Modal Theory

Part One: Systems and Facets of the Modal Theory

By Iain MacDonald

Introduction

The Modal theory is a theoretical framework, which seeks to explain the extent to which canine behavior, cognition and learning are influenced by emotional status. O'Farrell, 1992, made the point that the question of what actually goes on inside the canine mind has been largely neglected as a field of scientific research. This theory puts forward the concept that the emotional reactivity causes a prioritization of environmental events/information. Such a prioritization ensures the dog treats all information with regards to relevance according to its emotional status at the time. This adaptive mechanism of information processing is vital for the survival of the dog in its natural state and is a powerful tool to be used in training the domestic canine.

This theory does not consider the intelligence of canines either specifically or in general. Scott and Fuller, 1965, concluded with regards to canine intelligence that there was no one kind of ability which could be called intelligence in dogs, as each task required specific abilities. This does not imply that dogs are not intelligent, rather it points out the difficulties of assessing such a commodity without using a human and thus unrealistic framework. This theory supports this conclusion and attempts to address the question of how stimuli is prioritized and acted upon. This emotionality must be viewed as a separate issue from intelligence of an individual or the species.

It is put forward by this theory that a dog has three main emotional modes (Social, Prey and Defense) which are of particular interest when educating a dog. It is possible that other modes do exist but their relevance to canine learning would be limited. There is considered to be a considerable correlation between canine emotionality and human emotionality, Fox 1978, particularly in the area of excessive reactivity or other maladaptive expressions of emotion. Significant human research has been used to highlight this facet especially in situations where no know canine research covers the concerned area. Difference in expression between the two species is noted and should be considered, but this doesn't take away from the fact that there is considerable similarity when species developmental requirements are taken into consideration, between the causation of maladaptive behaviors in humans and dogs.

As stated it is put forward that the emotional status of a dog has an impact on its information receiving and processing ability. In this manner it filters or priorities information with regards to the current emotional mode prior to the commencement of cognitive function. It is not suggested that cognitive function is impaired rather this filtering process enhances it. Such a process ensures that information important to the relevant emotional mode is given high priority. This process should be acknowledged and incorporated into any canine learning system, as it will allow for a greater level of communication and understanding between the canine and human counterparts.

This section seeks to explain the components of the modal system. Modes, innate drives and the thresholds are the three main components of this emotional system. All three interact with each other to act as the aforementioned filter/prioritization system. Modes are subject to the innate potential of the individual (drives) as wells as the required degree of stimulation required to engage (threshold). Further influences on these components are stimulation during critical periods of development and relevance to the dog's lifestyle.

What is a Mode?

A mode is an operational frame of mind the dog works in. This operational frame of mind will prioritize items/events in the dog's mind relevant to the mode in which the dog is currently operating. This mode is also easily described as an emotional state of mind. Interesting to note is that the term emotional as it pertains to canine literature is frequently only viewed as a negative, or at best it is only the negative over reactivity which is examined in any detail. O'Farrell 1992 mentions emotionality only in terms of describing excessive reactivity. Fox 1978 notes that emotional centers in the brain of the dog develop during the socialization phase as depicted in Scott and Fuller 1965. This is of primary importance to this theory and canine husbandry in general, but still fails to further explore the means in which emotion impacts on canine lives. Scott and Fullers work again only largely considers emotionality on a high/low reactivity basis. Fogle 1990 also primarily discusses emotionality in terms of excessive reactivity.

Emotionality studies at least in the empirical sense are primarily going to be descriptive of the reactivity. It can be measured and examined, this is also true of this theory but the fact that a dog is clearly a sentient being must never be lost. It is possible and as yet unproven, that emotionality needs to be as important to canine husbandry as feeding, morphology or temperament. Fogle 1990 comments on the fact that dogs are sentient beings that are aware of their own personality. Such a view would be a good starting point for anyone considering owning a dog and as such a good starting point for the serious exploration of emotionality in dogs. This view would also be an excellent commencement point for objective consideration of husbandry or training practices. The doctor’s adage of first do no harm should certainly be applied to breeding and training practices of domestic canines. This theory seeks to utilize the practical experience of the author to provide support to the conclusions of this theory rather than supply empirical proof. As such the proof of the theory must be considered to be subjective and open to interpretation.

