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Working dog

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For the comedy group, see Working Dog Productions. For the winery in New Jersey, see Working Dog Winery.
"Farm dog" redirects here. For the specific breed with this name, see
Danish wedish Farmdog.
!his article needs additional citations for verification. Please
help impro"e this article by adding citations to reliable sources.
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2009)
$ working dog is a canine working animal, i.e., a type of dog that is
not merely a pet but learns and performs tasks to assist and%or
entertain its human companions, or a breed of such origin. &n
$ustralia and New 'ealand, a working dog is one which has been
trained to work li"estock, irrespecti"e of its breeding.
!he (omondor is guarding the sheep.
)*+
Within this general description, howe"er, there are se"eral ways in which the phrase is used.
!o identify any dog that performs actions on a regular basis to assist people. &n this conte,t, a dog that
helps a rancher manage cattle or that performs stunts for a trainer who recei"es pay for its acts is a
working dog, as is a ser"ice dog or an assistance dog. !his might be in comparison to a companion dog,
whose purpose is primarily as a pet.
!o distinguish between dogs that are bred for appearance primarily to win conformation shows and
working dogs that are bred primarily for their ability to perform a task. For e,ample, a -order .ollie
that is a conformation champion is not necessarily a good sheepdog and a -order .ollie that is a
champion at sheepdog trials might not succeed in show rings for its nonstandard appearance. &t is also
possible that a specimen may e,cel in both appearance and performance. &n many F.& countries it is
impossible for some working breeds/ dogs to become conformation champions without ha"ing passed
ade0uate breed specific tests measuring their working abilities.
)citation needed+
For some breeds, there are separate registries for tracking the ancestry of working and show dogs. For
e,ample, in $ustralia, there are separate registries for working and show $ustralian (elpies1 the
working registry encourages the breeding of any (elpies with a strong instinct to herd, no matter their
appearance or coat color1 the show registry encourages breeding only among (elpies whose ancestors
!his working dog is a border collie mi,.
were registered as show dogs and who ha"e only solid2colored coats. 3ther breeds ha"e 4ust a working
dog register, independent of the showing registers1 such a breed is the -oerboel 5 the breeders of this
dog consider entry into the $(. for e,ample would damage the dog/s genetic working base if it were
e"er to be bred for the showing.
$s a catch2all for dog breeds whose original purpose was to perform tasks that do not fit into a more
specific category of work. For e,ample, until *678 herding dogs were part of the Working 9roup. !he
:erding 9roup was created when the Working 9roup became too large.
);+
!oday, the $merican (ennel
.lub uses Working Dogs to describe breeds who were originally bred for 4obs other than herding or
hunting. uch 4obs might include pulling carts, guarding and so on. :owe"er in practice these /show/
dogs under the $(. are not proper working dogs, and would indeed not be suitable for use as such.
<any true working breeds are still "ery "aluable as working dogs, and without them local economies
would suffer. $n e,ample of such a breed is the $natolian hepherd, without which many sheep would
be destroyed for e,ample by wol"es, feral domestic dogs, and in Namibia, the cheetah.
Contents
* Jobs performed by dogs
; earch and rescue dogs
8 Pets
= ee also
> ?eferences
Jobs performed by dogs
$ !urnspit Dog at work in a kitchen.
$ 9erman hepherd detection dog at work
$lthough most modern dogs are kept as pets, there are still a tremendous number of ways in which dogs can
and do assist humans, and more uses are found for them e"ery year. !he following list pro"ides an idea of the
"ersatility of dogs@
!urnspit dogs were used as a source of power, they turned a treadmill connected to a roasting spit.
imilar arrangements were used for household duties such as churning butter.
Dogs were used as draught animals to pull small carts for farms, peddlers, or tra"ellers Amilk, fish, rags
B bones, meat, bread, and other productsC, to deli"er mail, and to pull carts carrying people for
transportation or entertainment. !hey were used in World War & to pull small field guns. Dogs in harness
sometimes had guard dogs to protect them from stray dogs.
)8+
&n *786, a ban on draught dogs in Dondon
and a later ban on all draught dogs and a ta, on other working dogs caused the deaths of o"er *>E,EEE
dogs, who were replaced in their work by children and adults.
)=+
er"ice or assistance dogs help people with "arious disabilities in e"ery day tasks. ome e,amples
include mobility assistance dogs for the physically handicapped, guide dogs for the "isually impaired,
and hearing dogs for the hearing impaired.
