Defence drive may appear as defence of prey, defence of puppies, defence of territory, defence against the unfamiliar, or self-defence. The drive is satisfied in each case when the aggressor shows avoidance behaviour. Defence drive is not subject to exhaustion, so it can be activated at will. It should, therefore, be part of the combative behaviour of any protection dog. Furthermore, it is responsible for behaviours like countering when under stress or when threatened. The great danger when working a dog in defence drive is that the same stimuli which cause defence behaviour also cause avoidance behaviour. Which of the two possible behaviours is displayed by a dog when a trigger stimulus is presented is dependent on a variety of factors, among them confidence and temperament of the dog as well as the threatener, "life" experiences of the dog, age and maturity of the dog, location (unfamiliar or home turf), distance between adversaries, and the presence of other external influences (prey, mate, puppies). Thus defence is a double-edged sword. Defence is one part of protection training. The idea that good dogs should only be worked in defence is a dangerous one which has wrecked many great dogs.
Aggression Drive
Aggression behaviour contains reactive aggression (defence) as well as active aggression (social aggression). With all the different theories that exist about aggression, there still is no conclusive proof available as to whether or not genuine spontaneous aggression exists. The three theories about where aggression comes from are:
• Aggression is learned.
• Aggression is created by negative experiences.
• Aggression is inborn.
Ultimately aggression probably results from all three processes. Research is available to support all three theories.
The triggers for reactive aggression (defence) have been covered in Defence Drive. Active aggression is always intraspecific, meaning social aggression, and is the result of competition over things (territory, food, mates, etc.). Intraspecific aggression is activated by rivals, and by anti-social behaviour. The goal of the drive is to cause avoidance, submission, or worse of the rival. Biological significance is the even distribution of a species over available land to reduce the possibility of food shortages and epidemics as well as survival of a species and a pack by selecting the fittest animals for reproduction and as leaders. In species with a social hierarchy behaviours developed from the aggressive drive, which limit the negative results and guarantee the positive results of social aggression such as threatening, dominance, submission, and rituals of non-physical combat.
Aggression increases through maturation and practise. It can also be increased or decreased through training and through external influences, for example pain can be aggression stimulating. Other factors which affect aggressive behaviour are location and hormone levels. Two factors which affect aggression that a protection helper needs to be aware of are: personal acquaintance blocks aggression; and passive acceptance of a dog's aggression impresses a dog deeply and causes unsureness.
A negative side effect of aggression in dog training is that it greatly reduces the dog's learning ability.
Fighting Drive
Again the question of whether or not an independent fighting drive exists has not yet been answered. Some dog-experts feel that a fighting drive must exist and that it is related to the prey drive.
Practical experience has shown that dogs who work primarily in as a result of their defensive drive may still lack fighting drive. Dogs like that then often fail to engage the helper if he does not present any defensive stimuli, but work confidently while under threat. The desire to "seek the fight" is an essential ingredient of fighting drive. In all dogs with pronounced fighting drive, pronounced prey drive is also found. Making prey is a passionate activity which does not stress the dog. However, prey drive alone is not equal to fighting drive, the dog also has to use defence behaviour. The fundamental component of fighting drive is the active part of the aggressive drive, social aggression. Therefore, the dog must always see the helper as a rival. The object of competition could vary: it could be the prey (hence the relation to prey drive); or it could be social rank, which works well with dominant dogs. So in order to increase fighting drive, we have to promote prey drive, build up defence drive, and strengthen aggression by teaching the dog that he can defeat and dominate the helper. This should make it very clear that as much as fighting drive is a very desirable quality, one cannot expect to see it fully developed in a one year old dog.
Retrieval Drive
This drive involves the dog’s ability to hunt and search in a variety of differing environmental situations. Evaluation is the measurement of the dog’s need, drive and desire to obtain its reward in the variable conditions. The dog’s performance is graded on the intensity to obtain the reward (speed and possession; persistence to obtain the reward).
Drive is the propensity of a dog to exhibit a particular pattern of behaviours when faced with particular stimuli. Drives are triggered by these particular stimuli and expressed in a typical and predictable way that is associated with the particular stimulus. Drives can be enhanced or diminished through experience (e.g., training, environment, et cetera), but they cannot be created or eliminated. Traditionally defined in the working dog literature as an exaggerated, instinctual response to certain stimuli and situations, drive is most narrowly and clearly defined as a willingness, vigour, or enthusiasm to engage in certain behaviour, contexts, or situations.