It cannot be emphasized enough that it is the responsibility of breeders to ensure that all pups are raised in environments which will assist pups to attain their maximum innate potential through sufficient environmental interactions. Emotionality is vital for all sentient beings. A life devoid of emotions would be dull. Gabbard 1990 in his work treating personality disorders in humans made mention of this specific area in his description of a Narcissistic personality disorder sufferer. Gabbard described NPS sufferers as having an inability to feel (empathy), a state of numbness, an inability to comprehend what life has to offer on an emotional level. This maladaptivity also, not coincidentally, occurs as a result of developmental disturbances during crucial periods. It would be fair to compare the works of Gaddard to Fox 1971,1978 and Scott and Fuller 1965 and their work on canine developmental periods. When such a comparison is undertaken there is as yet unresearched, significant correlation between the causes of emotional disturbances in Humans and those seen in dogs. This is not to say that both species share the same psychological disorders, in some cases they do, rather it is to further point out the need to ensure that pups, as much as human children, need to be raised in an enriching environment. This area of the theory will be further expanded on later in this paper.

A mode does not lessen the cognitive abilities of the dog; rather it prioritizes the information so as to assist the cognitive functioning of the dog. Modes as pertains to this theory, are often termed as drives in dog training literature but this implies an instinctive/automatic reactionary process which fails to fully encompass the workings of the dogs mind whilst in this state. Freedman, King and Elliot 1961, Scott and Fuller 1965, Woolby 1968, Mech 1970, Fox 1971,1978, Fogle 1990, O'Farrell 1992. Dehasse 1997, Appleby 1997 and others, have consistently proven beyond doubt that most of the behaviours thought of as instinctive 50 years ago have at least a degree of learning involved in their acquisition. Such terminology (the use of the term drive to explain an action which involves cognition and or learning) also makes it very difficult to quantify between innate potential and emotional responsiveness. Vandergeten (personal Correspondence) argues that true instincts are very rare and can be best described as chains of behaviors that we do not as yet fully understand. The research mentioned above would at least in principal support this statement. All of this still fails to define the emotional reactivity of the dog.

There are three major modes the dog works in; defense, prey and social. The primary reason for all three modes of behavior is to ensure information is best utilized by the dog to continue the survival of the individual. A mode is not a feeling or an emotion itself; rather it is the frame of mind whereby the innate potential of the dog impacts on the dog's cognitive process. This is accomplished by filtering/prioritizing information gained by the senses from the dog's environment. The specific purpose of this system is to ensure that information, which is important to the dog at that specific time, is given the greatest priority. In the wild a simple example is the attraction of the dog to rapid movements of other species. If a dog is actively hunting, such movement will be given high priority. It is vital information for a dog hunting for food; it shows that game is about and in some cases obtainable. Yet for a dog, which has eaten its fill, such movement is of little importance and would tend not to elicit an active response from the dog.

In domestic canines such a system still exists and in some cases has been exaggerated by selectively breeding for dogs, which have high innate potential and low threshold responsiveness. A practical example can again be made of the rapid movement example used above. A dog which is exploring its environment will be more reactive to such movements than a dog which is secure in it own territory in the presence of a social superior, its owner. The dogs own social needs have given such movement a far lower priority, it is more important to the dog at that particular moment to remain with its leader than it is to chase a rabbit.

This is due to many exploratory behaviors being carried out in prey mode, the same mode which is involved in hunting activities. In such a mode the dog is actively looking for evidence of prey which it can successfully hunt and consume, as such this environmental information is given the highest priority. This mode can be recognized by such an environmental interaction. If the dog was engaged in defense mode for example, it would be looking for transgressors within the boundaries of its territory as such the evidence of a prey species is of little importance. If the dog was exploring in social mode it would be looking for members either specific ones or as a whole, of its own pack. Again the presence of prey species is of little concern. When the dog is interacting with a social superior, in the case of the example given, its owner, the priority is obedience or submission to that social superior to ensure its place within the social structure.

