To give you a better understanding of your dog, we have grouped instinctive behaviors into three drives
Prey
Pack
Defense
These drives reflect instinctive behaviors your dog has inherited from his ancestors and that are useful to you in teaching him what you want him to learn. Each one of these drives is governed by a basic trait.
Your dog and every other dog is an individual who comes into the world with a specific grouping of genetically inherited, predetermined behaviors. How those behaviors are arranged, their intensity, and how many component parts
of each drive the dog has will determine temperament, personality, and suitability for the task required. It also determines how the dog perceives the world.
The Three Major "Drives"
Prey drive includes those inherited behaviors associated with hunting, killing prey and eating. It is activated by motion, sound and smell. Behaviors associated with prey drive are:
seeing and hearing
scenting and tracking
stalking and chasing
pouncing
high-pitched barking
jumping up and pulling down
shaking
tearing and ripping apart
biting and killing
carrying
eating
digging and burying
You see some of these behaviors when your dog is chasing the cat or gets excited and barks in a high pitched tone of voice as the cat runs up a tree. Your dog may also shake and rip soft toys, or bury dog biscuits in the couch.
Pack drive consists of behaviors associated with reproduction and being part of a group or pack. Our dogs are social animals who evolved from the wolf. To hunt prey mostly larger than themselves, wolves have to live in a pack.
To assure order they have to adhere to a social hierarchy governed by strict rules of behavior. An ability to be part of a group and to fit in is important, and, in the dog, translates itself into a willingness to work with us as part of a team.
It is stimulated by rank order in the social hierarchy. Behaviors associated with pack drive are:
physical contact with people and/or other dogs
playing with people and/or other dogs
behaviors associated with social interaction with another dog, such as
reading body language
reproductive behaviors, such as licking, mounting, washing ears and all
courting gestures
the ability to breed and to be a good parent
A dog with many of these behaviors is the one that follows you around the house, is happiest when with you, loves to be petted and groomed, and likes to work with you. The dog may be unhappy when left alone too long, which can express itself in separation anxiety.
Defense drive is governed by survival and self preservation, and consists of both fight and flight behaviors. It is more complex, because the same stimulus that can make a dog aggressive (fight), can also elicit avoidance (flight) behaviors, especially in the young dog.
Fight behaviors are not fully developed until the dog is about two years of age, and sometimes later, although tendencies toward these behaviors will be seen at an earlier age. Behaviors associated with fight are:
hackles up from the shoulder forward
standing tall and staring at other dogs
standing ground or going to unfamiliar objects
guarding food, toys or territory against other people and dogs
dislike of being petted or groomed
lying in front of doorways or cupboards and refusing to move
growling at people or dogs
putting the head over the shoulder of another dog
biting people or other dogs
Flight behaviors demonstrate that the dog is unsure. Behaviors associated with flight are:
hackles that go up the full length of the body, not just at the neck
hiding or running away from a new situation
a dislike of being touched by strangers
general lack of confidence
urinating when being greeted by a stranger or the owner
flattening of the body when greeted by people or other dogs
Freezing -- not going forward or backward -- is interpreted as inhibited flight behavior.
What Do You Want Your Dog To Do?
Before you can use the results of the Profile, you need to look at what you want your dog to do or, and this is often more important, stop doing. For example, when you walk him on leash and want him to pay attention to you, he has to be in pack drive. Your dog, on the other hand, wants to sniff, maybe follow a trail or chase the neighbors cat; he is in prey drive.
For most of what you want your dog to do, he needs to be in pack drive, such as
come
walk on a loose leash
sit
down
stay
For most of what your dog wants to do, he is going to be in prey drive, such as
chase the cat
follow the trail of a rabbit
retrieve a ball or stick
sniffing the grass
digging
You can readily see that those times when you want him to behave you have to convince your dog to forget about being in prey drive. Most often it is prey drive that gets dogs into trouble. The dog with high pack and low prey drive rarely even needs training.
Such a dog doesn't
chase bicycles, cars, children or joggers
cats or other animals
roam from home
steal food
chew your possessions
doesn't pull on the leash
In other words, he is a perfect pet.
Theoretically, your does not need defense drive (fight) behaviors for what you want him to learn, but the absence of these behaviors has important ramifications. It is pivotal and determines how your dog has to be trained.
The beauty of the drives theory is that, if used correctly, it gives you a tool to overcome areas where your dog may be weak.
Bringing Out Drives
The basic rules for bringing out drives are as follows:
Prey drive is elicited by the use of motion -- hand signals (except Stay) -- a high-pitched tone of voice, or an object of attraction (stick, ball or food), chasing or being chased, and leaning backward with your body as the dog comes to you.
Pack drive is elicited by touching, praising and smiling at the dog, grooming, and playing and training with your body erect.
Defense drive behavior is elicited by leaning or hovering over the dog, either from the front or the side, checking (a sharp tug on the leash), a harsh tone of voice, and exaggerated use of the Stay hand signal.
Body Language
So you can see that what you do, and how you handle your dog, makes a great difference to his behavior. If you want a dog to run away from you, then you lean forwards towards him when he comes to you! In his language you are
pushing him backwards and putting him in defense drive, when he was in pack drive all along.
If you want a well trained dog, you will have to learn how to switch these drives back and forth.
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