Different Dogs: Different Drives

Different Dogs: Different Drives

AKC Chart and Guide to Purebred Dogs

There's always a great debate that's personal to the individual about adopting a purebred dog versus a rescue but today's article isn't quite about that. I wanted to open up the discussion that every dog is different, whether they are a purebred or a rescue. The primary things every dog has are natural instincts or drives; You are likely to find a terrier type of dog have much different quirks than let's say a GSD or even a shepherd mix. This is particularly noticeable in the animals adolescence - and in my personal experience the more you understand your dogs drives and needs, the easier your puppy-hood, training and onward would be with them! First let's discuss the 7 classes of AKC recognized purebreds and their drives:

• Terriers

AKC Terrier Breed Chart

• Short-legged terriers were bred to go underground in pursuit of rodents on their own, without the owner. 
• Long-legged terriers were bred to dig out varmints rather than burrowing in after them, also on their own.
• The terrier groups “bull” breeds were created long ago for not-so-welcomed (now-a-days) “sports” like bull baiting and dogfights but are today excellent companion dogs.
• These are dogs of great determination, courage and self-confidence, with an immense willingness and drive to 'hit the pavement' in search of its prey. Their usual terrain that they were bred to work on was one of water and rocky terrain!

What does this mean when it comes to training and working with this breed?

You're likely to notice dogs of this breed or mix have a "passion for an argument" and their original drives to seek out rodents and never give up... leads them to be very determined pups! They're high energy, so you're likely to need to expend a good amount of their energy prior to a training session! Also, you could potentially expect funny quirks like gathering items (such as shoes) in your home to their bed. Expect neurotic tendencies to potentially grow if they don't have a way to expend their drives and energy. They truly were bred to pursue a rodent but on their own. Don't fret though, they just need someone just as adamant as them when talking and working with them. They can be excellent to work with the more you understand this determination drive of theirs and high energy; they listen so well the more you start asking tasks of them and you are on top of it. Stimulate and work with their drives and they will immediately connect to you and likely love the heavy direction and training you give to them!

• Toys

AKC Toy Breed Chart

• In a way, toys are “working dogs”—they work at being attentive, affectionate companions for YOU!
• This group was bred to be small and again; to be your companion!

What does this mean when it comes to training and working with this breed?

They LOVE affection! Human attention and love is what they live for! Too much lifting of a toy breed and keeping them at you, rather than allowing them to walk on a lead more often can lead to possessiveness when they're lifted up by a human as a result. From my experience, I notice these toys breeds tend to really love just THEIR owner or just love everyone! Either way don't forget..they're always trying to think about you!

• Herding

AKC Herding Breed Chart

• These breeds move livestock. Herding dogs work closely with human shepherds, and their natural responsiveness makes them highly trainable.
• They are bred to be taught by a human, then to continue working on their own. 


What does this mean when it comes to training and working with this breed?
They will love to pace. It's going to make them feel like they're actuating their herding drive. I've found even when there's action or a new stimulus to their area or environment they have a somewhat quick response and even you may see them begin to pace as well as a result. It's important to stimulate this drive with them or they could have a tendency to be neurotic and potentially show some mildly aggressive behaviors. It's easy to actuate this through a large fenced yard, teach them to keep a parameter to herd around you while in public and off leash (in a safe space) or even at a dog park or day care. They will love to herd the perimeters of the yard of active animals - and may even engage in play! I notice in my personal experience a lot of herding dogs have a strong ball drive! This can tend to be an even better reward than treats while training.


• Hounds

AKC Hounds Breed Chart

• All hound breeds pursue warm-blooded prey.
• Sight hounds: Bred to be sleek, long-legged and use explosive speed and wide vision to chase swift prey, like jackrabbits, squirrels and even antelope.
• Scent hounds: Tough and durable, they rely on their powerful noses to trail anything from a possum to an escaped convict.

What does this mean when it comes to training and working with this breed?

