Prey drive

[grouchyolddude]

.....and please allow the roosters to be plentiful! ...Amen



Oh, wait....that would be "prAy" drive wouldn't it...

 

[oldandnew]

That's the kind of Pray Drive I can support!! The dog looks particularily pious, he's hoping to sleep on the bed, thats what he's praying for!

 

[Dog Gun Time]

@ cockerfan
Instead of saying Prey Drive maybe getting the pup focused on birds? is a better statment?

Blue glad to here the pups are doing good:thumbsup::thumbsup:

I have always thought of the "prey drive" as an instinctual apparatus and where you say "focused on birds" I have used the term "introduce the pup to birds". Maybe I have taken too much for granted down through the years but I have never thought it necessary to try and teach or train a dog to hunt. I just assumed that a bird dog was bred to hunt. Teaching them to hunt with me or teaching them to hunt for the gun was the real issue. I did (and still do) see a lot of sense in the idea of creating a controlled setting for introducing the pup to birds in order to establish, within the pup's brain, a positive association towards game birds as a step in preventing bird shyness. Maybe my approach could be better described as "reinforcing the prey drive".

 

[goldeneye]

.....and please allow the roosters to be plentiful! ...Amen



Oh, wait....that would be "prAy" drive wouldn't it...

That picture should be made into a poster and hung up in that boys house:thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

[goldeneye]

I have always thought of the "prey drive" as an instinctual apparatus and where you say "focused on birds" I have used the term "introduce the pup to birds". Maybe I have taken too much for granted down through the years but I have never thought it necessary to try and teach or train a dog to hunt. I just assumed that a bird dog was bred to hunt. Teaching them to hunt with me or teaching them to hunt for the gun was the real issue. I did (and still do) see a lot of sense in the idea of creating a controlled setting for introducing the pup to birds in order to establish, within the pup's brain, a positive association towards game birds as a step in preventing bird shyness. Maybe my approach could be better described as "reinforcing the prey drive".

Agreed
I think it's important to teach as much as we can in a controlled area. But the pup needs to get on wild birds also. The more birds the better they have to make there mistakes and learn for them just like anyone else.
getting them first introduced to birds and developing the (Prey Drive) is just one step of many.

 

[oldandnew]

Prey Drive or Birdyness?

I've stated this before, and at the risk of offending someone, I'm going to say it again. "Prey Drive" is a term we got from the versatile dog people. They use it because they hunt "fur" as well as birds. In fact fur is just as often the quarry, be it rabbit, or roebuck. Term gets translated here, and applied accidently to non versatile breeds as well. I personally, am uncomfortable with the term. To me it conjures up a myriad of negatives, and I believe it is a term that can be latched on to by the anti community to portray us in a negative light to an uninformed public. I do not train for fur, in fact I try to discourage the behavior in all my dogs, I also only hunt my "birddogs", of any breed on birds. I have enjoyed many a splendid rabbit hunt with beagles, but not the "birddogs". I look for and encourage "birdyness" in all my birdogs. It's an old term, for us old timers, and it refers to interest by a pup in anything that flies, be it grasshoppers, butterflies, or sparrows. Pups will flash point, point and creep, or just flush and chase. In any in young dog it's a great start, and a positive foundation to build on. Some individuals need encouragement, some mature slowly, it comes down to exposure, enough exposure, if the dog is worth his salt, it will appear. I have had dogs who had no interest in non game species, but turned on immediately when exposed to pheasant and quail. So talk to me about birdyness, on this gameBIRD forum, sharpness, and Prey drive, turn me off, and I think risk that effect on casual viewers.

 

[goldeneye]

I've stated this before, and at the risk of offending someone, I'm going to say it again. "Prey Drive" is a term we got from the versatile dog people. They use it because they hunt "fur" as well as birds.

Why would someone be offended by that?
I did look at some training books and the ones for Gsp state Prey Drive my Pointer only training book calls it introduction to birds.
But they both are talking about training with birds only.

I didn't know Prey drive was ment for versatile dogs fur and birds. not just birds.

