17d • Trusty Tidbits
Drive Vs Motivation
When someone says they have a “high drive dog” have you ever stopped to think what that means? I know as a trainer when someone describes their high drive dog to me what I imagine is that their dog has a lowered threshold for predatory triggers - often times that is by design within the breed.
What is drive?
Many people think that when a dog has a lot of drive that it comes from within and if their needs are not met that it builds up and often leaks or pours out as “bad” behavior. This is a very easy thing to think and up until recently I thought the same thing. While a dog with unmet needs does display more intense predatory behavior it is not an “internal drive” that is building up like water behind a dam but rather the dog’s SEEKING system becoming overactive and dysregulated with no appropriate outlet which can happen under stress, conflict or frustration. The SEEKING system does not wait for an external trigger as it is always on and scanning. The part of the Predatory Motor Pattern that we do not want our dogs to display (chase, grab bite, kill and dissect) does in fact wait for an external trigger such as movement or scent.
What is Motivation?
Motivation is considered the why behind a behavior and it is not just with predatory behavior either (hunger, social need). Learning is less likely to happen without motivation and when a dog has a history of predating there is motivation to repeat the behavior but if that stimulus was not there then the behavior wouldn’t happen.
So how can one reduce the motivation of the undesirable behavior chasing wildlife. When a dog chases something there are two phases that occur: drive induction (wanting - as in the chase itself) and drive reduction (getting - as in capturing). Both are rewarding but the pleasure areas of the hypothalamus is more strongly connected to the drive induction (which is why dogs try again and again even if they fail). Since drive induction is associated with pleasure part of the hypothalamus more so than with drive reduction if you were to replace chasing a wild animal, such as a lizard, with chasing a treat not only will you get a dog that is not chasing wildlife but you will get a dog that has less of a desire to solo hunt and an increased desire to engage with you in these highly stimulating moments.
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Drive Vs Motivation
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