Too much exercise? - Page 1

Can too much exercise squash a dogs prey drive?

It can but it really depends on the dog, their drive level, the weather heat/humidity and the dogs weight. My high drive female would run out of gas quickly if it was too hot and humid. She was not overweight, but I've since dropped a few lbs. on her and it seemed to help.

drive -- please do not use the word drive -- to a behaviorist trainer it implies that one does not understand events that underline / ellicit behavior -- many folks in trianing get stuck on the so called glitz terminology -- and to some the words like fight drive are very confusing ... few can explain fight drive -- [ i get the impressionj very few really do understand completely -- they have progreesed in learning but not quite there yet !!] defense in reality it is an offshoot of defense motivation , the innate instinct to self preserve and to stay alive -- -- -- a much better way of describing beahvior is to use the word " MOTIVATION " -- dogs have motivation to chase / to cappture/bite/ eat / guard their captured prey and defend it as well as themselves - we are preprorammed ,as also our dogs with survical instincts -- dogs also have motivations to gather information as it relates to survival and reproducing too -- therefore investigatory behavior ... etc etc -- to reiterate -- dogs have thoughts / feelings / emotions govorned by nuerochemical sytems -- they do NOT have DRIVES --cars are driven -- so as far as PREY motivation to answer your question -- this motivation can be easily exhausted and extinguished -- just let your dog chase something long enough .. a bird .. a tug .. anything and see/observe at which point it will.. and ioy will !!.. like a human .. just give up -- if you really want to understand behavior -- do what i did many years ago -- watch National Geographic but turn the sound off -- look / watch and you will learn about animals . their innate abilities and their innate intincts -- even a hungry lioness at some point will give up it's prey chase if not successful --now to defend and survive -- that is very very different -- without stating the answer to that -- watch Nat. Geograhpic -- you will learn more than ever thought you could .. forget all this foolish jargon e.g drive ps. cars are driven not dogs

I think drive can easily be replaced with motivation, just as motivation could be replaced with drive. As in the military, you can motivate or drive someone to do something simply by a reward, or by making life somewhat miserable. I think the word "drive" is better fitting to descrive a dogs natural instinct to chase prey being that they become so locked into and fixed upon the prey item. "Drive" sounds much better that "Motivate", at least to me. Personally when I hear "motivate" I think of having to sing cadence to my men or pass a boot up the ass down the chain of command. "Driven" to me seems to be more of an internal thing. Lets use the example, "I was driven to shoot the enemy twice in the face in order to secure my own life". Again, this could be turned around to say that " The enemy motivated me to double tap him in the face in order to secure my own life". I really dont think theres much difference here. As for my question, it seems that since Ive stopped taking him on all those long walks everyday, and replace those with runs every other day, that it appears as if his prey drive has increased, excuse me, prey motivation. However, I do not know if its due to the exercise, or the prey drive/motivation promoting that ive been doing.

Mosemancr - thanks! Alphapup - are you really into the fine points of English that much?

ALPHAPUP- splitting hairs aren't we? I believe the word "drive" is socially acceptible terminology in this world of GSD's, working dogs and dog sports. How many ads on this database do you see with the word "drive", it is said and everyone knows what they mean, or are we all just uneducated?

Yeah, id have to say the word "drive" is definately more commonly used and understood, so why not use it.

Me thinks we lack the "motivation" to change terminology.