Don't forget these dogs were bred with a strong prey drive. Once you start activating it and asking them to chase down live prey, this prey drive can get stronger and stronger; even resulting in digging or running away just to chase down the prey they have their sights on. I tend to avoid teaching sigh hounds on how to jump - some sight hounds can jump VERY high in pursuit of their prey! Scent hounds can tend to be kitchen scrap hungry but if you make sure the strong-smelling foods they have access to is strict and limited - you may have a better time keeping their begging under wraps! Scent hounds and sight hounds absolutely both love a large yard to sniff out, with birds and squirrels to chase out of their own accord! If you encourage it - you are encouraging their drive to hunt. That comes along with understanding you are activating their original and raw drive to hunt prey. This breed I notice tends to have a strong ball drive but also a high value treat drive. It depends on the dog, their personalities and needs can be different with each individual!

• Working

AKC Working Breed Chart

• The Blue Collar kind of pup! Bred to pull sleds and carts, do rescue work, guard flocks and homes, and protect their humans.

What does this mean when it comes to training and working with this breed?

Working dogs require a certain way of greeting to earn their respect. If you come into their home and don't ask for their attention and wait for them to come to you, you're already earning your place in their hierarchy. Working dogs are so smart and depending on the dog they each were bred for a specific task. For example a husky is bred specifically to pull, and to stimulate their drive a harness and even a backpack proves to be extremely effective and stimulating for them. On another end, a Doberman was bred to protect the tax man while he was out collecting taxes; they were bred to defend and attack on command. A Doberman (along with any other working breed) when you don't train them to perform a new job and keep up with their routine, you do risk the animal sliding into their natural bred instinct (with any breed and particularly the working class of dogs). These dogs can be trained and filter their drives to being wonderful animals...even service dogs! They are so so smart! I've personally and have often used backpacks and weight packs on dogs in this class in my personal experience of working with these dogs when beginning to figure out how best to stimulate them!

• Sporting

AKC Sporting Breed Chart

• Breeds in this group were created to assist hunters directly on feathered game. This means they want to listen to your commands while working!
• Retrievers were built for swimming, specialize on waterfowl.
• The hunting grounds of setters, spaniels, and pointing breeds are grasslands where quail, pheasant, and other tasty game birds nest.

What does this mean when it comes to training and working with this breed?

These dogs tend to be very fun, easy to work with, and works great with families. They love treats, balls, any type of walking tool and even a backpack if you felt inclined and you had an overactive dog! I've seen dogs of this breed love everything from simply sunbathing and watching their backyard or swimming and learning to catch ducks! They are bred to work with the OWNER so they tend to be easier when it comes to wanting to listen to you and train!

• Non-Sporting

AKC Non-Sporting Breed Chart

• These breeds have two things in common: wet noses and four legs. After that, this group is a patchwork quilt of wonderful and unique breeds whose job descriptions defy categorization in the six other groups

What does this mean when it comes to training and working with this breed?

This is definitely a "catch-all" class of dogs that are each hard to define because they are all SO unique! They have their own unique personalities and individual reasons why a pet owner may be seeking out a breed under this class of dog. Keep in mind their intelligence and what they were bred for...you should have a better time understanding them and training them through adolescence, adulthood, or even if they were rescued. 

Now, we discussed purebred working classes and drives but we haven't discussed mixes and rescues! The more that you see your rescue has quirky behaviors, certain desires or even certain unwanted behaviors that arrived out of nowhere; see if you can't figure out what your dogs main passion and desire is in these moments. Write them all down and see what tools or even what type of drives your dog may be exhibiting. Don't forget for training, some dogs are so excited about the treats you have, some won't react unless they're "high value" treats (like mine haha!) and some feel even more rewarded by using a ball! I can discuss tools, their purposes and how it helps with training in another article....but until then I hope this may help you understand your animal, their quirks and how to work with them better! 

Sincerely Yours,

Paw Patroller (On Duty!)