There are problems with this definition in both the behavioural and genetics communities because we cannot measure or even accurately define one of the key parts of the operational definition: “instinctual”/ “instinctive”. Also, if dogs can be considered “low drive” the response cannot be exaggerated, and the ability to enhance or diminish a response is a key part of the operational definition of drive. Finally, while you may easily compare 2 dogs in front of you where one has relatively “higher drive” than the other, this type of relativistic comparison cannot be quantitatively tested and validated within or between observers, and does not provide a phenotype that can be used in genetic analyses, or behavioural tests to improve technique.
Prey Drive
Prey drive is part of a dog's food gathering behaviour. In a predatory animal that means prey drive governs hunting and killing techniques. Chasing, flushing, pouncing, biting, and shaking-to-death, are the most important of these techniques when we are talking about protection training. In order to stimulate these instinctive techniques in the dog, we have to keep in mind what a real prey animal does when it is hunted. Prey is always on the move, it always moves in an evasive fashion, and it is panic-stricken. These behaviours in turn trigger pursuit, pouncing, biting, pulling, and shaking-to-death in the dog. Prey drive is inborn, and is a trainable instinct, meaning it can be enhanced or reduced. Prey drive can be exhausted, meaning that a time will come when the dog "doesn't feel like performing the desired behaviours any more."
Defence Drive
Defence drive counts as one of the dog's aggression behaviours, and it can appear in conjunction with other behaviours. Threatening, staring, and biting are typical defensive reactions. Defence behaviour is generally triggered by threats, real or perceived, or open aggression. The goal of defence behaviour is always to create avoidance behaviour in the threatener. Defence drive may appear as defence of prey, defence of puppies, defence of territory, defence against the unfamiliar, or self-defence. The drive is satisfied in each case when the aggressor shows avoidance behaviour. Defence drive is not subject to exhaustion, so it can be activated at will. It should, therefore, be part of the combative behaviour of any protection dog. Furthermore, it is responsible for behaviours like countering when under stress or when threatened. The great danger when working a dog in defence drive is that the same stimuli which cause defence behaviour also cause avoidance behaviour. Which of the two possible behaviours is displayed by a dog when a trigger stimulus is presented is dependent on a variety of factors, among them confidence and temperament of the dog as well as the threatener, "life" experiences of the dog, age and maturity of the dog, location (unfamiliar or home turf), distance between adversaries, and the presence of other external influences (prey, mate, puppies). Thus defence is a double-edged sword. Defence is one part of protection training. The idea that good dogs should only be worked in defence is a dangerous one which has wrecked many great dogs.
Aggression Drive
Aggression behaviour contains reactive aggression (defence) as well as active aggression (social aggression). With all the different theories that exist about aggression, there still is no conclusive proof available as to whether or not genuine spontaneous aggression exists. The three theories about where aggression comes from are:
• Aggression is learned.
• Aggression is created by negative experiences.
• Aggression is inborn.
Ultimately aggression probably results from all three processes. Research is available to support all three theories.
The triggers for reactive aggression (defence) have been covered in Defence Drive. Active aggression is always intraspecific, meaning social aggression, and is the result of competition over things (territory, food, mates, etc.). Intraspecific aggression is activated by rivals, and by anti-social behaviour. The goal of the drive is to cause avoidance, submission, or worse of the rival. Biological significance is the even distribution of a species over available land to reduce the possibility of food shortages and epidemics as well as survival of a species and a pack by selecting the fittest animals for reproduction and as leaders. In species with a social hierarchy behaviours developed from the aggressive drive, which limit the negative results and guarantee the positive results of social aggression such as threatening, dominance, submission, and rituals of non-physical combat.
Aggression increases through maturation and practise. It can also be increased or decreased through training and through external influences, for example pain can be aggression stimulating. Other factors which affect aggressive behaviour are location and hormone levels. Two factors which affect aggression that a protection helper needs to be aware of are: personal acquaintance blocks aggression; and passive acceptance of a dog's aggression impresses a dog deeply and causes unsureness.
A negative side effect of aggression in dog training is that it greatly reduces the dog's learning ability.
Fighting Drive
Again the question of whether or not an independent fighting drive exists has not yet been answered. Some dog-experts feel that a fighting drive must exist and that it is related to the prey drive.
