Does obediance training kill drive? I read this on a forum about drives. Is this true. Should prey drive be strong before obediance training is introduced? If so, why?
What if a dog has great food drive? Is this not a great motivator for obediance training?

Jeez, I sure hope not! I have a high drive 8 mos old and he's going to be my next AKC competition obedience dog. I've been working with him since the day he came home at 8 wks and he is totally amazing. He has such an unbelieveable amount of drive and focus and he still loves training. He works happy and his tail wags the whole time.

I will say that if you don't work obedience correctly, you can definitely kill his drive, so I would say handler error can kill the drive and not the obedience. I make every effort to keep the training positive and fun for him. Also, if you take your dog to dog school and don't keep this in mind, your dog can easily die on the end of the leash from sheer boredom. There is, at least initially, a lot of slow plodding around the ring which is deadly dull for you and your dog. As most people have never worked a single day of training with their dogs by the time they start dog school, slow and plodding is about all they can handle as it's all they can do to control their dogs. Dog school gets more fun as you advance, but you still need to make a point of making it fun for your dog.

I do have my boy in dog school, but I do all of his initial training for every exercise at home where I can teach it fun. Then when I get to dog school, I can spend more time making the exercise a little harder and proofing him. I need dog school to keep me from slacking off in my training and my boy needs it for all the concentrated distractions of people and other dogs.

 Quote: elaine matthys

I will say that if you don't work obedience correctly, you can definitely kill his drive, so I would say handler error can kill the drive and not the obedience.

Ditto to this. Yes, badly done obedience can certainly kill drive in some dogs (there are some messed up techniques out there that some people call "obedience training".) I've seen it happen and it's really sad. But properly done obedience can actually foster drive in dogs, IMO.

In softer dogs, something I see is that when they go through too much control work at a young age (even motivational), it affects their bitework later. Like a dog who is outed alot will start outing anytime they're not sure what they're supposed to do. Or a dog that is so used to seeking permission from the handler from control, that he continues to seek permission during bitework at times when he shouldn't be worrying about anything but biting the decoy.

This excessive concern from the dog results in him going lower in drive because he is thinking too much about permission, especially under stressful situations.

As others have said, OB using improper methods (compulsion, etc.) can hurt drive. Motivational and inductive OB will not kill drive, but if too much is done too early it can make a dog handler sensitive or at the least handler dependent when it comes to bitework. The easiest way to work is to train both bitework foundation and beginning OB at the same time so you can see if the pup is getting inhibited, handler sensitive, or dependent. If you have not done this before with other dogs(which I hadn't) it is best to work with an experienced helper who can read the dog on the field so as to avoid issues in the future. Multiply that suggestion by ten if the dog will also be a family companion.

I just acquired a 4 year old shepherd that is breed from Chech and east german. Both parents are imports. The dog was brought to me over a year ago by the owner due to a unprevoked bite. At first glance of watching the owner handle the dog, my first impression was most if not all of the dogs problems were handler induced. The owner worked a very strict obedience regiment and showed very little praise or reward. Almost robotic like. When the owner would bring the dog to fuss and step off, if there was the slightest mistake by the dog a firm corection was given and after a couple of pops the dog would nip him on the calf. When the dog was correct-no praise was given. I worked with the dog for 3 weeks and solved those problems with balanced correction and high levels of praise. Dog and owner went home. Here we are 1 year later and I now own the dog for whatever reason. This is one of the nicer dogs that I have worked in a few years. I have found that his prey drive is almost nonexistent and I feel this is due to the improper obedience training from the previous owner. I have managed to get him to chase a kong and his intensity is improving with extreme levels of praise as a reward. I am old school and I know ideas and methods have changed over the years and I am asking for input on different things I might want to try in order to revive his prey drive. On the other hand, I have not experienced any of the bad behavior as before but then again I am not wanting him to be a robot. I let him be what he is (a dog). I don't ask for more than he is capable of giving. In return, I have given him the love he deserves and has not recieved in the past.
Any suggestions?
Sorry the post is so long.

I really like the Drive and Focus DVD along with the Preparing the Dog for the Helper DVD Leerburg has. Teaching this dog to play the game shown by Bernard Flinks in these videos will go a long way towards undoing all the crap that was done.