Such reactionary differences to the same stimuli are put forward as proof of the dog’s modal operation. It is true also that a dog, which is in a mode, can and will given the right circumstances switch its mode to suit a stimulus. Continuing the above example, if the dog was looking for transgressors of its territory but was hungry or bored it may well react to the rapid movement of a prey species by switching to prey mode in which it would commence to hunt. The hunting behavior would not be carried out in defense mode as such if whilst engaging in a chase for the prey species it would give a lesser priority to the scent of a transgressor or even a social superior or counterpart. This scenario is frequently seen in domestic dogs, a submissive dog may well ignore the presence/command of its owner when engaged in the chase of a prey species. This is not an expression of dominance from the dog nor is it an ability to fail to hear or comprehend any command, which has been given. Rather it is the relative priority given to environmental stimulus subject to the dog's modal state. Most dog owners would have experienced this example personally.

The ability to interpret which mode the dog is in therefore must be considered to have a significant impact on the owner's ability to educate a dog. If the owner were attempting to teach a dog to track for example it would be impossible if the dog was in defense mode. The scent the owner desired the dog to follow would only be considered important to the dog if the dog perceived such a presence to be in violation of its home territory. In which case the dog would be more likely to air scent rather than follow the ground scent, which is desired of a tracking dog. If such a scent was of the owner itself, which is common in initially teaching this exercise, the dog would give such a scent a low degree of importance with regards to other scents being detected within the environment as it has no bearing on the defense of the territory. The scent of another unfamiliar dog however would be far more attractive and would be followed.

If the dog in the above example was in social mode the handler would have to be absent for the scent to have any relevance and be given priority. Again tracking would largely be replaced by air scenting. Considering this is the most common method used to teach search and rescue dog's air scenting behaviors it should be accepted that such an approach would not be ideal when teaching a dog to track.

It is by observing the behaviors of the dog to environmental stimuli, including its owner, which gives the owner the ability to correctly interpret which mode the dog is currently operating in. The following are examples of interpreting the dog's modal status through its actions:

Stimuli	Behavior	Mode	Dog’s Perception
Ground scent Tracking	Refusal to follow; Watching owner; Showing signs of anxiety	Social	Confused, has not understood what is being asked of it
Ground scent Tracking	Following scent rapidly; excited; casting out wide; exploring	Prey	Hunting
Ground scent Tracking	Some sniffing; a lot of looking around; Frequent stopping and air scenting	Defense	Patrolling territory
Obedience Heeling	Overexcited; playful; jumping up; nipping at Handler’s hands	Prey	Eliciting a game, or thinking the social superior wants to play
Obedience Heeling	Calm, attentive, focused	Social	Acting and reacting to the desires of a social Superior
Obedience Heeling	Ignoring; compliant, but under duress; frequent mistakes during known exercises	Defense	Avoidance; fearful of superior’s reaction; not wanting to invite a demonstration of dominance by owner
Bitework; Face attack	Rapid chase; low intensity or no bite. Loss of interest when decoy stops moving	Prey	It’s a game, once the chase is over it’s no fun. Does not really comprehend threat.
Bitework; Face attack	Attacks only when decoy is near the handler; does not react to threat at a distance; reacts rapidly to call-off by handler	Social	Only perceives the threat when the pack is threatened. Unsure of its actions, looking for superior’s reaction
Bitework; Face attack	Strong bite; very aggressive; clear reaction to threat; not listening to handler	Defense	Understanding the threat and reacting to it. It’s personal.

By looking at the above list it becomes very easy to see where major communicative problems arise between dog and owner. If the owner fails to observe or understand the modal process then it is frequently seen that punishment for the dogs alleged misbehavior results. Unfortunately it is also common place for such punishment to be of a forcible nature. The reality is the dog is in the wrong mode to give the owners commands a sufficiently high enough priority for them to be acted upon.

It is important to consider at this time, although greater detail is given in the description of thresholds, it is the emotions of the dog which directly enacts the filtering/prioritization process. Each particular mode has a primary emotion, which causes a triggering of the threshold; this is how the dog can switch from one mode to another. This emotion is the primary filtering element of the prioritization. The three primary emotions are prey-hunger, Social-security and Defense-fear. All information is the dog receives via its senses is prioritized according to the emotion the entire scenario creates within the dog. If the dog feels fear, be it for itself or that it won't eat or it may lose social status it will engage, subject to the degree of intensity of the emotion and its threshold for that mode, the defense mode. From then on until one of the other primary emotions causes a change in the modal position of the dog the dog will process all information with an assigned priority according to how relevant it is to the fearful state. The innate potential of the drive is inacted and subject to how developed this drive is the dog will embark on a course of action.

