Working dog

Herding dogs

One of the most common types of working dogs is herding dogs, also known as stock dogs.
Sheep handlers, cattle ranchers, and other people that need help controlling the movement of
their animals rely on herding dogs to keep their animals in line. Herding dogs can muster cattle,
sheep, goats, reindeer, poultry, and other livestock, bringing individual animals into the group or
moving the herd as a whole. Herding dogs sometimes need to bring a herd or an individual in for
safety or to get health treatments, shearing, branding, or feeding. Herding dogs act as "living
fences" at times, guiding livestock to graze but keeping them away from valuable crops or roads,
also preventing them from wandering off individually. Like many animals, dogs have instinctive
predatory behavior, a natural inclination, or desire, to treat other animals as prey. With proper
training, man has been able to use this to his advantage. Some techniques herding dogs may use
are nipping at the animals' heels, barking, or using the "strong eye" to stare down the animals.
Human handlers train the dogs to respond to commands communicated through words, hand
movements, and whistles. Herding has even become a competitive sport, sometimes shown on
prime-time television. Herding dogs kept as pets must be kept active and busy as these dogs are
intelligent, athletic, and prone to herd even to the point of nipping at the heels and purposely
bumping into their human family members.

Hunting dogs

Hunting dogs have been helping hunters for thousands of years. They can be trained to retrieve
birds or other game that has been shot down or to seek badgers, raccoons, rabbits, and other
vermin in their dens or hiding places. Some breeds are naturally skilled in using their eyesight or
strong sense of smell. For example, the sighthounds are known to see prey from a distance and
then quietly and quickly stalk their victims. Sighthounds are also adept at keeping sight of
quickly moving prey in close range. They often have long, lean heads that provide them with a
wider field of vision. Sighthounds are known for their extremely sensitive noses and hunt
primarily by scent. Pointers will stop and point, or aim their muzzles and lift one paw, upon
locating the game without touching it. Retrievers will find and return the shot game to the hunter,
often swimming when necessary. Setters quietly search for game and may "set," or crouch upon
finding it. Spaniels are known to be especially good at flushing, scaring animals, usually birds,
out of concealed areas. Terriers are generally skilled at hunting small mammals that burrow
underground.

Search-and-Rescue dogs

Search-and-Rescue dogs are trained to locate people that are missing, lost in the wilderness,
trapped beneath buildings or debris, buried by avalanches, stuck, or drowning in water. They are
able to find victims, and in some cases, carry or tow them away. Some dogs can even be trained
to give certain signs to indicate if a victim is alive, dead, injured, or uninjured. SAR dogs are
hardworking dogs during disasters. But to them, it is all game. When they find a victim, they are
rewarded by their handler. Some of the rewards are a hug, treat, or bustle with a favorite toy.
SAR dogs have two jobs, A SAR dog’s sense of smell is at least 40 times stronger than ours. Not
only are their sense of smell strong, so are their hearing and night vision. A dog’s sense of smell
is not only more powerful than ours. It is more discerning.

Guide dogs

Guide dogs have been used for centuries. The first training centers for guide dogs were
established in Germany during WWI to provide service animals for veterans who lost their sight
in combat. Now, they are often seen with a harness with a handle or a vest. The most frequent
breeds trained to be guide dogs include golden retrievers, Labradors, and standard poodles.
Guide dogs are trained over several months using lots of positive reinforcement. They learn to
guide their companions from one place to another in a straight line, stop when the elevation
changes such as curbs or stairs, and avoid obstacles including things overhead. Guide dogs are
not able to read street signs such as red, yellow, and green lights. The guide dog doesn’t know
where they are going, so it must follow the owner’s instructions. The owner can’t see obstacles
so the guide dog must help the owner to avoid them. The owner is like the navigator on an
aircraft who must know how to get from one place to another, and the dog is the pilot who gets
them there safely.

Dogs make such great pets that we may not even realize how useful they can be. Just think of
all the possibilities.