Meliora Drents

When considering adding a Drentsche Patrijshond to your home, one of the most important things to understand is what type of handling and approach to training is typically most successful for the breed. This is especially important if you come from or are more familiar with the popular German pointing breeds (German Shorthaired Pointer, German Wirehaired Pointer, Pudelpointer, Small Munsterlander, etc), or other types of sporting dogs, like retrievers or spaniels.

While Drents share a lot of similarities with other sporting breeds, it’s important to understand the differences to know if a Drent is the right fit for you and to ensure a Drent reaches its potential.

Drive vs Desire

Craig Koshyk, famed for his book on Continental Pointing Breeds, wrote a fantastic article titled Drive vs Desire. In this article, he endeavors to describe one of the main differences between German breeds and French breeds; but I found his description of French breeds to align closely with the Drent, too.

He states while all great pointing breeds have a mix of both, German breeds often lean more towards Drive, while French (and Dutch) breeds lean towards Desire.

The metaphor is this:

For example, when we are thirsty, we experience a drive to drink something. If we are thirsty enough, the drive becomes so powerful that it can push us to drink just about anything. But why do we sometimes drink when we are not thirsty? Desire. Think of a nice cold beer on a hot day, a warm cup of coffee on a cold day. If the beverage of choice is enticing enough, it can pull us into doing just about anything to get a sip.

[…] Let’s go back to drinking a nice cold beer as an example. On the one hand you have someone who is driven (pushed) by thirst to drink it and on the other, someone who is drawn (pulled) to drink it by desire. Now drop a fly in the beer. The person driven by thirst is far more likely to just pull the fly out and drink. The person pulled by the desire to drink is more likely to lose interest and simply pass on the offer to take a sip.

Craig Koshyk, Drive vs Desire

In my opinion, understanding and appreciating a dog that operates more out of Desire is the key to successfully training and handling a Drent. If you can thoughtfully set up a training scenario such that a Drent will experience natural (at least, natural from their perspective) rewards or consequences, they learn exceptionally quickly.

A simple example – as soon as Iris came home at 8 weeks old, we started training her to wait for release before exiting the house. But rather than asking her to sit or stay, or scolding her if she didn’t, we simply observed (quietly!) and opened or closed the door based on her choices. If she started to rush out the door, the door shut before she could get there. If she waited quietly, she was given her release cue and allowed through. Within a few sessions, even as a tiny puppy, she understood what she needed to do to get what she desired (go outside).

The challenge with a dog like this is that you, as the trainer and handler, need to be very thoughtful about how you set up training scenarios (and realize that Real Life is one big training scenario!). It’s important to think ahead and, to the best of your ability, set the dog up to be successful in the way(s) you want them to be successful, or experience natural* (or what appears to be natural to the dog) consequences if they aren’t.

*A note on natural consequences: especially while a Drent is still young (and you’re still building your relationship with them) it’s important to avoid the dog associating the consequence with you. Otherwise, YOU become the fly in their beer – your presence turns them off of doing what they would otherwise love to do. Recognizing this, you’ll understand that yelling at or physically punishing a Drent is counterproductive.

The benefits are what has sold me on the breed for life: when handled successfully, a Drent basically teaches itself. A Drent will also learn so much more through this type of approach than you could know how to teach – especially when it comes to using their nose. It’s well known that a dog’s nose is far better than our own, and that dogs are uniquely wired to understand scent in a way that we can barely comprehend. When I watch Iris in detection or on birds, I am often fascinated with what she must be “seeing” and how she has learned to problem solve complex scenarios that I never (intentionally) taught her how. All I had to do was set her up to be successful (sometimes easier said than done, I’ll admit!) and she did the rest.

A Partner, Not a Tool

Another way of looking at training and handling a Drent is this: a Drent wants to work WITH you, rather than FOR you.

While the Drive vs Desire theory looks at training from the dog’s perspective, the Partner vs Tool theory looks at training from the handler’s perspective. Similarly, all sporting breed dog trainers/handlers will take a little bit of both approaches – but again, it’s helpful to recognize in which direction and how strongly you lean.

I find those handlers who want their dog to be a tool, or to work “for” them, are most interested in the dog being an extension of themselves, perhaps to do what the handler can’t do, but almost assuredly to do it exactly how the handler wants it to be done. Often (not always) independent thinking from the dog is considered undesirable. When done well, a handler who trains a dog to be a tool can result in an impressive “remote controlled” dog. This can be really useful in certain scenarios, such as Craig Koshyk mentions in his article that German law requires hunting dogs to meet certain training requirements, or for a handler looking for a high-level competition obedience dog.

In contrast, I find that a handler who wants their dog to be a partner, or to work “with” them, are most interested in capitalizing on the unique and natural skills of the dog to accomplish a goal together. Often (not always) these handlers want a dog that will cooperate with them but also think for themselves when the situation calls for it, even to the point of intelligent disobedience, either because the dog knows something the handler doesn’t or because the handler won’t always be present or able to direct the dog. This type of handling is most applicable to scenarios like scent detection, including certain styles of hunting and search and rescue in addition to sport detection, or things outside the sporting dog-specific world, like herding or mushing.

A handler who wants a partner in their dog will be much more successful with a Drent. Simply put, a Drent knows their worth and won’t suffer repetitive drilling, unjustified asks (in their opinion), or what can devolve into harsh treatment from a frustrated handler that just wants a Drent to do what they say, when they say it. In contrast, if and when you have a strong relationship with a Drent built on trust and cooperation, you get their clever brain in addition to your own, and they will absolutely use that brain to make you more successful as a team than you would be alone.

Conclusion

If reading these perspectives on training and handling a Drent excites you, a Drent is probably a good fit for you. If it sounds like too much work, or doesn’t match the vision you have in your mind for your perfect dog, that’s okay! The amazing thing about purebred dogs is that there’s a fit for everyone.

For my purposes, and how I prefer to handle and train a dog, a Drent is a perfect fit.