Much has been published about different types of drives that animals, specifically working dogs operate in. However, I would argue that with the exception of the most educated trainers or most discerning decoys, many drive states are simply misunderstood, and ultimately lumped into ambiguous categories. What is lost in translation most of the time is the biological significance of the underlying drive state. Without further ado, let us look at the major categories of drive states that we as trainers/decoys manipulate, and what they accomplish.
Drives in and of themselves are urges/desires that when triggered, cause a dog to act. They are innate and ingrained in the dog’s genetic composition and can be manipulated by humans to accomplish certain things. Drives in dogs can be elevated or intensified via frustration or pain stimulation methods, however, every animal has a base line in which they operate.
Before delving into drive categories, let us examine the topic of triggers. Every drive needs a trigger to initiate the underlying drive state. With the trigger activating the mental state, the drive action is engaged. All of this rapid mental locomotion would be null and void without an end goal in sight. High/Low stimulus thresholds are examined when looking at what it takes to trigger a dog into the desired drive state. If someone says a particular K9 has a “low stimulus threshold for prey” they are merely advising that the dog is easily/rapidly triggered into the manipulated drive. While that is telling, the examination does not stop there. Given the fact that a K9 is rapidly triggered into prey does not necessarily mean they in fact have a “high prey drive”. How a dog maintains and operates within the given drive state is just as important as the trigger threshold and overall quality of the drive state itself. Is the animal’s existence in said state prone to exhaustion/disinterest prematurely? Or are they able to maintain and navigate through an extended training session without essentially losing interest.
Prey Drive - This is a lust-oriented drive state with the ultimate goal of obtaining sustenance for the animal. Think of how an object of prey moves when being chased/hunted. Fast/erratic/unpredictable movement of prey object (in this case a rabbit) triggers prey drive in the hunter (in this case a dog). The ultimate goal of the dog is to chase, pounce, grip, and shake to death the prey object with the final goal being consumption thus satiation. Genetically triggered prey object (rabbit) is traded for human substituted object (suit/sleeve) that triggers dog into same mental drive state. We can then work dogs for aggression work in prey drive via the supplemented prey object and proper association.
Moving on, we will focus on movements that decoys employ when attempting to trigger dog into an elevated prey drive state. Further, we will examine common reactions that are seen from the helper’s perspective when the dog is worked in the desired drive.
Decoys typically move in a rapid motion, laterally, to trigger dog into prey. Prey is always escaping. Eye contact may or may not be utilized from a connectivity standpoint, however, constant menacing visual connectivity is often associated with defensive posturing. Helpers can also experiment with elevation posture changes as they are certain to be perceived differently depending on each individual animal. Fleeting movement in general, may be done in conjunction with visually present bite equipment. Equipment, that has been conditioned through proper association, that has come to mean something valuable to the animal. This drive state, as mentioned above, can be elevated/intensified via frustration/pain stimulation methods. Finally, the reaction that would be expected on behalf of the animal is one of elevated motion/intensity. Forward movement as to engage and ultimately grip presented item. Auditory response from the dog is typically a higher pitch barking that exudes excitement. It is important to remember that unlike defense drive which we will explore below, prey drive is a state that can be exhausted.
Defense drive - The proverbial “fight or flight” mental drive state. The animal in this case has been confronted with a threat, one that is real, or one that is perceived. The trigger stimulus for the drive is worry. The reaction from the dog is posturing, visually, auditory or a combination of both to make the threat retreat. Or, an act of violence is perpetrated on behalf of the dog. Finally, the goal of the animal is self-preservation. It is important to note that defensive drive characteristics can be displayed over multiple areas. Self-preservation is the first to come to mind. This is the animal that associates a threat posed by another animal, or human, and reacts according to their genetic composition to either confront and attack or retreat from the threat. Animals can also operate in a defensive drive state over an object of interest (grounded equipment), pack member, or claimed territory. When attempting to get a dog into a defensive state of mind, approach from the decoy is a menacing, direct, linear, head-on approach. It is imperative that an experienced/talented helper is one that is manipulating the animal defensively as working in this drive state is a double-edged sword. Too much pressure imposed on the animal may cause avoidance behavior, which, is beyond the intent of the exercise. From a helper’s perspective, a deep guttural bark is accompanied by a visible display of frontal teeth. Hair on the hackles/back of neck are raised as to make the dog appear larger then they truly are. This is a drive state that dogs, particularly police dogs, need to be able to operate in without retreat.
While trainers/helpers need to see that a police dog not only possesses a suitable defensive drive state, they must be able to exist in said drive state without displaying avoidance/displacement behavior. As eluded to above, this drive state is not prone to exhaustion.
A simple internet search on “drives in animals” would reveal categories that consist of a plethora of “identifiable” drive states that animals utilize subconsciously. However, I believe that prey and defense are the two most pertinent ones, particularly to working dogs. Trainers/helpers must be intimately familiar with them as they are often the ones most manipulated for the task at hand.