It is this inexplainable desire to humanise the dog, that 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 socialisation. Not because of drives. 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 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. A lot of drives for an animal that is reputed to do everything subconsciously. Pack drive and play drive 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 as 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 contacts they are used, describe a very complex creature.

It is this collage of misinformation, that 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, 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, walked through the live theatre of World War II, and into the annuls of history, to produce 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 believe 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 K-9 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, who are giving advice, have never lent practical application to test the theory. Instead, they view the work, written or physical, of others and in a chameleon like fashion offer it as gospel. I am in the field each and every day, putting theory to practical application. I will always question "why?". Not only in the work of others, but my own.

©December 1996 Mike McConnery