Practical example of this process is a dog feeling fear of another dog. This fear may be of physical harm; it may be for invasion of territory or for many other reasons. The dog now through the prioritization caused by the fear assigns a greater degree of importance to information about the threat. The size of the dog, if it is alone or with company and other related subject have the priority, children playing nearby would have little relevance and as a result would hardly be acknowledged. The innate drive will now begin to use the information which has been filtered to assess what the best course of action is, if the dog is big and confident it may fight, if it is small it may flee or act submissive to avoid a fight. If the dog is maladaptive and has learned through previous experiences it may simply attack as soon as the fear is felt. This would be the classic case of a fear biter, but it is a learned maladaptive response, the modal system still has gone through its setup but the previous learning causes maladaptivity in the cognitive process. This dog thinks its only course of action likely to make the fear go away is to attack.

What is a drive?

Frequently mentioned in this article is the term drive, this refers to the innate reactivity potential of the dog in each of the three operational modes to specific stimuli. This does not imply that the threshold or triggering response is innate, it is a learned response but frequently high or extreme drive dogs do have a low threshold. Their desire to operate in this mode is enhanced through pleasurable experience. This innate potential can be impacted upon in critical periods of the pup's development Freeman, King and Elliot 1961, Scott and Fuller 1965, Fox1971&1978, O'Farrell 1992, Dehasse 1997 and Appleby 1997. This impact can be positive or negative. A breeder who encourages retrieval in their pups when young (early as 4 weeks based on personal experience) will tend to produce high drive dogs. Provided that a balance in reached in this building so as not to bore the dog where by the impact will be negative and the dog's innate drive will be lowered. A breeder who does not encourage such activities in the dog will tend to produce dogs of lower drive as the innate potential is eventually diminished or lost altogether, Scott and Fuller 1965.

This impact on the innate potential of the dog is again basically a survival-orientated mechanism. If the dog has inborn potential but this is not encouraged by its environment it will tend to be lost or impeded as the drive is not required, or at least not in its upper levels for the dogs survival, Scott and Fuller 1965. This is the natural adaptively of the dog coming into play. Interesting to note is that Fogle 1990 comments on early Swedish research pointing to the fact that high prey drives or at least a high retrieval drive was indicative of a highly trainable dog. This is supported by this theory as well except it is not the fact that a dog has a high drive which makes it a trainable dog per say, rather it is the ease in which the dog can be rewarded without confusion is seen as the contributing factor. Either way highly driven dogs are certainly more easily trained than less driven counterparts, provided the handler skills are sufficient to maintain control by switching the dog to the most appropriate mode.

It has to be noted that within each mode there are a series of drives. There is not a single prey drive or social drive or even defense drive. This is one of the reasons why the author has difficulty with the terminology of a lot of the dog training literature. Each mode has a number of drives, which are directly related to that particular mode. In prey mode for example, the dog's innate potential to chase, scent, gain possession, etc can and should be all considered being drives. If a dog is considered to have a high prey drive this should be interpreted that the dog's innate potential, its desire to operate in this mode, is high. That is to say that all the innate drives which are in acted in prey mode should be considered to be high. It is also seen that within a mode particular drives are higher than others are, a dog may enjoy chasing an object but has a low potential to possess it. This particular situation demonstrates a dog, which has an unbalanced modal position. Such a situation is largely the result of environmental factors; the dog has been encouraged to chase but not to possess. This can be intentional as many breeders of the working breeds are fearful of increasing the innate potential for dominance in their dog, O'Farrell 1992, or it can be unintentional, the dog was exposed to stimuli which encouraged the chase but never got the opportunity to actually capture and possess. This refining of the innate potential of the dog is what is meant by building up the dogs drives. Training refines the dog's reaction, its ability to engage the drives effectively; the dog used its cognitive powers to refine the process based on previous learning.

