Working dogs for the public and police abound in skills, and many of these dogs are bred just for these purposes. Many of the skills are created with breeding over hundreds of years. Of course the best part is these dogs are truly ‘man’s best friend’, and we are being blessed by having them in our lives. Myself, I am a former dog owner who had to put her dog down. And I find I still miss her after ten years. Her job is to love me no matter what and be my personal heating blanket snuggling under the covers up against my tummy. I still want to lift the covers up at bedtime to let her go under.
This topic of working dogs is attractive because our wonderful dogs do so much for us emotionally, and yet they go beyond this purpose to help us out. If there is a need they can fill, man will devise it and our dogs will go beyond the expected behavior we are hoping for. They almost seem to have a spirit that wants to help us beyond our hopes and dreams. Our working dogs are really priceless.
Those of us who have been around since the show “Lassie”, are very aware of police dogs. We just don’t envision at the time, that there will be far more jobs to create other than police dogs. But we are not going to short this job on its incredible value to our society.
Police Dogs called K-9’s
Their number one duty is to protect their police partner, and this they truly do with their lives. They defend and apprehend in an instant. Many a police officer owes his life to his partner, and at times the K-9 loses his life in the line of duty. Our police departments throughout our country grieve greatly when this happens, our public too. Even some criminals may owe their lives and not be aware. While the K-9 is holding the suspect, that suspect is now safe from a continuing chase. These are noble animals loving their jobs and giving so much.
Service Dogs Abound
Service Dogs is really a very large category with roles that are fairly new for us. We meet a friend a few years ago, and he is walking as fine as can be and he has a huge dog with her service vest on. Dogs make everyone an instant friend and I ask him what is beautiful dog’s job is. She is a Medical-Assistance Dog letting him know when his diabetes blood balance is changing into the danger zone. Other Seizure Alert Dogs have training to let their person know a seizure is coming and help guide them to a safe place along with getting help after the seizure. Amazing!
Service Dogs, or another name, Assistance Dogs, are wonderful dogs with training to give a tremendous amount of help to people with disabilities. This includes hearing impairments and visual impairments, plus people with mobility challenges.
Therapy Dogs
The category for all shapes and sizes of dogs! They need more people skills than other working dogs require when it comes to their job. Therapy is what it sounds like. And this temperament is for calm, loving, patient and tolerant dogs, and they fit the need for us humans. These dogs will work with one person or have the job of visiting as many people at a hospital as they can for the day. They give emotional support for us all, and are a great example for children in schools to learn about. They are basically Great Ambassadors for all dog kind!
Detection Dogs Detect Many Things
This is the job for highly evolving smelling capabilities in dogs. Way back when one of the first uses of this skill is for hunting truffles. Now we have these dogs seek out illegal drugs, incendiary or explosive devices, human remains, and in the medical, again insulin and other medical conditions. Some Detection Dogs are even working to detect bed bugs! Can you imagine a warehouse full of products and the bed bug infestation is just starting in one section? This can save a company when the threat is isolated to a specific area. Who ever thought of this is brilliant.
The Old and True Dog Profession of Herding
Yuup, and one of the breeds that is really good at this is Corgis, and my son made the mistake of buying one for a house dog. She was definitely good at herding us. She is nipping our heels no matter how hard we try to break her of this habit—no, not a habit, this behavior is bred into her. We can’t win this battle. Sheep owner and cattle owners love the ability of Herding Dogs to take care of their flocks. Well, no cattle flocks, but cattle herds! And this is great entertainment in herding competition. Truly physical hard working dogs.
Another group of working dogs that slightly fits this category are Livestock Dogs. They work with the animals, but instead of harassing them and moving them around, they are watching over them. They will move them too, but the job is more for protection. These dogs are gentle with the livestock they watch, and extremely noisy and very aggressive to predators.
Search and Rescue
We live near the Rocky Mountains, and when I think of Search and Rescue Dogs, my mind immediately goes to avalanches. These dogs have training to detect living and deceased people along with animals. These dogs are not just trained for snow. They have highly evolved hearing and smelling. They need to be highly agile, strong and athletic with great endurance and stamina. The searches can be in snow, forests, hilly terrain and the concrete jungle. These super dogs are what we call ‘real troopers’, and yes, this applies to all of the working dogs in all of these classifications.
Thank you for your Service
I have put this group last to honor their service along with the soldiers who are their handlers. Our Military Working Dogs have their lives on the line all the time in active duty. They do it all as they hunt down explosive devices, track whatever needs tracking, and act as sentries guarding the gates. They do drug detecting, plus protection and detention keeping their partner safe. And they can take part in search and rescue for the living and deceased. When one of our beloved military soldiers need emotional support, they need our support and their Therapy Dog.
I want to thank all of the dog breeders, trainers and dog handlers for their service in all of the specialized skills they and their dog partners have. And all of our support as the field of help with our working dogs expands. Thank you so very much.