Should My Dog Get A Job?

As much as many of us love dogs there are some dogs that have jobs to do. These are dogs that are not satisfied with being couch potatoes or love bugs. They need work and things to keep them busy. They need work to occupy their minds.

You may have seen dogs acting as service dogs for the disabled or as therapy dogs. Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retrievers and some other breeds take to this kind of training very well, becoming helpers for people who need assistance. Training for service dogs begins when the dogs are puppies and they are placed with families who are willing to teach them basic training. This involves a great deal of socialization and taking them out to places they would go as adult service dogs. They will learn that when they are wearing their service dog vest they are working and they shouldn’t look for petting. When the vest comes off they are pets again. When the dogs become adults they go to school for more intensive training and to meet the disabled person they will be paired with so that the two of them can learn together. Service dogs usually remain in service until their age begins to catch up with them when they may be retired and live out their years with their disabled partner or be placed in a home with someone who wishes to adopt them and take care of them.

Therapy dogs usually begin as someone’s pet. These are dogs who may display a great deal of empathy with people. Any dog can be a therapy dog including mixed breeds. Therapy work requires that the dog have good manners and social skills. It helps if your dog knows a little obedience. Organizations such as the Delta Society train volunteers and screen owners and their pets for therapy work. Dogs become approved, with their handlers, so that they can visit people in hospitals, nursing homes, rehab centers, schools and other facilities. Therapy dogs and their owners bring a great deal of comfort and happiness to people’s lives.

Other dogs have much more athletic jobs, such as hunting dogs. Dogs such as Pointers, Setters, Beagles, Coonhounds, Salukis and many other breeds were originally bred to hunt various game. Although these dogs make wonderful pets many dogs of hunting breeds still have strong hunting instincts. If you have a dog from hunting bloodlines your dog may not be completely happy unless he has the opportunity to do some field work. Many people still field trial their dogs or go hunting on the weekends. As soon as their dog sees them getting out the hunting gear the dog is at the door ready to go to work. Hunting is a deep instinct in dogs that survives despite all the generations of domestication. Many breeders still try to breed superior hunting dogs. If your dog shows an interest in hunting or you are curious about it try to take your dog out and let him enjoy it. If you are no good with guns your dog can still enjoy some aspects of field sports with events like hunt tests or lure coursing which simulate hunting conditions.

Other dogs perform jobs that are very important to our society today such as police work, bomb and drug sniffing, war service and detective work. A dog has many abilities that can be trained for these necessary jobs, from using his nose to his guarding instincts. Some police forces are beginning to breed their own dogs for this work but many of the finest law enforcement dogs still come from Europe — dogs such as German Shepherd Dogs and Belgian Malinois. These well-bred, highly trained dogs excel at the skills required for tracking, obedience and protection. War dogs have been used by armies for centuries. The U.S. military currently employs many K9 teams in Iraq and Afghanistan and they are in the process of developing a breeding and training center for their future canine needs.

If you have a dog who seems bored at home he may need a job. Perhaps there’s something he was bred to do or something that he excels at. Maybe there’s something enjoyable that the two of you can do together. Look into the things he’s good at doing or consider his heritage. You may find that your dog needs a job.

What kind of job does your dog have? Tell us about it in the comments section below.

Until next time…..