Examples of drives contained within the modes are: (incomplete list)

SOCIAL	PREY	DEFENSE
Attachment	Chase	Combativeness
Dominance	Possession	Aggression
Independence	Scenting	Protectiveness

In the case given above of a dog having a strong desire to chase but little or no desire to possess the dog which has been taught not to possess expresses its refinement by suppressing the innate potential. The dog which has no experience in possession has no comprehension of what it is to do, no previous experience to assist it in the cognitive process, it becomes confused and does not possess, the refinement is to again suppress the innate potential. In practical terms such states of confusion often result in a dog which displays the anxious state by engaging in high interaction activities such as jumping up on the handler. This is a displacement activity as the dog's motivation to please is high but it has no outlet for excitement it feels. Experienced trainers see such displays as a sign of over motivation and under concentration. Motivation needs to be lowered and concentration on the desired task increased.

As stated high drives can be very desirable in a training sense. Indicators of high drives are as follows: prey mode: retrieval, chasing, possessiveness, etc. Social mode: strong bonding, separation anxiety, etc. Defense mode: aggression, high reactivity to threatening stimuli, protectiveness, etc. It should also be noted that whilst most working competitions now are consistently won by dogs which have drives which can be described as extreme and such drives are highly desirable in top level sport and working dogs, such dogs would not make good family pets. There is a fine line between extreme drives and neurotic behaviors and as such an extremely driven dog which does not have outlets for its innate drives can easily become neurotic. Extremely driven dogs have almost a pathological need to work in that mode; i.e. a fanatical retriever that will physically attack a wall to get a toy is an example. This dog would not make a good pet and most breeders would consider it has poor temperament. This is not the case, the dog has an extreme drive and needs to work in this particular mode, training can modify it but such a dog is exactly what the Customs service considers to be a good candidate. A detection dog must operate at this extreme level or it will be less effective. This dog is quite stable when given an outlet for its innate needs; in fact it is a willing worker, which is capable of cognitive processes while working far beyond those of less driven dogs. Neurotic behaviors will occur as its innate potential is ignored and other environmental factors attempt to over modify the animals behavior causing the dog to internalize its need for outlet in the particular mode.

In the case of mature dogs drives which have appeared to be non-existent can be built on but at no time will the mature dog ever regain the maximum potential it had as a pup if it is not encouraged through its critical periods. We can teach a dog to fetch but we cannot make an extremely driven dog from him if he wasn't born that way and had a stimulating environment, Scott and Fuller 1965. This is again achieved through a refinement of the dog's own application of the drives. The mature dog is shown engaging its innate potential is desired, thus it learns to apply this experience to utilize the suppressed drives in a productive manner. Again this refinement is achieved through the cognitive process. Research has proven beyond any doubt that these innate drives are impacted on during the developmental periods and it is this enhancement which is lost forever when working with a mature dog. By the time the dog has matured development is complete and apart from building on the cognitive processes we have lost the ability to enhance the potential it was born with.

The handler’s ability also plays a considerable role, if the handler is able to provide support for the less driven dog prior to the dog losing motivation the dog can be carried along to perform at levels which are actually higher than its innate potential. Such environmental factors make it very difficult to describe drives with any degree of accuracy and makes assessment that much more difficult. To the experienced person the difference is quite easily established by watching the interaction of the dog and the handler. This building up of the dog and obtaining performance above its innate potential can be viewed as one of the reasons why many dogs which have performed well in trials with an excellent handler have not produced offspring capable of competing at the same level. The innate potential is simply not there; it was handler skill, which facilitated the dog's performance. This of course does not breed on.

Drives should not ever be seen as a negative part of a dog but should definitely be considered when choosing a dog. Most people are unable to successfully handle an extremely driven dog without significant professional assistance. This would be the major reason why world class working kennels are very particular where their pups are being homed. In the wrong hands their world class dog becomes a public nuisance. In this example the fault lies not with the dog but with the handler’s failure to: a/ be able to handle the dog, b/ choose a dog which suits his or her own needs and abilities. A versatile dog will not necessarily be extremely driven; in fact extreme drive if not backed by excellent handling skills and a balanced training program will frequently work against the dog. A highly driven but balanced dog should be the aim of all kennels apart from those, which specifically specialize in producing dogs, designed to work in specialized areas.

