"Drives"
Theory
There isn't a lot of formal writing on the subject of drives. Konrad Lorenz talked a little about them in "The Foundations of Ethology" (1981). Roger Abrantes discussing them in "The Evolution of Canine Social Behavior" (1997). Most of the in-depth discussion of drives comes from the different ring sports in the world and their books. "Schutzhund, Training in Drive" by Gottfried Dildei and Sheila Booth discusses different drives and their manipulability as does "Advanced Schutzhund" by Ivan Balabanov and Karen Duet. The problem with the discussion of drives is that everybody has a different view as to what they are, how they can be manipulated and even how many there are. Some people/trainers/ethologists look at drives as desires. These people say that a dog has hundreds of drives. Others look at drives as subconscious instincts brought to bear on the stimulus through a reaction to the stimulus. My view is that there are fewer drives than most people state. Also, I look at drives a little differently than most in that I look at the sensory threshold of the behavior/reaction, in determining whether its a drive or a conscious response to stimulus. Generally, this is my view, take it for what it's worth. I'll give a few drives and my definition of what they are:
Again, some people separate hunt drive into tracking drive, windscenting drive, etc. I think those are just manipulable variables of existing drives. In practical training, drives are important because the need to fulfill the drive can be manipulated into a reinforcer. For example if I have a police dog that is high in prey drive, I can reward some behavior with the chance to chase a wrap tied to a rope. So a high drive dog gives you more opportunities for reinforcement. In a high drive dog, this manipulation of the drives can create extremely reliable behavior, because the desire to accomodate the drive is so important in the dog. I hope this helps, it's an amazingly interesting subject. Doug Johnson | Training Articles Contents || Site Home | Copyright of all posts is the property of the original author. Please obtain permission from the original author before copying, quoting, or forwarding. List and Site Owner: Melissa Alexander, mca @ clickersolutions.com |