Is it really “high prey” drive?

In the world of dog training, a dog that chases balls, bikes, cats, or a dog that tugs with power and determination a dog with a high-prey drive. Trainers even speak about their preference for having such a dog as a competitor in a myriad of sports or even just as their pet companion.

Now the interesting part is that the concept of high prey-drive aims to describe behaviors that are intrinsically different from one another. The term has become a catch-all description leaving us with de facto little information as to what the dog is actually doing.

When working with clients, I ask a bunch of preliminary questions to better help me understand what their dog is doing in certain circumstances as well as an overall description of what their dog has already learned.

For example: I want to know if the dog is comfortable in its crate. Does he plays with toys, and if so, what kind of toys and what kind of play? Say that we have a dog that “plays with balls” still this pronouncement is too general.  What exactly is the dog doing with the ball?  The reason behind my questioning is a regression of the topic here, but the search for specifics is not.

The scientific field of ethology and behavior have long ago moved away from using the concept of “drive” to describe what is actually taking place.

Back in the 1900’s it was believed that they were energizing internal sources that produced specific drives, which in turn, produced specific behaviors.  Other scientists considered the presence of drive exclusively when it involved food acquisition behaviors.

It was not until the 20th century that the use of the concept of drive was abandoned as research now showed that the body is not involved in producing internal energies that give way to specific behaviors as drive theory once claimed.  In addition, research showed that behaviors actually correspond to different internal systems such as the feeding system.  Moreover, behavior is a result of complex interplay of these many internal systems and not a result of a specific energy stored in the individual. The expression is also determined by external motivators - and not only internal processes.

So, where does all this leave us?  Recent studies have failed to find any co-relation between behaviors that traditionally have been thought to be related to prey drive.  This all points to the complexity surrounding the motivation behind behavior and how that in itself cannot be encapsulated in a vague concept as prey drive.

For clients desiring to change behaviors in their dogs, we are better served in looking elsewhere than attribute their presence to prey drive.  We must then observe what is taking place and under what conditions, so that we can decide on a better alternative (or alternatives) for behaviors that are deemed too dangerous to the dog or others, obnoxious etc. Importantly so, I would argue, is to also find alternatives that fulfill some, if not all, of the needs of the dog while engaging in these behaviors. This is the ideal scenario, of course, where we can substitute and teach new alternatives to an expression while the dog’s needs are also being met. 

It’s soccer Deuce! We are playing soccer.

Teaching a border collie to act like a retriever and bring you the ball is not that simple! At least my border collie would much rather not bring the ball back. In his case, I think it is a combination of mild resource guarding: i.e.: mine, this ball is mine!, and the interest in keeping the ball still. You see, border collies are bred to work with sheep. Their job is to work in tandem with the handler (in trials) or shepherd. Vergil S. Holland explains it very clearly of how this works in his book titled: Herding Dogs Progressive Training where in section Pressure and Balance he writes, “The concepts of pressure and balance are intimately related and are based on actions of the sheep and/or handler and reactions by the dog:
1. Movement by the sheep (or handler) creates an action.
2. This action generates pressure to which the dog reacts.
3. The dog reacts in such a way as to establish or achieve balance (lack of movement from the sheep).
4. When all pressures are equalized, balance has been achieved or the dog has “reached the balance point”. This is the point at which the dog feels the stock are most under control or least likely to escape. This equalization of pressure, creating balance, is the result of herding instinct and ability.” ~ Holland: 1994, p.g. 6

The ball could very well be a substitute for sheep, and Deuce still wanting to “control” wants to stop the movement of the ball. It is not typical collie behavior to want to go after the ball (or to bring it back for that matter) it is however more instinctual in this breed to stop movement. Yes, that is why they chase cars, kids, skateboards, bikes and, and… they don’t make good “pet-dogs”.

My desire to play soccer with Deuce AND to have him behave a bit more like a retriever is that playing soccer with your dog is really fun and a fabulous way of exercising him and not so much me!

Trying to teach Deuce to bring the ball back instead of him laying happily in the shade in possession of ball # 1 (we play with two identical balls) while I bush-whack my way trying to find the ball we just lost between the piñon trees, becomes a matter of many training/game sessions and more than a few head-scratches on my part.

Here is where my challenges are:
Dog will chase ball (good dog!) but will refuse to bring ball back.
Dog will sort of bring the ball back but to only a certain distance (more head-scratching).
Dog will bring the ball back and then suddenly turn around with ball in his mouth and run away from me.

I had the good sense to know that if I started playing his game (you run I chase) I was doomed!
I also would find myself repeating inside my head the mantra I learned from Kay Lawrence (clicker-trainer extraordinaire and one of my all-time favorite trainers): “Your ball is always the most interesting ball…”

Little by little I began to implement a comprehensive training plan to have Deuce be a good sport and begin to play “real” soccer with me… Okay Deuce, you can be the goalie! I know how reinforcing it is for you to STOP the movement of the ball but first you need to understand the rules of our game:

You get clicked if you sort of bring the ball back to me. (At this point I am ignoring him and just “happily” playing with my special ball. I would not even dare look in his direction or he will dart away from me- taking his ball again with him… damn!) You will also get clicked if you approach in my direction and stop. Another click if you would lie down and let me get the ball from you (without having to pry your mouth open) at my verbal cue of: mine.

All of the above behaviors where reinforced by me kicking the ball for him. Remember though, most reinforcing for him is to stop the movement of the ball, but for that he has to get the ball… now we are playing soccer.

It took me months of playing twice weekly mainly outside but also inside - in a long corridor where I could better “explain” to him what I need from him little by little, session by session. My efforts began to pay off. Deuce is bringing the ball towards me (or John who you will see in the video below). He will make his out-run and if we are busy playing with our ball and ignoring his approach, he will quietly get closer to us and lay down waiting for us to kick the ball again.

Kay Lawrence explains that: “chase [ing] is loss of face for a collie”. I don’t doubt that Lawrence is right on the mark but I have to say, that Deuce and I really look forward to our weekly soccer games.

NOTE: Deuce also goes sheepherding weekly and you should see him working those sheep....