August 26, 2024 at 3:00am
Hello there, this post is from a while ago, so I'd be interested to hear your views now afew years later. Looking at this topic, I think that "Food Drive" could almost fall into prey drive, but at a lower level because the visual aspect of the prey (something furry running around and in motion away from the dog) does not exist. Rather the "prey" in this case is attached to their handler's hand who is a member of the pack and this could cause some internal conflict turning down the behaviours associated with prey drive. On a fundamental level the combination of prey drive fulfillment through food reward and the presence of the handler develops the understanding in the dog that "this thing gives me food and I dont have to chase it, but i need to (insert any command) to gain access". Thinking this way, the dog could be seen as fulfilling the prey drive to chase and gain possession of a food without actually doing so, but receiving it from a member of the pack in return for the fulfillment of a certain task (that the dog needs to be slowly taught). Thus we have something that resembles "Food Drive" that again could be seen as a subcategory of conflicted prey/pack drive being fulfilled by following through with obedience or some other desired behaviour.
That do you think?