Drive verses energy
#395461 - 11/29/2014 05:57 PM |
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Looking for a good definition for the drive and energy.
How would I describe drive and energy the differences a new puppy owner? Thanks Sharon
Sharon Empson
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Re: Drive verses energy
[Re: Sharon Empson ]
#395463 - 11/29/2014 08:09 PM |
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i will have a go at it;
drive can not be used unless you have a noun before it, drive has to apply to a specific thing that the dog has a involuntary desire for eg, ball drive, hunt drive, retrieve drive....etc
energy applies to the overall activity levels of the dog.
a dog can be high energy but have no drive for a specific thing.
you can't have drive without energy but you can have energy without drive.
drive is neurological, energy is physiological.
eg,
Drive: shake a stick at my GSD and he has no choice at all but to go for it, the dog is incapable of not chasing a stick, it is wired genetically into his brain - that is drive.
Energy is his sustained physical capacity to chase the stick and his physical commitment to it.
if he throws his whole body into it every time until he is absolutely physically spent and his ass is dragging he has both high drive and high energy.
energy can be depleted but drive can not.
a lot of working farm kelpies are compulsive movers to the point they have to be tethered to stop moving, literally they will trot themselves to death. there is nothing that they are trying to achieve , no stick to chase, no ball, no sheepies they will still keep moving...that's a high energy dog with no drive per se, they will even trot and circle non-stop in a pen.
put a flock of sheep in front of them and let them work then they have drive for the work. sounds like the same thing i guess.
oh well i tried.
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Re: Drive verses energy
[Re: Sharon Empson ]
#395464 - 11/29/2014 10:55 PM |
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Good explanation Peter.
Similar to my thoughts.
Drive is the "desire", through genetics to perform a goal repeatedly.
Energy is the ability through training to "reach" that goal repeatedly.
I would add that the Kelpie in your example would be obsessive compulsive and as you say not really a drive for a particular behavior. No goal.
Still though drive and energy both have many levels. Both can be developed to a higher level with continuous training and both can be inhibited because of continuous lack of success.
Neither can be improved on past the genetic ability of the dog.
A world class sprinter has the genetics, drive, desire, energy and training to win a 100 meter/yard race but even if that same sprinter has the drive, desire, energy and training to attempt a world class marathon it wont succeed because of the difference in genetics. The genetically short twitch muscles of the sprinter vs the genetically long twitch muscles of the marathoner determine that.
Both sprinter and marathoner need the particular drive and energy to do their particular race.
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Re: Drive verses energy
[Re: Sharon Empson ]
#395467 - 11/29/2014 11:39 PM |
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I can not even satisfactorily explain what energy is period.
it is prolly the most over-used and least understood word in the English language.
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Re: Drive verses energy
[Re: Sharon Empson ]
#395468 - 11/29/2014 11:55 PM |
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I think it's often about personal interpretation.
The same word is viewed differently by different people.
Pretty much the joke about two dog trainers only agreeing that the other one is wrong.
All are at least worth listening to though.
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Re: Drive verses energy
[Re: Sharon Empson ]
#395472 - 11/30/2014 07:38 AM |
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Looking for a good definition for the drive and energy.
How would I describe drive and energy the differences a new puppy owner? Thanks Sharon
Peter and Bob gave great answers, but I can't help wondering if it might cause a new puppy owner's eyes to glaze over trying to comprehend it all.
Would it perhaps be appropriate, in the simplest terms possible, to say energy is more physical and drive is more mental?
Energy is the physical need to run, play, wrestle, etc.; in other words, burn off those calories and tire oneself out. Some puppies and dogs are more energetic, some are less energetic.
Drive is an urge that comes from the brain. The puppy wants what you have (ball, tug, food drive), or has an inbred instinct for certain activities, i.e. prey drive, herding drive, retrieving drive, etc. Again, some puppies/dogs have a lot of a certain type of drive; others do not.
Clearly, the two interact and there are gray areas and overlaps, but this is how I distinguish them in my mind, anyway. JMO!
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Re: Drive verses energy
[Re: Cheri Grissom ]
#395479 - 11/30/2014 11:06 PM |
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I think it's to easy to over think a new puppy today because of all the "information" out there.
I've enjoyed trying to figure out dog behavior my whole life so that's no different.
I will admit though I probably try and break down the behaviors now more then I did.
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Re: Drive verses energy
[Re: Sharon Empson ]
#395481 - 11/30/2014 11:40 PM |
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when I got into all this markers, bite work and such my poor, poor dog. I would watch a few minutes of a training video and then get the dog and do a bit of it, watch the dog then flick back to the vid, back to the dog.......
it was pathetic, dog learned marker training tho, but not in a good way.
Ed's vids are all packaged the same, when I reached for one the dog would go hide, that's marker training.
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Re: Drive verses energy
[Re: Cheri Grissom ]
#395484 - 12/01/2014 02:38 AM |
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Would it perhaps be appropriate, in the simplest terms possible, to say energy is more physical and drive is more mental?
I like it.
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Re: Drive verses energy
[Re: Sharon Empson ]
#395489 - 12/01/2014 10:21 AM |
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Drive is the desire to perform an action, and can be affected with the use of a stimulus.
Energy is the fuel needed to perform a task. A dog's energy level can determine his ability to sustain said activity. Energy is not easily affected by a stimulus.
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