In addition to the drives listed in the last post, there are several other drives that dogs possess. I don't know that we have fully identified and understand all the drives that a dog possesses, but at least a basic understanding of some of these drives, when taken into consideration, will help us to become better dog trainers. Each day we will list a drive and a brief explanation of that drive. Please keep in mind, that one drive will influence another drive and so forth. I think all dogs possess these drives in varying degrees.
Air Scent Drive: This is the drive where a dog will use wind born odors or scent to locate an object. They may use this drive to locate food, another dog, another animal or anything of interest. As this relates to a hunting dog, how many times have you seen a dog hunting (hunt drive), stop and put their nose up in the air, then follow that scent until they locate the object they are looking for. As with all drives, some dogs possess a much stronger Air Scent Drive than others. Strong Air Scent Drive is important to a good hunting dog as Air Scent Drive ties in directly with Hunt Drive. Strong Air Scent Drive, will help motivate Hunt Drive. I believe if we take a young puppy, help cultivate his Air Scent Drive, we will help increase his Hunt Drive. The younger the puppy the better. Remember, a dog’s learning curve is extremely accelerated when they are young and begins to drop off as they get older. I think one of the biggest mistakes people make is waiting too long before they do anything constructive with their puppy. Many people will tell me, "I didn't do anything with the puppy because I didn't want to ruin him". Big mistake! We will get into more training theory later, but for now we will stick with Drives. Tomorrow, Activity Drive.
Air Scent Drive
by
Tim Harris
of Rug-ged Retriever Training
(
13-Apr-2012
)