Gameness

I'm rushing off to the Earthdog Seminar ( wish me luck on the test after!) to network with terrier people and spend a day learning about a new abstracted AKC sport. I've really started to ponder the idea of gameness, and drive - what it is exactly, to me, and how to look for it. What are the aspects of gameness? I'm already pretty sure that pain tolerance is part of the definition - you can't really have a low pain tolerance dog and also say it is high drive. For the shelties, and most herding breeds, I would think that handler bond might be a variable in there as well.

At any rate, expect more ponderings on the idea of gameness, and I'm going to go hang out with the terriers for a day!