Highest drive?

in you opinion which type of dog has the highest drive

as in

breed
lines
gender
work, etc

just wondering as i thought this might be an interesting post

In my opinion it would be a belgian malinois, male from working police/army lines, i dont no any kennels so i cant mention one.

thats just what i would say if i was asked out right, i dont no much about many other breeds though so i would be interested to see what everyone else thinks lol

Either a working line Malinois or a game line Pit (not those stupid over sized blocky headed ones that "tough guys" breed for bucks, but true agile ones)

Depends on the kind of drive you're talking about. For example, Zeus doesn't really care about toys or treats that much. But show him a raccoon or rabbit at your own peril. He almost dove off the side of a 15-20 foot bridge in an attempt to get at a raccoon he saw beneath us.

I think B/C's have the highest in terms of herding. Pits have a very high drive in terms of sheer stubborn tenacity. But aside from that, I dunno.

Belgians, for sure.

I agree it depends on what drive your looking for. But in general, I would also say a working line malinois , tho I know males are used more than females, which I've never understood why, I personally think a female can outdo a male anyday. I like watching the czech lined dogs.
Diane

I agree it depends on the situation and I think sex is immaterial:

Herding - BC or Kelpie
Sledding - Alaskan Husky (yes, Alaskan)
Sporting - Vizsla or field bred English Setter
Hound - Treeing Walker for Scent and Greyhound for Sight
Terrier - APBT (for large game) or Patterdale (for vermin)
Patrol - Malinois

And I have to plug my own breed here too: Guide work - Smooth Collie. To see them step into the harness and take over gives me goosebumps!

For all around/multi-purpose drive I will have to go with a Fila from working/farm lines. I've never seen anything like them in all my life. They focus and that's that . . . and it's not like there's much that can get between them and what they have in mind to do except for their human's wishes. And it's pure instinct.

As far as chase/hunt drive goes, I would have to go with a working-bred Greyhound. It's amazing to watch these dogs on the hunt.

As far as working drive and focus goes, I haven't met a breed that could equal the Belgian Malinois and the Border Collie.

Best hunting dog I ever met was a field-bred Lab.

As soon as I saw this title I thought Malinois. Of all the dogs I've met, I've never seen one breed that was more uniformly high drive than these guys. Impressive animals.

My local police department has switched from GSDs to Malinois.

I see mals listed here a lot, but I think a lot of people get confused or mislead by their very outward hectic energy. Yes they have drive, lots of it, as a breed more not necessarily more so than good working line GSD's, well that's very debateable. I"ve seen more than just a couple high drive mals, that give up consistently on tracks. Drive is a funny thing, its not always the "energy" you see, there's a lot more to it than that. And there is far more to a dogs drives, than prey drive.

Police are switching from GSD's to mals mainly because of cost, a few thousand dollars or a thousand dollars, for a dept on a budget its a no brainer.

When it comes to running, Huskies I think definatly have it. They also have a very strong prey drive, but I dont think its the highest. I dont know, I could be wrong. Aurora killed 6 cats in about 30 seconds. It was horrible, run, catch one, snap its neck, fling it, move on the next one. Most horrible thing I ever saw. I read on a site once that said "They chase almost everything that runs. They catch whatever they chase. They kill almost everything they catch."

Yes, because Belgians (Mals definately) are hyper people assume that they are higher drive than a laid-back GSD. A well bred GSD has incredible prey drive, tracking drive, defense drive and later fight drive ect. I love that about GSD. They are laid back but when its time to work they are on it. They are more predictable IMO, and stable.

Also police and military use Mals more because they are nore "portable" and dont take as much room as a 90lb GSD. Its all for convenience and not necessarily working ability.

What I've read about the difference between Mals and GSD's is that the GSD can come into high drive faster, and come out of it faster. Once the Mal is in high drive they are supposedly hard to get calmed down which is why you see a lot of handler bites and things of that nature.

Very true!!! That makes a more stable dog.

i agree with what whatzmatter is saying - theres a difference between hectic frantic energy and drive - ive seen some BCs, aussies and mals that are INCREDIBLY energetic - they bounce off walls, they want to GO GO GO GO but they also have no ability to focus, they lose interest in things quickly, and they simply lack that DRIVE to work - in which case, all the energy in the world is not going to make up for an inherent lack of drive.

Herding: I feel that ACD's are a very drivey breed & completely dedicated to their job. Border Collies have the eye and have great drive as well, but as a breed, I have met many more ACD's that will herd anything all day long and are very versatile with what they can work. I actually cannot think of one ACD that I know that doesn't exhibit strong herding behaviors on most moving objects. Of course, I l o v e Border Collies, and watching them work is incredible - but for intense herding drive, I would definitely pick ACD's.

Sledding: Sibes are extremely prey-driven and an amazing sledding breed, for sure. But there are lots of mixed breeds (Alaskan Huskies) that are so nicely bred by experienced mushers.

Patrol: I think all of the Belgians are way under-rated. GSD's are awesome dogs, when well bred. But, I have seen working Belgians that a GSD could not touch.

Sporting/Hunting: Definitely field-bred Labs, they live for it, and are so versatile. I have also seen some amazing GSP's work.

Terriers: A well-bred JRT has crazy drive! They will follow a rodent, or a lure, anywhere!

Sighthounds: Greyhounds, for sure! It is amazing to watch them run, and I don't know of any Greys that can be trusted off-leash... if something catches their eye, they're gone.

I'm uneasy with the word 'drive' because to me, it seems as if it's become a catchall word, used to mean 'positive thing I can use to explain away all my dog's less appealing behaviors' Somewhat like the pit people tend to use 'game.' To me, a dog isn't game just because it can't be turned off killing. And drive should mean something more than a dog having a low arousal point when confronted with their ancestral birthright. Both terms are dog story terms - the pit bull that bests a more formidable opponent, the hunting dog that won't be called off a point. And both essentially mean the dog has honor, power, heart.

In terms of dogs with prey drive - I'd say the terriers win hands down. In terms of that mythic, storied 'drive' that makes a dog legendary, I'd say no breed has a lock on that.

I guess it depends on what you consider appealing or less appealing behaviors. In a GSD, drives such as defense or prey are desirable. It's not a buzzword given to justify a behavior that is inherent to the breed. Just because that type of drive might be unappealing to someone whose only experience with dogs is their lap dog doesn't make it wrong.

Drive doesn't mean a low arousal point. Sometimes a dog can be very high drive but it takes a lot to get the dog to the point where it displays those characteristics.

Drive and threshold are two different things, very true.