How the breed drive calculator works
For hundreds of years people bred dogs to do one job well: move sheep, run down rabbits, bring back ducks, guard a farm. Those urges are still wired into the dog on your couch. We call them drives.
Our breed chart scores 75 breeds from 1 to 5 on eight drives. Pick one breed and you see that breed's profile. Pick a mix and the calculator blends the breeds by the share you set, so a dog that is mostly shepherd leans toward the shepherd side.
The strongest job drive becomes the result: Chaser, Herder, Nose dog, Retriever, Guardian or Partner. Grip and stamina show how hard your dog grabs and how long the engine runs.
What the drives mean
Chase. The urge to run after anything that moves. Herding. Staring, stalking and controlling how things move. Nose. Hunting by scent and following a trail. Retrieve. Picking things up and bringing them back. Grip. Grabbing, tugging and shaking. Guard. Watching the home and family. Closeness. Working side by side with a person. Stamina. How long the engine runs.
Breed is where we start
A breed is a starting guess, not a label. Two dogs of the same breed can lean different ways, and a mixed breed dog can take after any part of the family. That is why we train the dog in front of us. If your dog's behavior feels big or hard to live with, a trainer should meet them. That is what a consultation is for.
Questions
How does the breed drive calculator work?
Every breed in our chart has a score from 1 to 5 for eight drives: chase, herding, nose, retrieve, grip, guard, closeness and stamina. When you pick more than one breed, the calculator weights each breed by the share you set and adds the scores together. The strongest of the six job drives becomes your dog's job.
Can I use my dog's DNA test results?
Yes. Pick the breeds your DNA test lists and slide each one to the percent it shows. Leave out breeds under about 10 percent. They rarely change the picture.
Will my dog match the result?
Maybe, maybe not. A study of more than 18,000 dogs found breed explains only about 9 percent of the differences in behavior between dogs (Morrill and others, Science, 2022). Breed is a starting guess. The dog drive test asks what your dog actually does, which tells you more.
What do I do with my dog's drive?
Give it a job. A herder needs thinking work and clear rules about when work is over. A chaser needs a legal thing to chase with a start and a stop. A nose dog needs to sniff. Your result lists three things to try this week.
More free tools: the dog drive test, the breed drive calculator, the dog breed quiz, and what 75 breeds were bred to do.