Building
a Solid Working Foundation Through
The
Natural Instincts of the Dog
Developing Prey Drive
Focus and Fuss Position - motivate through food drive
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This section is somewhat limited for those who
 are looking for information on using drive building in their dog training program. It is really more about sharing the concept of choosing a dog with the correct drives for sport work and to introduce some dog training ideas.
For a true competition dog we like to see a dog maintain drive or even build drive throughout a trial routine. It has been our observation that dogs lacking the natural high drive needed for competition tend to plummet in drive during a routine. Much of this is due to lack of drive inducement throughout the routine. We start with a genetically high drive dog to avoid having the trial routine become a game of no reward...no desire.
A high drive dog that is trained using a balance of fair training methods should show a strong willingness to work and maintain duration of drive throughout the entire trial routine. Although the animated, prancing dog is fun to watch our goal is not necessarily to have a dog bouncing and bubbling all over the place. Because after all that energy will need to be contained to keep the dog correct for maintaining points. A true animated dog also depends on the overall makeup of the dog. We mostly expect to see a competition dog show a steady picture through out the trial routine whether it is animated or simply very correct. But either way in obedience you'll need a dog that is genetically high drive to pull off a crowd pleasing obedience routine.  A very important note to share is ,even high drive dogs need motivation to stay focused on their handlers, so we also use toys and food in our dog training program. These tools are primarily used to reinforce correct behavior and to maintain interest on the handler Aka "focus" through building anticipation. Even a good working dog deserves a paycheck! Finally since high drive dogs mature at different rates we also use toys and food to bring out what is already in place genetically. We've posted videos, that we hope will be helpful, with some ideas on how to activate the drive in your puppy and create anticipation for greater handler focus. |
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