“Drive” to me in the tracking world is short for prey drive. The best way I know of explaining that would be to think about the look a cat gets in its eyes when it spots a bird or a mouse it wants to eat. It’s that intense instinctive behavior that makes them want to pursue the prey. Same with a wolf or the ancestors of the dog.

When I think of drive in my hunting dog…..I’m thinking about how much of that natural instinct to pursue prey does it have bred into it. They say that Texas Blue Lacy’s actually had a coyote introduced into their bloodline in the beginning breedings to really increase their prey drive. You want the drive to be able follow a 12-24 hr old scent line for a mile… sometimes more..... and the focus to stay on that line for 1-2 hrs if need be.