GSD (Is there such a thing as too much Drive ?) - Page 2

on a broader note how much of what you see in the typical way a typical highly competitive gsd is housed and trained is actual innate drive for work. the most dissapointing thing i have learned about the "working" gsd and their trainers is precisely this point. it is like a thourougbred fed hot grain and stabled nearly 24/7 and bought out to walk a short distance to the track, galloped hard in a circle, hosed off and put back in the stable, you ever wonder why some of these animals are outside of their own bodies with "drive".

the analogy transfers perfectly imo with some seriously competitive dog trainers and their dogs. i have seen the same thing with gov agencies using detection dogs, to be reliable they oonly get to do very short stints of frenzied action before they are crated and rotated.

jmo

The drives I,m after are less balanced than many I,m sure,I like a high percent on the prey drive side,and to define the word ( drive) how I think of it is ( How bad does the dog want the ball,the sleeve,the man,the hot dog,to find the lost child,to swim,to hunt, to find the drugs, to me its the instincts the dog was born with the driving motivating force behind the things the dog loves in life,some dogs to me seem so eager to please their hander once the dogs figuares it out what the trainer wants out of him/her and these are the best types,I noticed some working dogs they will do the task at hand and they understand the task but they just dont seem to enjoy the task or crave the petting, love and affection that the trainer gives them as much,its like they are all work and no play,but if you happen to get lucky and get both high drive and eager to please at the same time in one dog then look out the sky is the limit.

..and i think there is such thing as a dog with a sense of purpose, duty and the ability to think and dogs that are just like a bunch of electrical impulses devoid of real character and integrity.

or am i anthropomorphising?

I ve never been I detection hander but dont they to do more work than just short stints and then thrown in a crate,its unfair to throw a high drive dog into a crate for very long periods unless like flying overseas to compete  in a trail or something that cant be avoided. 

well the ones i have seen working freight containers, airport luggage, and accelerant searches would not be worked for more than 30 minutes max in a single session before rotation, not saying they only do one rotation a day but the duration is necessarily short - these dogs have all been off the scale in crazy meth level drive, not great pets i would imagine. only seen springers and mals at this level and not sayin i seen it all but i seen what i seen.

I agree with Susie, it is very very difficult to get dog with over the top drives, and on and off switch that allows for good discernment. What do you think is the foundation of sleeve happy dogs? It's not just training, because many years ago we didn't have sleeve obsessed dogs to point they would ignore a threat to themself to stay on sleeve. This is creation of sport and sport dogs, needing an imbalance in prey drive to achieve maximum points. 

vk, those short sessions are also to give their olfactory nerves a rest;  sense of smell can be blunted by overuse.

 many years ago we didn't have sleeve obsessed dogs to point they would ignore a threat to themself to stay on sleeve

Gustav, your post makes me wonder just how schutzhund dogs were able to pass protection years ago, if they would not stay on the sleeve when threatened with the stick.

I do understand the veiw that a higher prey drive dog can tend to do better in sport trials and not everyone is interested in titling their dogs,but there are other reasons having a high drive dog will serve both the dog and dog owner well depending on the end goal in what the dog is being trained for,I,m not sure how many people use shepards for herding anymore but seems like a high drive dog would be better suited for it and searching for people or objects it seems like a very good thing to have in a dog,but back to the dog being on the sleeve I would like to see a dog hold on tight  for any type of drives he has, fighting spirit,his courage or hardness and perhaps his wanting to protect his hander,owner,trainer,etc. and I think a dog should be able to show his couarge in taking a stick hit and it not bother him/her in the slightest amount.

If someone does have a very high prey drive dog and use them for herding hopefully  the dog will be able to be trained well enough to only to want to herd them and not want to kill or eat them. I bet with some it might be a challenge to alter.