Definition of prey levels

[codmaster]

Originally Posted by gagsd

My Ari is "high-drive" but I can call him off of cats, trust him around small dogs and recently even called him off a helper.
His brother Anik is also high drive but I cannot call him off of small animals, and would not leave him unattended with my poodle.

For them, it is not prey-drive, but something else.... thresholds, pack-drive, genetic obedience?? Not sure what to call it, but the difference is obvious.

Training?

[JeanKBBMMMAAN]

Some people like this, some don't:
Volhard Dog Training and Nutrition: Behavior and Training: Canine Personality Profile

I do it for fosters as a way to help their adopters understand a bit more what they are getting.

[x11]

so what do you call a dog thats a true cold blooded killer of prey animals and will hunt/chase them untill its pads are gone and it is all but mortally wounded but is generally a dull dog that cannot handle repeition or even blink at a ball/rag waved around its face??

a large class of dogs that fit the description.

[Jo Ellen]

Originally Posted by x11

so what do you call a dog thats a true cold blooded killer of prey animals and will hunt/chase them untill its pads are gone and it is all but mortally wounded but is generally a dull dog that cannot handle repeition or even blink at a ball/rag waved around its face??

Difficult

[Bear GSD]

Originally Posted by JeanKBBMMMAAN

Some people like this, some don't:
Volhard Dog Training and Nutrition: Behavior and Training: Canine Personality Profile

I do it for fosters as a way to help their adopters understand a bit more what they are getting.

I just scored the profile on my own dog. The link was very interesting to say the least. I found this very informative,thanks for providing the link!

[hunterisgreat]

Originally Posted by Whiteshepherds

Is there a reason why some dogs shake their prey (shake head from side to side) and others don't? Our female shakes anything she gets her mouth on if it can be done. (you can't shake a 3" ball or a mosquito ) I've never seen our male do it. Does that have anything to do with the level of prey drive?

Yes. It is an instinctual behavior.. when a dog grabs a prey item, pauses and assesses if the prey is dead. The prey will often play dead. The dog will relax the grip a bit, and the prey will try to escape, at which point the dog will thrash to try and kill it... the process repeats. Thats why many dogs will thrash after pulling a toy from your hands. Its an atomic behavior, meaning once the shaking has started, you must allow it to complete... correcting the dog mid-shake isn't effective and will probably end as an over-correction at the completion of the behavior when the dog has "come back to awareness". While not all dogs shake with the same regularity, almost all will with enough stimulation. Generally speaking, the higher in drive, the more readily and violently they will shake

[hunterisgreat]

Originally Posted by x11

so what do you call a dog thats a true cold blooded killer of prey animals and will hunt/chase them untill its pads are gone and it is all but mortally wounded but is generally a dull dog that cannot handle repeition or even blink at a ball/rag waved around its face??

a large class of dogs that fit the description.

They just don't view the ball/rag as prey. Or perhaps that dog is more concerned with the helper than the rag he is waving.

[x11]

makes sense, people are always blathering about the things that make bite-work type dogs either sport LEO etc is heightened survival instincts - the reality is most of the high level bite-work type dogs actually have no survival instincts imo - they have lots of fizzy drive which is a contradiction in the wild.

a lot of the dogs i see as most likely to survive in the wild cos they partially do are the last dogs to excell at any bit-work with the man type stuff or other performance sports. as much as i think i learn i cannot reconcile what i see so it fits the theories i hear. if i get this one sorted i will have arrived at a new level. so far no joy.

[gagsd]

Originally Posted by codmaster

Training?

No.

[Lilie]

Originally Posted by Whiteshepherds

Is there a reason why some dogs shake their prey (shake head from side to side) and others don't? Our female shakes anything she gets her mouth on if it can be done. (you can't shake a 3" ball or a mosquito ) I've never seen our male do it. Does that have anything to do with the level of prey drive?

I've noticed that this behavior is more common with a multi dog environment. Or when a dog is attempting to initiate play.