PATROL DOGS IN PREY DRIVE VERSUS FIGHT DRIVE
Master Trainer Patrick T.
Merritt, Concord, North Carolina PD
There has
been some controversy over the years, of patrol dogs,with
training limited to prey drive Vs fight drive. Before we
discuss the controversy of a dog working in prey or fight drive,
we must first understand the making of the two dogs in training.
Prey drive is the desire to
chase, capture and vanquish its prey. Prey drive is a game to
the dog, he will chase a ball or a moving object. A wolf puppy
in the wild is born with the desire to chase and capture its
prey, but it is his mother that teaches him to kill the prey.
Prior to this teaching by his mother the definition is to chase
and capture his prey, the final equation of the definition has
not been fulfilled. The prey drive is not fully developed
within the dog and is therefore a game. The sleeve, stick, or
bite suit, becomes a prey item to the dog in training, just as a
dog learns to play with a ball. While working in prey he does
not feel stress or threatened, and he does not have to vanquish
his prey for survival. When the prey item stops moving, the
prey action of the dog will cease, the only exception, is with
repetitive training given to the dog, where he becomes familiar
with the training equipment, the dogs prey drive will be
triggered when he sees the items because he knows the training
is going to take place. The important thing to remember about a
dog trained only in prey drive is the action of movement and the
sight of the prey item (sleeve) triggers a response from him.
The end result of a dog trained in a prey will be observed when
the dog is sent to apprehend an individual and no prey item is
available, no prey item, no bite. As a wolf must be taught in
the wild to vanquish his prey, a dog must be taught to bite the
man.
Fight drive is the
forwardness of prey drive in the dog, with the intensity of
defense. The dog views the agitator or helper as a threat and
reacts to the threat accordingly. Fight drive is the
interaction of: Prey drive + Defense + Genetics + experience.
Fight drive is inherited in the animal, although if his training
is not correct and there is no solid foundation of prey bite
development, and defense, the dogs fight drive will not be
developed.
Prey drive diminishes as the
dog gets tired, as defense will not, due to the fact that the
dog is reacting out of self preservation, and will continue to
defend himself until he is defeated. The defensive gene is
inherited in the dog. A dog equipped with this gene reacts to a
threat, by initially resisting with aggressiveness and standing
his ground with the promise of a fight, it is this continued
training out of defense, allowing the dog to learn to fight his
way out of defense to defeat the opponent, little by little,
lesson by lesson, that the dog gains his training and
experience.
Training a dog in prey drive
is always using some type of prey item, such as the sleeve,
agitation stick, bite suit, etc. The dog views these items as
prey, and these items of prey cause the prey drive to trigger in
him, giving the perception of a dog that will bite. This is not
correct, even though the dog may appear to be biting the man, he
is in reality, biting the prey item itself, with no intent to
actually hurt the person wearing the prey item.
A dog working specifically
in prey drive will often approach a suspect in the woods,
building or field, but will most likely not become aggressive
towards him without some action from the suspect, if the Handler
is not there to see the suspect, he often calls his dog because
he’s out of sight, and the dog simply leaves the suspect to
return to his Handler. It is because of the lack of
understanding of the definition of prey drive and the
development of it, as he would receive in the wild that we
create our training problems. A dogs understanding of how to
react to prey once he has chased and captured it is a learned
behavior taught by his trainer, as the wolf’s mother would teach
him to vanquish it for food and self preservation.
The difference between a dog
trained in prey drive and fight drive is in the way the dog
views the man. The dog trained in prey drive reacts to the
equipment the man is wearing, where as the dog in fight drive
views the man as a threat and will take the fight to him.
Development of fight drive begins with a genetically correct
dog, who receives prey bite development and continues through
defense training, where the end result is of a confident dog who
can defeat the man. A dog working in prey drive only goes
through training to the point of biting equipment.
Civil agitation added to
your dogs training will assist in changing his attitude to a man
with no equipment, it is the developed definition of prey drive
with the learned behavior to chase, capture and bite the man,
removing the game and completing the formula of prey drive, to
chase + capture + -----? The dog through civil agitation learns
this formula.
