Beyond The Basics | Bond | What Motivates Different Dog Breeds?
Ever wondered how dog breeds differ, or what might be behind your dog’s behaviour? Learning about what motivates the different dog breeds means we better understand them and this gives us an advantage when it comes to dog training. For centuries, dogs have been bred by humans to perform specialist jobs for us. These – with the exception of most toy breeds – adapt from the dog’s natural predatory chase drive.
Natural Chase Behaviour
When hunting, the dog’s natural chase behaviour can be split down into a progression of sections:
- Tracking. This involves using scent on the ground to find where prey has previously been.
- Searching. At this stage, the dog may switch to air scenting to aid them in locating prey; this can only happen when he draws close to the prey animal.
- Seeing. At this stage, the dog will visually locate the prey animal.
- Stalking. The dog will lower himself as close to the ground as possible, using the environment to get as close as possible without alerting the prey animal to his presence.
- Chasing. Usually at this point, the prey animal has seen the dog and begun to run. The chase may be extremely fast and over quickly, or it can be a battle of stamina designed to wear the prey animal down.
- Grab. The first bite may not be a ‘kill’ bite, just one to slow the prey animal down. For small prey animals, the dog will go for the back of the neck. For larger prey, the dog will aim for a hamstring or thigh muscle.
- Kill-bite. Again this can vary depending on the prey animal; smaller animals are picked up and shaken, whereas larger animals can be brought down with bites to the neck area.
- Disruption. The thick outer skin is torn through.
- Feeding. With the innards exposed, the dog can finally eat.
Humans have been able to selectively breed dogs to make the best use of the first seven stages of the dog’s natural hunt pattern for our own benefit.
Dog Breed Groups
In the UK, all dog breeds are separated into one of seven groups:
- Gundogs – which includes Spaniels, Retrievers, Pointers and Setters.
- Hounds – which includes Sight hounds (greyhounds, Whippets, etc) and Scent hounds (Bassets, Beagles, Bloodhounds, etc)
- Pastoral – these are the herding and flock or herd guarding dogs, including a variety of Shepherds and Collies.
- Terrier – these usually small dogs are bred to hunt vermin above and below ground.
- Toy – bred as companion dogs, toy breeds are also categorised by their small stature.
- Utility – this group of dogs have all been bred for various purposes,which do not fit into other categories. They include Bulldogs, Dalmatians, Akitas and Poodles.
- Working – these dogs are bred mainly for guarding purposes or search and rescue. The group includes Mastiffs, Huskies and Boxers to name a few.
If you are unsure which category your dog falls into, the breed standards are available on The Kennel Club website which will detail the group.
Gundogs
The gundog breeds have been bred to focus primarily on the first 6 stages of the hunt sequence; even within the group, there is different emphasis on different stages. For example, spaniels have been bred more for the ‘TRACKING’ and ‘SEARCH’ functions, which is why they adore using their nose to hunt for quarry. Retrievers have more of an emphasis on the ‘CHASING’ and ‘GRAB’ stages, which is why they are so keen to run out after and pick up items. The pointers etc (termed HPR breeds – ‘Hunt, Point, Retrieve’) have specialist skills from all 6 of the early stages. All gundog breeds are bred to be cooperative with their handler and tend to thrive on teamwork with the humans in their life.
With this in mind, these dog breeds are generally strongly motivated by retrieve type games, particularly when they have to hunt using their nose to locate a hidden article. Pure scent and tracking games are also fantastic ways to motivate your gundog. Recent research has also discovered a ‘greedy’ gene present in Retrievers (mostly Labradors), which predispose them to being highly motivated by food.
Hounds
The hound group is split into Scent and Sight hounds. They are easily distinguishable by their different body types; Sight hounds tend to be slight and lean, built for speedy pursuits of prey animals. These hounds thrive on ‘SEE’, ‘STALK’ and ‘CHASE’ elements of the hunt pattern. Games where they can chase – such as fast and thrilling games of fetch – tend to be their main motivators.
Scent hounds on the other hand are generally stockier and more sedate, with large noises, which are designed to help ‘scoop’ the scent towards their powerful noses of factory systems. These hounds specialise in ‘TRACK’ and ‘SEARCH’; any games where these hounds can use their nose are wonderful ways to mentally stimulate them. As a general rule, these hounds also tend to be more food motivated than their Sight counterparts!
Pastoral
The pastoral group can again be split into two sub-groups. One group is mainly concerned with herding, whilst the other are flock or herd guardians. The herding sub-group make most use of ‘SEE’, ‘STALK’ and ‘CHASE’; herding dogs are keenly alert to small movements made by the flock/herd, which are ‘unusual’, such as a sheep being too far out of the flock. They then use stalking and chasing skills to manoeuvre the stray animal back into formation. Herding dogs are commonly motivated by retrieve type games as the visual stimulus of watching a thrown article stimulates their instinct. Some of these dogs relish working closely with their human, whereas others have been bred to work more independently.
For flock guardians, again they rely on ‘SEE’, ‘STALK’ and ‘CHASE’, but also utilise ‘GRAB’ when necessary against other predators – such as foxes or other wild dogs who may be seeking to take advantage of weak members of the flock. As a result, flock guardians also frequently thoroughly enjoy games of tug. However, these dogs are bred to work quite independently of humans so really needs lots of early influence from any people in their lives to ensure a better partnership.
Terriers
Bred almost exclusively for the ‘GRAB’ and ‘KILL SHAKE BITE’, a terrier’s biggest motivation is generally tugging type games. Many also enjoy retrieve type games, although some can be quite keen to destroy a toy before returning it to their handler. A huge motivator for many terriers are squeaky toys – these types of toys are designed to mimic the sound of an animal in distress, which can really rev up a terrier!
Toy
Uniquely amongst dogs, the toy breeds are generally not bred for any part of the hunt pattern. Instead, they are selectively bred purely for companionship for their humans. Their biggest motivator tends to be affection; many can be quite fussy eaters, although they can and should be encouraged and taught to enjoy a variety of games with appropriately sized toys.
Utility
Due to the varied nature of the dog breeds within the utility group, this grouping has a wide variety of motivations. In order to best understand the motivation of your utility breed, it is wise to research the history of the breed and its original use for clues on the best motivation for him / her.
Working
Working dog breeds can be split into the guarding breeds and the search and rescue breeds. The main areas guarding breeds use are ‘SEE’, ‘STALK’, ‘CHASE’ and ‘GRAB’. Guarding breeds are usually well motivated by games in general, but particularly tug games – these are used to teach guarding and protection dogs to bite and restrain an intruder effectively, as well as a way to increase jaw strength.
The search and rescue breeds rely mainly on ‘TRACK’, ‘SEARCH’ and ‘SEE’ in order to locate missing people. Scenting and tracking games are fantastic ways to keep your search and rescue breed mentally stimulated! He should generally be well motivated by both tug and fetch games.
All Dog Breeds
Despite your dog’s breeding – whether he is a pedigree or a crossbreed – it is important to remember that all dogs are individuals. Some will behave typically of their breed, or may not resemble the behaviour description of their breeding at all! Your dogs early experiences and what he is taught by YOU can seriously alter the way he behaves and to some extent what he is motivated by. We strongly recommend that you encourage your dog – regardless of his breed – to value all motivators from the humans in his life, i.e: affection, food or varying types and amounts, games of tug and fetch, and permissions from you to do some things he wants, like great / play with other dogs, hunt, swim, etc.
Control all of these, you then have the tools to motivate and have greater influence over your dog!