As stated drives within each mode need to be balance to obtain good performances. It is also true that the degree of balance will be relative to the desired activity. With a tracking dog we want a prey mode which is well developed, the dog is motivated to follow the scent and has excellent scenting abilities which have been refined through training. We don't however want a dog, which will try to possess any article left on the track; we require the dog to signal the find but not to possess. This scenario clearly demonstrates the dog's ability to refine its engagement of drives within a mode to suit the situation. The dog is in prey mode and remains in prey mode throughout the entire track but it has learned that articles left behind are not to be possessed so its desire to possess is temporarily suppressed to facilitate the performance. The tracking dog has also learnt to focus on a particular scent; all other scents are discounted as unimportant, environmental influences other than scent which normally would be acted upon when in prey mode are also suppressed such as a fleeing rabbit. This clearly shows the dogs ability to use its cognitive process to manipulate its own innate potential to achieve a desired result.

This situation however should not be seen as one in which the creating of unbalanced dogs is desirable. A specialist dog which is required to perform only a single function will frequently show imbalance in its innate drives, a specialist tracking dog who's only function is to track will be unbalanced. A dog which not only competes in tracking at the highest level but also is involved in other activities is not unbalanced rather it has used its cognitive process to suppress the in acting of certain drives to achieve a result. Police dogs would be an example of this, they are required to track but also be obedient retrieve if commanded to and engage in bitework. All of which will have at least a degree of utilization of the prey mode.

A person seeking to have a versatile dog must then consider that the dog will be best served by its innate potential if these drives are brought into balance. As stated such work needs to be carried out in the development period of the dog. This subject is covered in greater detain in section three. Fox 1978, also covers the subject that certain stimulus can impact on more than one drive and under this theory more than one mode. This is believed to provide further proof of the dog's ability to cognitively suppress innate drives to achieve a desired result. It also add further weight to the concept that dog training needs to be clearly communicated and that failure of an exercise is frequently resultant on the handlers ability to remain unambiguous, whereby the dog is in no doubt about what is actually required of it.

Drives are not some mystic undetectable force which only good dogs have. Each and every dog is born with a set of drives, which by virtue of their genetics will have certain values for each drive. This situation is then further complicated as the dog's environment through the developmental period's impact on the refinement and even the practicality of the innate potential of the individual concerned. The dog uses this period and events in its adult life to further refine the reactivity of this innate potential. Very good performing dogs are the ones which have been born with well developed drives, have had the drives enhanced and brought into balance through a stimulating environment and have learned through experience to make the best possible use of this innate potential through refinement of their inaction using the cognitive process. This is how a dog should be evaluated with respect to its drives as opposed to the frequently stated position where by the dog is controlled by its drives. Such a position fails to acknowledge the dog's adaptability and the power of its cognitive process. If this situation was true, which is not a position supported by any research to date, breeding versatile dogs would be reasonably simple as you would look for lines which possessed and produced high drives. History has shown in addition to the research works noted that this is simply not the case.

What is a Modal Threshold?

A modal threshold is the level of stimulation required by the dog to switch into the most appropriate mode, emotive state, so as to best react to the current situation and to trigger the appropriate innate drives. These thresholds or triggers are always self regulated. As trainers we cannot externally force a dog to adopt a particular threshold to suit our needs. Fox 1978, suggests that the degree with which thresholds are impacted upon, i.e. raised or lowered is due to motivation. This would be supported by this theory, but it would be suggested that such motivation is an emotional response, which is directly effecting the in acting of the innate drives of the dog. To illustrate this it would be said that the higher the innate potential of the individual the higher the motivational response to stimuli effecting such a drive would be. The conditioning of the dog to raise its own level of threshold is achieved by encouraging the dog to remain in the mode we require and rewarding the dog when it has by allowing it to switch to prey mode and engage in prey play. Prey play is used most frequently, as it is an easily recognizable form of positive reinforcement, which facilitates the handler's pleasure in the dog's actions in a manner that the dog readily recognizes. In short through conditioning by with holding of the appropriate reward, we can teach the dog to regulate its own threshold to suit our needs.

