When or can a dog have to much drive? Can to much drive be corrected through proper obedience training? Any suggestions would be apprecieated.
Well stated!Michael Ellis, the protection dog trainer, said (and I'm paraphrasing here) that really high drive dogs are easy to train because they want the reward (the bird, or the tug) so bad, they're willing to do almost anything to get it. He says the high drive dogs are easy to train with more positive methods because they are so singularly focused and highly motivated. He also said low drive dogs are easy, you give them away to a pet home and you're done. The medium drive dogs are the hard ones and require more force and correction. It makes sense but with that said, I do think there are dogs with so much drive they're hard to control or uncontrolable.
Ellis explains it better than I do. I think it's around the 30 min mark. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xe0-oqqoXvw
What Michael said about training a high drive dog is NOT a blanket statement. He also mentioned that not giving the dog the ball because of a mistake made the dog more conducive to training, as if the dog was saying "what can I do to get the ball" show me show me show me. That dog is referred to as having high pack drive.And basically his reward/non-reward discussion explaining why the "nutty" dog is easiest to train fits with Hillman's notion that the dog has to be so focused on the handler because the handler is the source of the reward (retrieve). That's what you see on Traffic Cop. The difference between what I hear Ellis saying vrs Hillman, is that Hillman seems to suggest that you can balance out that medium-drive dog by keeping them very high with "free retrieves" (this is for very young dogs remember... basically puppies.) And I think Hillman has tried to use average field-bred puppies in the videos he produces. Not slugs, not fire-breathers.
That's called the non-trainable dog. Not all dogs are trainable. Sorry to be the person that had to tell you that.What Michael said about training a high drive dog is NOT a blanket statement. He also mentioned that not giving the dog the ball because of a mistake made the dog more conducive to training, as if the dog was saying "what can I do to get the ball" show me show me show me. That dog is referred to as having high pack drive.
What do you think a dog with high prey drive --low pack drive -- hard as nails with the attitude of "I will go through you to get what I want and you don't own enough collars to shut me down",,,as a matter of fact beating me raises my defensive drive and that feels good too.
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Actually you are incorrect. Almost all dogs are trainable to a degree.( those with dementia may not be ) All dogs have a degree or level in which they can be trained. I hate to be the one to tell you that.[QUOTEThat's called the non-trainable dog. Not all dogs are trainable. Sorry to be the person that had to tell you that.
And this type of dog is the reason why we buy pups from titled parents. Master Hunter, Hunter Retriever Champion, FC, AFC parents. Hedging the bet that we'll get a pup with trainability and good marking skills same as thier parents had.]
I have heard of dogs being washed out because they were so intense about retrieving, they could never be taught to do blinds with diversions and poison birds. So, I think it is possible to have a dog with too much drive, despite a good OB program.In most cases when someone says "my dog has too much drive", what they mean is "my obedience program is crappy". The same group of people always have the same "high drive" dogs. I am embarrassed to be included in this category but I am getting better.
of course it is.....have you ever heard someone describe their dog as " my dog is a piggish slug who walks to blinds like he does to marks "So there lies the problem....Is high drive subjective to the retriever world? You can harness the drive to your advantage if you know what to do. On the other hand, it can impede your progress, if you don't know what to do.... Is it best to seek those you know what to do? Would it be fair in your best interest to....