!herapy dogs "isit people who are incapacitated or pre"ented in some way from ha"ing freedom of
mo"ement1 these dogs pro"ide cheer and entertainment for the elderly in retirement facilities, the ill and
in4ured in hospitals, and so on. !he "ery act of training dogs can also act as a therapy for human
handlers, as in a prisoner rehabilitation pro4ect.
?escue dogs assist people who are in difficult situations, such as in the water after a boat disaster, lost in
the wilderness, escaped from nursing homes, co"ered in snow a"alanches, buried under collapsed
buildings, etc.
:erding dogs are still in"aluable to sheep and cattle handlers AstockmenC around the world for
mustering1 different breeds are used for the different 4obs in"ol"ed in stock work and for guarding the
flocks and herds. <odern herding dogs help to control cattle and wild geese in parks or goats used for
weed control. $ well trained dog can adapt to control any sort of domestic and many wild animals.
led dogs, although today primarily used in sporting e"ents, still can assist in transporting people and
supplies in rugged, snowy terrain.
Performing dogs such as .ircus dogs and dog actors are trained to perform acts that are not intrinsically
useful, but instead pro"ide entertainment to their audience or enable human artistic performances.
:unting dogs assist hunters in finding, tracking, and retrie"ing game, or in routing "ermin. Dess
fre0uently a dog, or rather or a pack of them, actually fights a predator, such as a bear or feral pig.
9uard dogs and watch dogs help to protect pri"ate or public property, either in li"ing or used for
patrols, as in the military and with security firms.
!racking dogs help find lost people and animals or track down possible criminals.
.ada"er dog or :uman ?emains Detection Dogs use their scenting ability to disco"er bodies or human
remains at the scenes of disasters, crimes, accidents, or suicides.
Detection dogs of a wide "ariety help to detect termites and bedbugs in homes, illegal substances in
luggage, bombs, chemicals, and many other substances.
War Dogs or (6 .orps are used by armed forces in many of the same roles as ci"ilian working dogs, but
in a military conte,t. &n addition, specialiFed military tasks such as mine detection or wire laying ha"e
been assigned to dogs. <ilitary Working Dog is the more formal, current term for dogs trained for use in
military tasks.
Police dogs, also sometimes called (6 #nits, are usually trained to track or immobiliFe possible
criminals while assisting officers in making arrests or in"estigating the scene of a crime. ome are e"en
specially trained for anti2terrorist units, as in $ustria.
Dogs are sometimes used in programs to assist children in learning how to read. !he ?eading With
?o"er program in Washington pairs trained dogs with children who read aloud to the dog. !his process
builds confidence and reduces stress.
)>+
Search and rescue dogs
#.. $rmy employing special hoist, and doggles, while landing and retrie"ing dog and handler by helicopter.
<ain article@ earch and rescue dog
Dogs are commonly used as search and rescue workers in cases of lost people and disasters. !he t. -ernard
was historically used in Gurope in the case of a"alanches and lost tra"elers. earch dogs are used in lost person
searches each year sa"ing human li"es. e"eral breeds of dogs were used during World War & to locate wounded
soldiers in the field. e"eral cities in &taly are e,perimenting with working dogs as rescue swimmers. &n this
situation, a strong and well2trained dog is e0uipped with flotation de"ices and dropped in the water near a
floundering swimmer. !he swimmer then grabs onto the dog, and the animal tows the swimmer to shore. !he
Newfoundland has long been used for water rescue, not only on shore, but from fishing boats as well.
Pets
!he breeding of working dogs originated from selecting highly intelligent
)citation needed+
, hardy, alert mi,ed2breed
dogs. Working dogs resulted when dogs with similar desirable characteristics, such as loyalty and good
temperament, were bred. $s a result, many working breeds are sought after as family pets. For search and
rescue work, typical breeds seen in the field include Dabrador ?etrie"ers, -order .ollies, 9erman hepherd
Dogs and certain members of the hound group. !hese dogs should ha"e a good prey dri"e, desire to please the
handler, ability to work on and off lead, and be sociable in public settings.
Working dogs make e,cellent pets as long as potential owners realiFe that these dogs must be gi"en /work/ to
do. Dogs that are not to be used for their original purpose must be trained from a young age and are best suited
to acti"e persons and families. 3bedience training, dog sports, informal or no"elty shows, and trial work are all
e,cellent channels for these breeds/ energy. $t the "ery least they must ha"e daily walks or other e,ercise at an
appropriate le"el for the breed, gi"en toys, played with, and pro"ided with human company.
Working dogs that are left alone or ignored become bored, "ocal, and e"en neurotic1 they may e,hibit malaise,
lethargy, destructi"e beha"ior or attempt to escape. Working dogs inappropriately chosen as pets are often
surrendered to shelters for these reasons.

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