Various training exercises require various thresholds; Obedience requires the dog to have a higher threshold for prey as even though it is through this area we will eventually rewards the dog. The dog will only be rewarded by raising his threshold to prey and remaining in social so as to facilitate our control. This brings up the issue of when training with the more experienced dog we are actually rewarding the dog for the prolonged period of concentration rather than a particular exercise. This is important to note as it is commonly referred to as the dog being able to focus. When people discuss that food rewards should not be used in training it is this same scenario they are actually discussing. Constant rewarding of the exercise no matter what the reward is not desirable. It is however probably more noticeable in the training with food.

The dog is used to attaining a food reward and as per operant conditioning if the reward is constantly applied each and every time the exercise is attempted the learning is impaired. Constantly rewarding to initially teach an exercise and then rewarding intermittently there after facilitates the greatest learning. It is this process that is referred to by rewarding the concentration not the act. The dog must remain focused on the handler or the task at hand until such time as the handler directs otherwise. This is achieved by raising the thresholds of the undesired modes to the point where by very specific stimulation is required to engage the threshold of another mode.

In nosework we require a low prey threshold (we want the dog to switch to prey mode rapidly) but in obedience we require a far higher threshold to maintain control during heeling (we want the dog to resist the switch to prey until it has completed exactly what it is we want). In bite work we require different thresholds for different exercises, guarding an object requires a far higher threshold (resist the trigger) of defense than a face attack does (rapidly trigger). All of this is attained through the use of prey play as the basic reward for the dog. It should also be noted that some dogs have very low prey drives and as such prey play is not a truly desired behavior for that individual. The experiences with this system has proven that play activity is still a suitable reward which although slower to impact on the dogs training does indeed still retain the same beneficial effects.

Thresholds are activated or triggered at the emotional level of the dog. Each of the three modes has a particular emotive state that will immediately switch the dog over to the most appropriate mode for the current situation. These emotional states and their triggering emotions are: defense - fear, social - security, prey - excitement. Of particular importance when assessing the integrity of this information is to understand that with regards to prey, during the domestication process we have altered the dog significantly from its wild ancestors by encouraging and selectively breeding for individuals which retain many infantile behaviors through out their life span, Fogle 1990. This has significantly impacted upon the dog in the prey mode, as such instead of the true emotive response of hunger a state of excitement/playfulness is now the trigger. This statement would support the observations of social type play still having a beneficial effect on dogs with low prey drives.

This alteration through domestication is understandable when a person realizes that it is largely through the medium of play that a wild dog learns its hunting, social and defense skills such behaviors are not as once thought, totally instinctive, Fox 1978. It would then stand to reason that if we have retained the infantile state to a large degree that the dog which has no real needs to hunt its own food would retain the infantile trigger for such play behavior through out its life. It is also fair to say that dogs with extreme drives in the prey area will tend also to be triggered by the more traditional hunting triggers. This can lead to owners having greater degrees of difficulty in controlling such extreme drive dogs and is why such dogs should not really be considered good candidate for family pets.

Control can be difficult for some owners to attain primarily through the inability to engage the social threshold. This may be due to a number of different factors including the owner’s dominance, the heightened state the dog is in, the strength of the dog’s innate drives, etc. The control can and will only be attained if the dog can be switched back into social mode. Many dominant people who have high drive dogs fail to gain control because the dog is unbalanced in its drives and has particularly low thresholds for its strongest innate potential. Hunting dogs would be good examples; their prey mode is particularly strong due to the high degree of the innate potential this mode covers. They operate in this mode frequently and really enjoy their work. In this mode the desires of the superior are not given the highest priority as a result actively following game either by scent or sight is far more relevant to the dog. To this end once on the trail of a game species these dogs are very hard to control if at large.

If the dog is to be worked in heightened states frequently, such as a Police or security dog, they must be taught to refine the thresholds of their modes early in life. This is again achieved using the play process. This is also an area of considerable debate, which to the author is not warranted. O'Farrell 1992, is very specific about not engaging the dog in high stimulus prey and never encouraging aggression in the form of possession. This can be considered to be playing it safe and as a result people who have purchased either intentionally or not high drive dogs will begin to have problems. If the dog has high drives and if the dog is going to be worked frequently in a heightened state of arousal, the refinement of the social trigger must take place when young and in a stress free manner. This is facilitated by play.

