Monday, October 18, 2010

How Natural Drives Of K9's-Prey Drive Vs Defense Drive Are Used In Conditioning K9's

By Alexander Wolfe

Natural Drives of Dogs-Prey Drive vs Defense Drive are areas of training in a Schutzhund dog. This is A German word meaning "protection dog". There are four drives that are related to this kind of training. Prey, defensive, fight and avoidance.

Prey drive is something that is inborn in all carnivorous animals. When something moves, they have an overwhelming urge to chase it, catch it, and eat it. This something that dogs do naturally. This drive is used in Schutzhund training to teach the dogs to view the sacks, tubes and sleeves as their prey. When the dog sees these things it knows things are about to get exciting. When training, this it is used as a place for the dogs to find comfort. Dogs find a great deal of joy in playing rough with their owners, and this is used to the trainers advantage.

Defensive drive is a bit more tricky. Not every dog is born with this drive. When a dog is more prone to licking someone to death than attacking or defending itself, its likely because they don't have a developed defensive drive. Dogs aren't comfortable in this zone like they are in the one stated before. When training this area has to be taught very carefully in order not to cause the more damage than success.

When both of these drives have been conquered, the next phase of training is in the area of fight drive. This is when the two other drives are used to benefit the other, creating a new drive. One that is free from fear, but they are more than happy to enter into. Check out some dogs performing in this cool Schutzhund training video HERE.

Fight drive is the zone where both prey and defensive drives are used together to create the comfort a dog feels from prey drive and the intensity of the aggressive behavior felt while in defensive drive. Fight drive is also not something that every dog is born with. It must be taught through the mastery of the skills they learn in the other two areas.

Not every dog is capable of mastering the protection phase in Schutzhund training. There are certain characteristics these dogs must possess in order to be trained successfully. Good strong breeding is very important, and a willingness to go above and beyond their natural instincts.

Natural Drives of Dogs-Prey Drive vs Defense Drive are used together to make exceptional dogs who are capable of protecting their owners in a variety of different ways. These dogs are not only used for attacking. They are also used in areas of helping people with disabilities. They must have an overall good attitude to be considered for the many jobs available for them to work. This is also something that sometimes must be taught, but having it to begin with makes Schutzhund training a whole lot easier on everyone, them included.

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