There are many different opinions on what we call K-9 drives. These
opinions have changed time and again, more often than not, adding to the
confusion of both novice and seasoned trainers and handlers. This writer
having been taught the art of Working Service training, questions many
of the written and unwritten myths about the dog. I also hope that each
and every person reading this, questions and weighs the opinions expressed
here.
The dog today suffers many indignities at the hands of his
so-called human friends. It doesn't take a scholar to look back and remember
the era of child psychology that has led us to putting our children on
Prozac and Ridilin. Today's society condones the drugging of children.
Now, we have dog psychologists. Learned mystics that can look into the
minds of man's best friend, and when all else fails, they prescribe the
same drugs that the child psychologist did. It makes one wonder when these
psychologists will pop some Prozac or Ridilin and leave the children and
beasts alone. I will go further into this topic at a later date, as I feel
addressing the drives at this time will help us better understand, how
we got to where we are today.
It is my firm belief, that there are only two drives: prey and defense. Prey being play or non-serious, defense being serious. It also is the philosophy of Working Service, that a wolf is a
pack animal, a dog is not. A dog leaves even the whelping box to be by
man's side. A wolf being a true pack animal shuns all else to be with its
own kind. The fact a dog will roam with other dogs makes him no more a
pack animal, than a human being socializing with his/her own kind. The
dog does not look at man as an alpha figure, or pack leader, any more than
a man looks at a dog as another human being. In fact, it is only when man
foolishly tries to bring out human traits or emotions in the dog, that
trouble starts. A dog is no more human, than a human is a dog. The dog
exhibits far better traits of discernment than man, who often puts the
welfare of the dog above that of his fellow man.
It is this inexplicable
desire to humanize the dog, which I believe has led so many to believe
in such a wide selection of drives. I will list a few of the drives I saw
recently listed elsewhere and go over them. First, the term drives was
described as " subconscious impulses to react to stimuli". If we believe
this terminology, we have already damned the dog as an unthinking animal.
I do believe, however, the majority of kennelized dogs overreact to stimuli,
because of kennelization and lack of socialization. However, this has very
little to do with drive and more to do with living in a cage. Thus environment
dictates much of a dogs reaction and interaction to stimuli. The word temperament
is described as the dog's attitude towards life, which, by using the word
attitude, would appear to mean, that the dog is a thinking animal. Therefore
the first description given on drives becomes meaningless. See how confusing
it can get. Lucky the poor dog is never consulted. Unfortunately though,
he gets the brunt end of a confused handler. Courage is described as the
absence of fear toward objects and situations. I believe this describes
stupidity. Courage, to me, is when one faces fear and musters the strength
to work through it. I believe any veteran, who has seen courage, will tell
you it runs with fear. Hunt drive is described as the drive to pursue objects
that are out of sight. Yet tracking drive and air-scent drives, are also
mentioned as drives. Any one who has tracked a dog on man scent, especially
those on Search & Rescue, will attest to the fact, that a dog will
very much use all his sense to pursue that which is unseen. So here we
have three separate drives which also mean one thing, but add to confuse
the trainer or handler.
There is also retrieve drive, which permits
the dog to bring back an object to the handler. I believe this term is
a sporting term as much forced retrieve is a sporting term. If communication
between dog and handler is correct, retrieving is an exercise in training,
not unlike any other obedience exercise. This is not subconsciously carried
out by the dog, which is proven by the fact that he often refuses to do
this exercise. The next drive discussed is prey drive, which is described
as the drive to bite and kill prey, or refusal to let go of a rag or a
sleeve. This, I believe, when read slowly will come to light for what it
is. A dog is not playing when he bites to kill. I will explain, how I see
prey and defensive drive and their differences. A dog sees a cat for the
first time. The dog chases the cat, the cat, running for its life, is very
serious, or in defensive drive. The dog, initiator of the game, is in prey
drive or playing. The cat is cornered and turns to fight, still in defensive
drive. For fight and flight are both defense. The dog runs in haphazardly,
still in prey. The cat strikes the dog, the dog yelps, turns and takes
to flight. Now, the dog is in defensive drive. The next cat this dog sees
and pursues, he will pursue to kill. Now, he is in defensive drive. Fighting,
guarding, protection, are all described as different drives. When I read
the drives and how many there are, and how subtle their differences, I
often wonder, just what kind of social life, the humans that thought them
up, must lead. There is also a rank drive, a survival or flight drive,
a homing drive, a play drive, an activity drive and a pack drive. This
seems like a lot of drives for an animal that is reputed to do everything
subconsciously. Pack drive and play drives are very confusing and would
make one wonder how anyone could truly believe their existence. Play drive
is described as a drive for physical contact with pack members. Pack drive
is a drive for an emotional contact with pack members. Keeping in mind
that drives are originally described as subconscious impulses, play and
pack drive in the context they are used, describe a very complex creature.
It is this collage of misinformation, which brings harm not harmony into
the human/dog relationship. One only has to remember, in times past, and
not long past, dog and man worked side by side, and still do in some places
on the globe. Where the work is intense and necessary for survival, neither
man nor dog has idle time for such thoughts. It is in fact, mostly in North
America, that the dog is abused in the name of love and psychology. During
World War II, the dog was used extensively in the war effort. His prowess
and natural abilities were found by many to be more than amazing. I believe
that dog and man excelled in their relationship because there was nobody
to pick apart what they were doing and why. They moved out of necessity.
A true-life account of such a man and such a dog is in a book titled "One
Man and His Dog". Here we can read, without any foolish mention of drives
or psychological conditioning, how one man came together without a ball,
food reward or shock collar and walked through the live theatre of World
War II, into the annuls of history. He produced what I believe, is one
of the finest training directories in the world today. The beauty of this
story is that this handler never owned a dog before and was simply himself,
communication with the dog on a natural plane, without all of the crap
of so called experts. In closing, I would like to reiterate, that it is
my firm belief that there are only two drives, these being prey, which
is play, and defense, which is serious. Therefore, I discount and leave
out any other thought, omitting confusion on my training field, and in
my life. I believe also, environment and human attitude dictates and creates
K9 problems. Anything you can do with your dog, that is constructive,
should be done. But thought should be given to why. In most cases many,
which are giving advice, have never lent practical application to test
the theory. Instead, they view the work of others, written or physical,
and in a chameleon like fashion offer it as gospel.
At BADEN, we are in
the field each and every day, putting theory to practical application.
Not only in the work of others,
but also in our own, we will always question
"why?"
Written by Mike McConnery
