by Lee Charles Kelley

Created on: January 28, 2009

Conflict Training, 101

The way I see it all canine behaviorwhether learned or instinctive, nor-mal or abnormalis done in an attempt to reduce or release some kind of internal tension. When you think about it, even breathing is a matter of tension and release. When too much tension builds up inside a dog's system, that's when we tend to see abnormal behaviors.

The normal way for a dog to reduce tension is through some activity related to the prey drive. Looking at the wolf model, we can see that wolves are an anomaly in the natural world. They're one of only three types of mammals that routinely hunt animals that are larger and more dangerous than them- selves: CANINES hunt bison, elk, and moose, while ORCAS and other species of dolphin hunt whales. The third mammal in this category is HOMO SAPIENS. All three species originally hunted large prey by working cooperatively, though humans later developed weapons, so we no longer need to hunt in groups. (Someone ought to tell that to Dick Cheney.)

The bottom line is that a wolf's social instincts are based on their need to hunt large prey. For instance, wolves who settle near a dump don't really form packs. They have looser social arrangements. It also turns out that coyoteswhom it was thought for years did not form packsactually do, but only when they need to hunt large prey.

(I'm getting to the point, trust me.)

Bison, elk, moose, etc. have horns and hooves. It's very dangerous for an individual wolf to hunt one of these large animals, so they also evolved strategies like scavenging, hunting small prey, and will even at times eat vegetation. The survival instinct sort of dictates that they not put them- selves in harm's way by hunting large prey unless they are absolutely driven to do it.

This is where Nature becomes a clever taskmaster. If she wants wolves to hunt large prey she has to design a strong enough motivation for them to leave the safety of the den and foray into the path of those hooves and horns. And the basic underlying mechanism for motivating wolves to hunt large prey is a build-up internal tension or stress. When the pack gets hungry enough, the prey drive starts to kick in. Once it's strong enough to override the need for safety, the wolves are driven to hunt. That's not entirely accurate, though, because it doesn't reflect the wolf's actual experience or point of view. What these animals are really driven to do is to simply get rid of their tension. Think of the way a male dog goes after a female in

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