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RealityDreamer Prey Drive Reply :

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Arrggghh! I think the pc has a grudge against me. After typing a reply,the pc freezes up on me..for the past 3 times! I have tried numerous times but have given up...I hope this works.

Anyway,thanks dogcom for the welcome. I'm not I'd be able to do that as there are resident experts & I'm just a newbie

I think there's been a misunderstanding..Prey drive is a dogs natural deisre to chase & capture prey. Nerves is the dogs ability to recover from a stressful situation. For example,a firecraker is popping. A weak nerved dog would run for cover. A solid/strong nerved dog on the other hand might actually get excited & want to play with it. The 2 are very different. A dog can be weak nerved (a spook dog) but with immense prey drive or vice versa. One of my dogs has a high prey drive but runs to the back of the hse when it's Chinese New Year.Another dog of mine loves chasing rags ,balls,flies,frog(u get the picture) & loves the sound of the whip cracking.
Prey drive cannot be used to determine a dog's nerves & nerves cannot be used to describe a dog's prey drive.

I think if ppl knew what solid/strong nerved meant,everyone would want a dog with rock solid nerves. You are right though that not everyone wants a hard dog or one with a high prey drive.

I think the confusion starts because they are so closely related. If a dog chases something,that's prey drive. "Chases something" is also how a dog plays.

A high prey drive dog does not mean he is aggressive. It just mean that he likes to chase & chase & chase till the cows come home.lol.Even then,I don't think he'd mind if u wanted to play a game of fetch with him. I just recently met another high prey drive competition SchH 3 dog who allows anyone to handle her new born pups.

I am not sure if I understood your question.
Prey drive can be seen during the protection & obedience phase of Schutzhund. The faster & more upbeat the routine is,the higher prey drive the dog has. Of course the trainer's skills has to be taken into account but let's just say tht they're all great trainers.
And yes..I do test prey drive from time to time..be it for SchH or not..

RealityDreamer

P.S. I am not sure if this will work..if it does,pls post this on the board so the others can read as well. Thanks