Living With a High-Drive Dog: What I've Learned from Fleetwood

You guessed it…I’m talking about Fleetwood.

For those of you who don’t know Fleetwood, he is one of my Airedales and he loves - loves - to have a job. 😀

By having the envelope pushed, we've accomplished a lot together, from basic obedience to recall. But lately, I have a feeling that Fleetwood is ready to push that envelope again.

Wired for Work

Fleetwood loves to work. He's a wire-haired terrier, after all — maybe I shouldn't be surprised by his enthusiasm. I'm convinced he was a working dog in a past life. (A concept that would probably get completely lost on my other Airedales. Maybe not Erwitt.)

Here's what we've accomplished togethe so far:

• No jumping

• Basic manners – sit, down and wait

• Recall

We practice daily. The great thing about recall is that it incorporates all his learned behaviors and really works his brain hard.

Or does it?

Lately I've had the feeling that I need to step things up a notch. But how? I'm tired — shouldn't Fleetwood be tired too?

He got a really cool engagement toy for his birthday that does a good job. But you can tell: Fleetwood is looking for the next challenge. 🧐

What My Trainer Said

The timing was perfect because I had a training call with Marc Windgassen. I explained what I was seeing and mentioned I'd been trying to drive engagement through fetch — but without much success.

Marc reminded me that Fleetwood is not a retriever. Fetch isn't really in his DNA. He was behaving exactly like a terrier would.

That reframe was genuinely helpful. We talked about the best way to introduce fetch on terrier terms, rather than expecting retriever behavior from a breed that wasn't built for it.

What We're Trying Next

Marc and I discussed what the next level of mental engagement looks like for a dog like Fleetwood:

• Engagement toys and puzzles — rotating them so the novelty doesn't wear off

• New activities: tug, trading a tennis ball for a frisbee, or adding variety to existing games

• Nose work / scent work — this is the one I'm most excited about

Marc's advice, as always: look at the dog in front of you and plan from there. Fleetwood and I have been looking at each other. We're getting ready for the next challenge.

What I've Learned about High-Drive Dogs

If you live with a high-drive dog, here's what I've come to understand:

• Physical exercise alone isn't enough — these dogs need mental exercise just as much, sometimes more

• When a high-drive dog seems to have "too much energy," the answer is usually more brain work, not more running

• Breed matters — training a terrier like a retriever sets everyone up for frustration

• Rotating activities keeps things fresh and prevents boredom

• Your trainer is your best resource — Marc has saved us more than once by helping me see Fleetwood clearly instead of just seeing my frustration

I may finally wear him out. Probably not. But I'm going to try.

-Kim Opdyke

💗

PS — Fleetwood does like to snuggle. He contains multitudes.