 

[cockerfan]

I have always thought of the "prey drive" as an instinctual apparatus and where you say "focused on birds" I have used the term "introduce the pup to birds". Maybe I have taken too much for granted down through the years but I have never thought it necessary to try and teach or train a dog to hunt. I just assumed that a bird dog was bred to hunt. Teaching them to hunt with me or teaching them to hunt for the gun was the real issue. I did (and still do) see a lot of sense in the idea of creating a controlled setting for introducing the pup to birds in order to establish, within the pup's brain, a positive association towards game birds as a step in preventing bird shyness. Maybe my approach could be better described as "reinforcing the prey drive".

That makes sense to me. I had a of people tell me I needed Rocky to get on as many birds as possible when he was a pup to "increase his prey drive". It just didn't make sense to me...he has been absolutely nuts about birds since the day I got him, and so has Macy, my other Cocker. There definitely was no need to increase their drive, but rather the challenge was to find a way to harness the energy and make him responsive to ME when a bird was in the picture. I honestly think that the best thing that I did for him was severely limiting his exposure to birds and getting his obedience down very well before doing bird work. It made it much easier to steady him, and hasn't hurt his desire for birds in the least, nor his ability to handle birds. Each dog needs to be handled differently, but I think that I will always tend to focus on obedience and THEN birds with future pups, unless the pup is very shy or skittish and clearly needs bird exposure to get its confidence up.

 

[BleuBijou]

That makes sense to me. I had a of people tell me I needed Rocky to get on as many birds as possible when he was a pup to "increase his prey drive". It just didn't make sense to me...he has been absolutely nuts about birds since the day I got him, and so has Macy, my other Cocker. There definitely was no need to increase their drive, but rather the challenge was to find a way to harness the energy and make him responsive to ME when a bird was in the picture. I honestly think that the best thing that I did for him was severely limiting his exposure to birds and getting his obedience down very well before doing bird work. It made it much easier to steady him, and hasn't hurt his desire for birds in the least, nor his ability to handle birds. Each dog needs to be handled differently, but I think that I will always tend to focus on obedience and THEN birds with future pups, unless the pup is very shy or skittish and clearly needs bird exposure to get its confidence up.

Without a doubt, I can fix obedience . When I get a dog that shows signs of being shy, timid, lack of interest when it comes to Feathers or birds flying around the yard, it sounds the alarm of maybe something I can't fix!!!!! That is when It is time to figure out if the dog is going to show PREY DRIVE or not!! So, it is time to get that dog on some sort of birds to create excitement and to see if that light kicks on!!!! For me it worked wonders!!! My other pup is different. I will work more on the obedience, because he shows all the signs of having PREY DRIVE !! I think everyone needs to address their pups needs and handle them separately!!!! I started this thread in order to give everyone a different view of everyones trials and tribulations on how they have handled different situations with their Birddogs!!!!!! I think or hope we have maybe helped someone who may read all these ideas and apply them to there training techniques.:cheers:

 

[grouchyolddude]

Last year a friend of mine thought he could borrow/use/train his grown and living on her own daughters, Lab' pup. His thoughts were she would feed it, house it, take care of all the vet' and medical needs, and all he had to do was go pick it up and hunt it!.. "win-win".. :thumbsup:
I saw two distinct things happen. First, the pup looked at him as just someone who came over and picked her up for a fun time. He isn't 'alpha' anything. Doesn't feed, water, provide, ect. So I think the pup ignored any attempts at obedience or 'training' from him.
Second, the pup showed "0" interest in chasing, fetching, or doing ANYTHING "for" or to "please" him. Even in playing with a ball with other dogs present and chasing and fetching, she showed that she would rather be sniffing butts, or chewing on furniture .
After a couple of months of frustration, I convinced him to stop wasting his time on a "shooter", and get his 'own' pup. He is tickled to death with a dog that seems to live to satisfy him, now.
I guess my point is, there are far too many potentially great dogs out there, to waste the time and energy, trying to develop something that simply may not exist in some dogs..."IMHO"...