This use of play to refine the switch back to social to gain control when a dog is young also negates the need for stronger corrections on dogs when older and engaged in bite work. Too frequently trainers can advocate a building of the defense drives of the young dog and all the time stressing that control exercises will limit the dogs potential if taught too young, this has no basis in fact to support it. In fact it should be considered that rather than acknowledging the social superiority of the handler dogs trained in this manner are really only expressing avoidance and as such can remain in defense mode which results in a potentially dangerous situation. If the dog while young is engaged in tug of war games with its owner we have the ability to switch the dog back into social quite quickly as long as we are remaining in control of the game. This is the key to success as we are able to clearly demonstrate that if the dog is not willing to play by our rules this really fun game will stop. One of the keys to this is to not allow the dog to play with the training toy at anytime the handler is not present and actually actively involved in the game.

If the dog is given free access to the toy it can invent its own games and thus begin to exclude the handler from its play/learning. This does not mean that the dogs cannot have toys left with them but the handler should not engage the dog in play with these toys. A single highly desirable play toy is used for the handler dog play times, it is special to the dog and the very sight of it means that the handler wants to play with the dog. If we bring this back to human terms it is like a child knowing what the box of chocolates in Dads hand is or the wrapped p [resent on a birthday. It becomes such a source of enjoyment to the dog that it is very difficult to understand why the common approach is to avoid this positive interaction because it is feared it will be miss handled by some owners. The better answer has to be better education of the dog's owner in the way that such games need to be played.

Summary of Part One

A mode is an emotional state of mind, which prioritizes environmental information received through the senses. This prioritization is to ensure that only information which is relative to the subjects current emotional state is given greatest importance and hence the innate drives associated with the emotional state are given the ability to rapidly react to such information. The dog can switch from one mode to another, this is achieve through the in acting of thresholds which are described as the level of external stimulation required to engage a particular mode and the innate potential within that mode of the individual concerned. The threshold stimulation required to engage a mode is self-governed by the dog and can vary subject to the dogs innate drive potential as well as the dogs motivation.

It is through this threshold manipulation that we as trainers achieve the prolonged concentration and rapid response to control we desire. We cannot preset a dog’s threshold, it must be taught using positive reinforcement to self regulate the various thresholds to achieve the balance we desire for the various exercises it will be taught.

A dog's innate potential can and is effected by its early environmental interactions particularly through the critical periods of 3-14 weeks. Every effort must be made by breeders to provide a stimulating environment for the pups so as to fully develop their innate potential. Drives not sufficiently utilized will become impaired if this environmental work is not carried out. Whilst genetics plays a significant role in the potential of any dog, it is now recognized that without sufficient stimulation from the environment breeders are wasting their time trying to improve the versatility of their dogs.

One of the major reasons the owner of a dog is unable to maintain control over the dog when at large is due to not being able to recognize which mode the dog is operating in and the inability to switch that dog to the social mode. The dog’s behaviors and reactions whilst training give the handler evidence as to which mode they are currently in. Dog actions and behaviors also give the handler indications of the level of a particular threshold. It is through interpretation of these behaviors and the implementation of succinct training practices that a handler will achieve a greater level of communication with the dog and thus facilitate a better environment in which learning can be accomplished.

The modes, drives and thresholds all work together as a survival mechanism for the dog. It is a very natural process, which has great similarity to the human emotional responses. As such it also has the ability to express itself in dysfunctional and maladaptive ways. There is significant evidence that dogs are disposed to many of the human emotional disorders. For this reason all handlers should seek to obtain a balance in the innate drives of their dogs and to refine the threshold s of the various modes to ensure that the correct level of stimulation will engage the mode best suited to whatever task is asked of the dog. It is theorized that this inability to interpret the dog's emotive state is a significant reason why many people have difficulty handling dogs when attempting to achieve the higher levels of training and is a significant cause of emotional disturbances in domestic dogs.

Copyright 2001 Iain MacDonald, rrenroc@bigpond.com.au. All rights reserved. THIS MATERIAL IS SUBJECT TO COPYRIGHT. No portion of this material can be copied in any form without the written express permission from the author.

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