Practical experience has shown that dogs who work primarily in as a result of their defensive drive may still lack fighting drive. Dogs like that then often fail to engage the helper if he does not present any defensive stimuli, but work confidently while under threat. The desire to "seek the fight" is an essential ingredient of fighting drive. In all dogs with pronounced fighting drive, pronounced prey drive is also found. Making prey is a passionate activity which does not stress the dog. However, prey drive alone is not equal to fighting drive, the dog also has to use defence behaviour. The fundamental component of fighting drive is the active part of the aggressive drive, social aggression. Therefore, the dog must always see the helper as a rival. The object of competition could vary: it could be the prey (hence the relation to prey drive); or it could be social rank, which works well with dominant dogs. So in order to increase fighting drive, we have to promote prey drive, build up defence drive, and strengthen aggression by teaching the dog that he can defeat and dominate the helper. This should make it very clear that as much as fighting drive is a very desirable quality, one cannot expect to see it fully developed in a one year old dog.
Retrieval Drive
This drive involves the dog’s ability to hunt and search in a variety of differing environmental situations. Evaluation is the measurement of the dog’s need, drive and desire to obtain its reward in the variable conditions. The dog’s performance is graded on the intensity to obtain the reward (speed and possession; persistence to obtain the reward).
by Liberatore K9 on 24 July 2012 - 14:07
Tarakiwa, you might want to give proper credit to the person you're quoting as your entire above post was from an article written by Armin Winkler.
Ang
Ang
by Felloffher on 24 July 2012 - 15:07
Developing hunt drive isn't really formal training, it is building intensity towards the reward.
by workingdogz on 24 July 2012 - 15:07
Having a dog with true hunt drive?
The simple joy of never having to 'sweat it' when you
give your track layers your car keys, wallet, wedding band
etc to use as articles
The simple joy of never having to 'sweat it' when you
give your track layers your car keys, wallet, wedding band
etc to use as articles
by Gustav on 24 July 2012 - 16:07
Do we develop hunt drive or channel it?
by judron55 on 24 July 2012 - 16:07
Do we develop hunt drive or channel it?
both...depending on the circumstances and age of dog:-)
both...depending on the circumstances and age of dog:-)
by workingdogz on 24 July 2012 - 16:07
It has to be there to develope and channel.
Same vein, genetic 'obedience', or 'pack drive'.
How much easier and more pleasant is it to train
with a dog that WANTS to work with/for you?
Give me the dog that wants to work with/for me over
the dog that has it's own agenda.
Many good examples of dogs with true hunt, dogs that will
have to be physically removed from a search because they
will simply NOT quit. These same dogs would work themselves
into heat exhaustion if you let them. They will tear up their noses
etc when working/hunting. They make schmuck trainers like me
look really GOOD at tracking
Same vein, genetic 'obedience', or 'pack drive'.
How much easier and more pleasant is it to train
with a dog that WANTS to work with/for you?
Give me the dog that wants to work with/for me over
the dog that has it's own agenda.
Many good examples of dogs with true hunt, dogs that will
have to be physically removed from a search because they
will simply NOT quit. These same dogs would work themselves
into heat exhaustion if you let them. They will tear up their noses
etc when working/hunting. They make schmuck trainers like me
look really GOOD at tracking
by Tarakiwa on 24 July 2012 - 20:07
My above post was written by the mentioned author, did not mean to make think for one second that I could be bothered to write that amount myself !! lol
by myret on 26 July 2012 - 20:07
in this country, we see that many dogs have a hard time and keep the hunting drives over extended periods, many gsd fail the tests for search dogs, many dogs can not keep drives in about 40-55 minutes it takes them to find about 4 - 8 saved people without reward until after completion of the task not many German shepherd dog remains and are unfortunately often have places available for the malinois and other breeds that can better handle the job. they simply do not have the energy searching for so long without reward and then lose their drives during the task. we also see at'mange dogs lose hunting drives when they have to search over lægere time in very warm climates or very uneven rock buildings
by judron55 on 27 July 2012 - 12:07
they simply do not have the energy searching for so long without reward and then lose their drives during the task....
I find that people think the only reward a dog is looking for is a ball...tug...food or bite.....most have forgotten that praise comes from the handler....voice..touch and it must be genuine. That is the dogs biggest reward....the genuine praise from it's handler....then it will work all day....IMNSHO!
I find that people think the only reward a dog is looking for is a ball...tug...food or bite.....most have forgotten that praise comes from the handler....voice..touch and it must be genuine. That is the dogs biggest reward....the genuine praise from it's handler....then it will work all day....IMNSHO!
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