Until you meet them, you may be wondering about personalities of the puppies' parents. Personality can be described in so many ways, but in dogs is usually described in terms of temperament and drive. Temperament is very much how we think of it in humans, shy or outgoing, aloof or needy. Drive, however, is something many people may not be familiar with. In dogs, there are 3 main drives: pack drive, prey drive, and defense drive (also known as fight drive).
Pack drive describes the social behaviors that have evolved in in dogs that allowed them to be a compatible member of a group. Dogs who have pack drive typically desire physical contact with people and other dogs, including playing in general social interaction. Dogs with high pack drive are typically very in tune with their humans if they do not have very many other social dog contacts to distract them. If you leave dogs with high pack drive alone for too long, they can become anxious and develop unwelcome behaviors.
Prey drive is something that many folks are familiar with by way of watching the Discovery Channel. Since dogs descended from wolves, some still have a very high prey drive, but it has been lessened through the years of domestication. Prey drive behavior is easily recognized: a high prey drive dog may track with his nose, chase small animals, tear and rip apart toys or tissues, carry its prizes or its toys around his area, and even digging and burying toys or treats.
Fight drive is often seen in the more independent dog who may guard its food, growl, dislikes strangers, and exhibit aggressive behavior towards other dogs who may threaten its food or territory. An independent dog may not be outwardly aggressive until backed into a corner at such time its fight instincts may kick in.
With all that said, our stud dog exhibits a very high pack drive and is wonderfully social with both humans and animals alike. He fetches and plays ball, and retrieves to hand (for any of you hunters out there). He lets us know when a stranger approaches, but follows our cue as to whether that stranger is welcome or not. We rode to the vet and he sat in the front seat, looking as big as Clifford, and put his arm on the arm rest right next to mine and rode with me like he was my human companion. He definitely thinks he is a human and is offended when he is not treated as such.
The mother dog also has a strong pack drive, but she is the alpha dog in the home. This is often the case in breeding pairs as she establishes her dominion of protection over her litter of puppies. She has a moderate prey drive but is not destructive. Her temperament changes during pregnancy, and she requires much more affection and affirmation, whereas normally she is happy warming our feet.
Pack drive describes the social behaviors that have evolved in in dogs that allowed them to be a compatible member of a group. Dogs who have pack drive typically desire physical contact with people and other dogs, including playing in general social interaction. Dogs with high pack drive are typically very in tune with their humans if they do not have very many other social dog contacts to distract them. If you leave dogs with high pack drive alone for too long, they can become anxious and develop unwelcome behaviors.
Prey drive is something that many folks are familiar with by way of watching the Discovery Channel. Since dogs descended from wolves, some still have a very high prey drive, but it has been lessened through the years of domestication. Prey drive behavior is easily recognized: a high prey drive dog may track with his nose, chase small animals, tear and rip apart toys or tissues, carry its prizes or its toys around his area, and even digging and burying toys or treats.
Fight drive is often seen in the more independent dog who may guard its food, growl, dislikes strangers, and exhibit aggressive behavior towards other dogs who may threaten its food or territory. An independent dog may not be outwardly aggressive until backed into a corner at such time its fight instincts may kick in.
With all that said, our stud dog exhibits a very high pack drive and is wonderfully social with both humans and animals alike. He fetches and plays ball, and retrieves to hand (for any of you hunters out there). He lets us know when a stranger approaches, but follows our cue as to whether that stranger is welcome or not. We rode to the vet and he sat in the front seat, looking as big as Clifford, and put his arm on the arm rest right next to mine and rode with me like he was my human companion. He definitely thinks he is a human and is offended when he is not treated as such.
The mother dog also has a strong pack drive, but she is the alpha dog in the home. This is often the case in breeding pairs as she establishes her dominion of protection over her litter of puppies. She has a moderate prey drive but is not destructive. Her temperament changes during pregnancy, and she requires much more affection and affirmation, whereas normally she is happy warming our feet.
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