The bit in bold describes Flynn perfectly. I do a bit of obedience and trick training on the park quite often. I can guarantee that the collies will wait until it is their turn. I tend to put them all in a down stay, call each out by name, do a bit of training, put them back and call the next one etc. Flynn has such a strong desire to simply be doing something that he finds it difficult to wait and I have to be so careful of what I say and my body language because he'll take the subtlest of cues. I deliberately leave him until last, just to try and teach him some patience. When we go to gundog classes I have to distract him by throwing treats on the ground when we are waiting because he'll lunge when other dogs are sent for a retrieve - he just wants to fetch every single one. It's fantastic to own a dog that wants to give 110% to anything you throw at it but they are very difficult to manage with regards to trying to keep their enthusiasm at a decent level!

Jessie likes doing things and gets excited when I get treats, clicker and toys out and it's plain to see how much she enjoys getting things right and being praised, but she is very happy to wait her turn calmly and patiently. Jed on the other hand is very difficult to wind up and does everything in 'go slow' mode.

My own definition of a high drive, in dogs, is if they have a high prey drive - they want nothing else than find that game. In that respect, all of mine are high drive dogs, apart from Sid but we are still learning about each other so we shall see.

I need to be firmer with some of them, and less firm with others, likewise, I have to handle some, more than others. I change my training depending on what dog I am training. I wouldn't definine that as a high drive dog. I have to be firmer with Sid but I think that's how he has been trained and does not respond to a quietly spoken word like some of the others.

Helen

I agree. My GSP is totally focused on his "work", which is in his case finding his toy from where ever I have hidden/thrown it. He will keep going until he's found it however long that takes, and will get very grumpy if another dog barges up to him whilst he is searching. I dont know how long it would take for him to get bored with searching for things because i've never managed to keep going for that long! I have inadvertently let him overheat before and when I put the ball away he collapsed.....but dragged himself to his feet when he thought I was putting my hand back into my ball pocket.

He is easy to train provided he thinks what you are doing is relevant to him. If you tried to do something a bit abstract with him he makes it very hard work or as he did at WT classes, lies down and snores loudly whilst he's waiting for his turn. He can't stand pure obedience in a class environment and makes his feelings about it very clear. When we are out he is very well behaved with a guaranteed recall, because he is constantly waiting for his "work" to start so very focused on me.

I had a GSP before who had much more normal drive levels, as she came from generations of dogs bred for pet homes.

i feel i had the absolute opposite's in max and jeager.
max was very high drive. when i first rescued him, he would just pull and charge at anything that moved... cars, bikes,dogs, cats, hedgehogs!!, just anything that moved. i could only walk him for around 20 minutes, before i had to tie him to a lamp post or tree, just to take a break.he would be on the go all of the time. he wasn't aggressive, just wanted to stop everything moving, i'd say. he would lay on the landing of the stairs, that way he could spot everything that moved. sometimes he would come hammering down the stairs, across the living room, over jeager (who would be sleeping) by the sliding door, down the garden, and chase a bird. or catch and kill a bee or wasp. he was attacked by the same dog, twice in one week. he never stopped fighting, from that second day on.
the only dog he never attacked, was jeager.i had to take them out seperately, walk them, train them seperately. i would find that max never really needed, or wanted, too much attention ( always too much to do!) he was jus always on the look out for danger. i often think that people tend to rise with the drive of the dog. eg, try to keep up with it, or wear the dog out. i even met Mary Ray once, and she was doing agility. her dogs were so eager to join in, they would be on the lead, running on the spot and jumping, on the spot. almost like going through the motions of the course. then you see them in total control when dancing at crufts. i think you can stimulate a dog mentally, as much as exercise and sport, just by giving them something to do. i wish i had known more, when i had max. but it helped me develop jeager into that wonderful animal, which i came to know and love!