Reflecting this morning and thinking about puppies, my mind went back to when I dipped my toe into the world of the high drive dog… I realized not only that the drive, when channeled, is a feeling like no other, but also how much work (and mistakes) it takes to get to the point of being effective with these incredible animals.

We can’t underestimate the importance of the handler with these dogs because they will push us in ways that we didn’t know existed and their world is truly sink or swim. And even when we eventually rise to the occasion, our blunders and mistakes can follow us with behaviors that might drive us a little crazy!

Is there a formula? Yep! There is… but there is no recipe. Ultimately we need Engagement and Focus though those two things can be like swinging at the moon with a golf club to the uninitiated.

1) PLAY. You HAVE to play with these dogs. Play makes you valuable. It makes you worth their time and helps them to decide that whatever you are doing is more important then the other options. BTW, this takes skill… in part because of #2.

2) CONNECTION. This is the hardest part of the Engagement Equation. Without connection, your dog might as well be playing by themselves. This is the YOU that you need to bring to the table. This may be voice, eye contact, facial expression, body postures…. this is what makes us reinforcing. BTW, this is hard to learn.

3) CRITERIA. When we train, we have to have a clear understanding of what exactly we are trying to reinforce and how to split that down into the parts that the dog can successfully understand. Of course, this is nothing without #4.

4) CONSISTENCY. Our dogs are smart but frustration or confusion can come out in detrimental ways with the high drive dog. With lower drive dogs, you get quitting. With high drive dogs you get at best creativity you don’t want, and at worst, well… with some breeds that is where the ouchy parts might come in.

5) BOUNDARIES. Dogs need to understand how to dog in our world. What we can put up with in a less self motivated dog, a high drive dog will just make living with them difficult. Practicing self control and reinforcement for good choices turns into an easier to train dog who wants to work with you in general. This is hard too sometimes but every moment is a potential training moment!

6) LEARNING THEORY. Yeah, you need to know all about reinforcement and how it differs from rewards. And you need to be able to see and adjust arousal. And you need to know what increases desired behaviors and decreases unwanted ones. And you need to know how to adjust those within your own philosophical training approach, whatever that might be (this is NOT a training approach post!)

There are probably a smattering of other things but these are the things that I have learned…. and recognizing that when I started with high drive dogs I really didn’t have any clue about what I needed to be successful. However, I am a good observer, a curious learner, and an intuitive trainer. That probably saved my bacon! I am still learning too!

These dogs are challenging. The trouble is, that when they come together they look so darn smooth… like on autopilot. Not.