Finding and understanding what fuels your dog’s motivation is important to connect with them.
What is Drive?
Drive is a phycological term referring to your dog’s motivation or inclination to behave in a way that achieves satisfaction. Temperament greatly differs among dog breeds; personality also varies between dogs of the same breed. Golden Retrievers are well-rounded dogs that possess a combination of drives. Coming from a multi-Golden Retriever household, we can see noticeable personality differences in what motivates or drives each dog.
Types of Drive Common in Golden Retrievers
The retrieving drive of a Golden is of no surprise; they were bred for it. Our dog, Indie, lives to play fetch and will not go anywhere without a tennis ball. Dogs with high retrieving drive will bring back whatever item their master throws and will continue to play until their owner forces a break. The retrieving drive plays a large part in this next drive for Golden Retrievers.
A hunting drive is common amongst many dog breeds, including Golden Retrievers. This drive category is associated with tracking, stocking, or hunting prey. Most dogs have the instinct to hunt, relating to their wolf ancestors. Having the freedom to use their senses of smell, vision, and hearing to achieve a goal may motivate your dog. Golden Retrievers also love the retrieving aspect that comes with hunting with their person. Many dogs get very excited at the simple sight of a shotgun because they can make the connection that they are about to do an activity they love.
The pack or social drive relates to a dog’s desire to be social and play with other dogs and their human families. As most Golden Retrievers strive to be people pleasers, they tend to want to be around others and be included in regular social activities. Goldens will often follow their owners everywhere and seek attention and affection regularly; this aspect can make them easier to train as they are eager to work for some simple praise in return.
The play drive refers to the dog’s desire for physical activity. If you have a Golden, you know they have a playful spirit and always want to be involved, and each dog seems to have their favorite type of toy or activity. Find out and make note of which toys and activities your dog likes best.
Many Goldens have a strong food drive; some of them will inhale food or a treat as soon as it is presented. Dogs with a strong food drive can often be easier to train because of their willingness to work for a simple treat. In our house, the word “treat” itself is enough to gain full attention shortly followed by sitting as their way of saying “please.”
Other drives occasionally shown in some golden retrievers are territorial and rank drives. Although not typically common, some Golden Retrievers possess a territorial drive, which refers to their desire or need to protect their family, pack, property, or home. Some Goldens can have the drive to rank as the alpha member of their pack or family.
How Drive Affects Learning/Training
Finding which activities produce a desire for your dog to obey a command or get them to do what you want them to do is key to training. As for dogs and humans alike, the information you are trying to teach or learn must be of interest and displayed in a motivating fashion for the individual to comprehend and retain the knowledge. For example, high school chemistry may be boring, but if the teacher can identify the motivating factor that drives the class and makes the subject fun, the class is more apt to easily learn the subject. This same concept applies to dogs; does your dog love treats? Squeak toys like our dog, Breeze? Tennis balls like our dog, Indie? A game of fetch? Hunting?
Finding your dog’s drive and applying it to your training program will expedite results.
If you are having difficulty training or connecting with your dog, check out the Baxter & Bella online training platform; you can learn more about our experience with the Baxter & Bella training program and how to get a 25% discount on a lifetime membership by clicking here.
Conclusion
Golden Retrievers are such a great choice of dog because they are so well-rounded in character. They have an amazing attitude and a strong urge to please their masters. A dog’s drive is like its “love language”; Learn to understand what drives your Golden Retriever and use it to speak their love language. Both you and your dog will be happy.
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