Britain loves its doggos; over a quarter of the population has a dog (or two), putting the number of dogs in the UK at just under 10 million (i.e. about twice the population of Scotland!). While some dogs can easily be mistaken for a furry footstool that needs to be fed regularly, others aren’t happy unless they have a job. But how many types of working dogs are there, and what do they do?
What are working dogs?
Man’s best friend is often one of the best employees too. The term working dog typically encompasses several categories, including:
Service dog: Think guide dogs and assistance dogs that help people with their daily lives
Therapy dogs: Dogs that provide emotional support, often in hospital and courtroom settings
Herding dogs: Sheepdogs and livestock guardians – probably the most well-known working dog
Detection dogs: Drugs, bombs, people and even money can all be sniffed out with the canines’ sensitive snoots.
Gun and hunting dogs: Hunters have long had a relationship with dogs who can flush out prey, bring it back and in some cases even bring it down themselves.
Police dogs: These dogs are not to be messed with and work alongside their human handlers in various ways.
Various types of working dogs have traditionally been specifically bred over many years to be very good at certain tasks. The Golden Retriever, for example, has a long history of, well, retrieving. They have been the dog of choice for bird hunters thanks to their ability to gently bring back animals without damaging them.
The Bernese mountain dog gets its name from trekking through mountainous terrain to rescue lost mountaineers and hikers. Sled Dogs such as the Canadian Eskimo dog, also known as a qimmiq and Alaskan Malamute, are powerful dogs that can survive arctic weather while they haul heavy loads.
What are some working dog breeds?
Historically, working dogs have included
However, as dogs’ jobs have expanded, so too have the breeds that carry them out. Therapy dogs, for example, can be almost any breed. For this role, temperament is much more important than anything else.
In the case of detecting dogs, spaniels are very common, thanks in part to their good sense of smell that comes from years of gun dog breeding. In recent years mixed breed dogs have been proven to have particularly specialised sniffing skills.
Do Working Dogs make good pets?
Smart and loyal breeds traditionally known as working dogs are always popular pet choices. Before you bring one into your home, you need to think long and hard about whether you can offer them what they need.
Exercise
Some dogs like nothing better than curling up in front of the fire after a quick stroll. Working dogs have been built and bred to have stamina, and they need a place to let that out.
Border collies, for example, could need at least two hours of exercise a day. Off-leash exercise is important for these types of dogs as their human counterpart is unlikely to be able to keep up with their speed.
If you’ve given a terrier type pup their forever home, letting them wiggle and crawl through the undergrowth and thick bushes will speak to their soul.
An unexercised dog becomes unhappy very quickly, and the repercussions of can range from benignly overprotective of their food to tearing up the furniture every time their owner leaves – even aggression,
Engagement
It’s not just about the miles you can put in with a dog; you also need to keep their minds busy. It’s not uncommon for herding breeds that live in homes with children to start herding them when they are out in the garden.
Similarly to exercise, dogs can become frustrated and possibly even aggressive without an outlet for the skills they have been bred for.
It is vital to keep a non-working, working dog occupied. Agility training is an excellent way to keep a particularly active dog content.
Jumping over hurdles, running through tunnels and navigating slalom like poles can all mimic their natural instincts. If you don’t know if you can keep up with your dog on the agility course, don’t fret.
Teaching your dog to perform tasks like carrying bags, tidying away their toys and retrieving items by name are all great ways to keep them busy.
Food
If you’ve ever seen a sheepdog at work, you’ll know that working dogs are machines and just like any machine, they need the right fuel to perform at peak efficiency.
If you are considering bringing a working dog into your home either as a pet or to work, sourcing the right food for them is vital. As they require a lot more energy than a lap dog, you should look for foods high in protein with a good amount of healthy fats, such as Badlands Ranch Pets food.
Some trainers advocate a raw food diet as a more natural and ultimately healthier source of nutrition for working dogs. Raw food is normally sold frozen to keep it fresh.
If you are buying raw food from a store, check that it has not accidentally thawed out and then been refrozen along the delivery route.
Given the dangers of improperly stored raw food, you may want to consider a pet food subscription company such as Bella & Duke that can deliver straight to your door, decreasing the food’s chances of spoiling.
To sum it up, working dogs come in all shapes and sizes, but their needs are remarkably similar. If you are thinking of bringing one into your home as a pet rather than a staff member, make sure you are confident you can meet those needs.
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