Last month’s commentary considered working versus working and working cats. Now it’s time to ponder the multiple forms working dogs also may take. Most people probably can summon an image of what they consider a working dog, but we all know that those images may be quite different. In general, the categories of working dogs parallel those of working cats. First are those dogs from long lines of free-roaming self-supporting canines who co-exist with people in the same physical environment, but share little to no emotional attachment. These dogs also dwell somewhere on the wild-domestic dog continuum with strong ties to neither one.
The job skills of these self-employed working dogs include eating human garbage and other human waste. They may dispatch small game that coincidentally may pose health risks to humans or threaten the human food supply. In the process of protecting themselves and their cohorts, they inadvertently may alert humans to the presence of predators or other sources or danger that may pose threats to humans as well. What distinguishes these dogs is that they don’t do any of this to help people. They do it because it represents the most energy-efficient way to ensure their own survival and that of their offspring in that environment.
While many Americans associate these dogs with underdeveloped countries, established populations of them live in rural and urban settings, particularly in the southern part of this country. As increasing numbers of these animals as well as those from similar roots in foreign countries wind up in the rescue system though, more people are getting a crash course in the different between these dogs and those with a strong companion dog heritage.
The second group of working dogs consists of those who enable physically and mentally fit humans to perform jobs that it would take those same people longer to accomplish alone. The most ancient and enduring examples of this worldwide are multitasking animals who herd, drive off, kill, or alert humans to predators, kill vermin, keep people warm in cold weather, or enhance human hunting skills. Unlike the relationship between free-roaming dogs and people whose benefits to each other are coincidental rather than deliberate, this second group of dogs and their people function as a working unit in their shared environment. Although they have their own unique chores within that environment, their skills complement each other’s. From a canine and human perspective, there’s nothing coincidental about their flock making it safely to the right pasture in a timely fashion. It’s their mutual goal.
Unlike breeding with an established one-size-fits-all show standard in mind, breeding for function may result in a lot more variability. Dogs prized for their ability to reliably perform a function on a daily basis in one environment may look different from those bred to perform a similar function somewhere else. If a stationary or nomadic pastoralist decides to raise a different kind of livestock or climate change results in different predators or more severe weather conditions, dogs who meet these new challenges more likely will be bred regardless of their looks. Because of this, over time dogs doing the same kind of work in the same area will come to share common features.
Then we have a growing group of working dogs upon whom great demands may be made on a daily basis and even 24/7/365 in some cases. However unlike the working dogs in the second group, a disturbing number in this group may lack the necessary physical, mental, and emotional wherewithal, proper training and handling necessary to enable them to successfully fulfill these demands. This group includes service and therapy dogs of different kinds. Although some organizations do an excellent job ensuring the fitness of the animals they place for this work, unfortunately the belief that any dog who appeals to the therapist or patient will work remains prevalent in our society.
The fourth group of working dogs falls into the category of unsung canine heroes. These are the companion dogs we expect to cheer us up when we’re sad, make us feel brave when we’re scared, partake in our sporadic exercise or eating binges with nary a compliant or problem, and otherwise anticipate and fulfill our needs in what we consider the ideal canine way. What amazes me is that enough dogs manage to fulfill these sometimes irrational human demands often enough that the belief persists that doing so constitutes the companion dog job description. But equally amazing is the range and magnitude of the physiological and behavior messages some dogs may use to communicate their unwillingness or inability to fulfill that job description, many of which may fall on deaf ears.
The final group of working dogs consists of those who share mutually strong psycho-biological bonds with their humans. They come in all shapes and sizes and live in all kinds of environments with all kinds of people. Some of them even may engage in one of the other forms of employment mentioned above. What sets them off is a mutual respect and a certain awe for each other’s species- and individually- specific differences as well as their similarities. Each may form strong relationships with others of their own species and function acceptably when among their conspecifics, with the length of any separation depending on where each lies on the social-solitary scale. But at the end of the day something beyond words, obedience to commands, treats, toys, or any of the other accoutrements others try to convince us we must possess for this phenomenon to occur…
Then we have a growing group of working dogs upon whom great demands may be made on a daily basis and even 24/7/365 in some cases. However unlike the working dogs in the second group, a disturbing number in this group may lack the necessary physical, mental, and emotional wherewithal, proper training and handling necessary to enable them to successfully fulfill these demands. This group includes service and therapy dogs of different kinds. Although some organizations do an excellent job ensuring the fitness of the animals they place for this work, unfortunately the belief that any dog who appeals to the therapist or patient will work remains prevalent in our society.
The fourth group of working dogs falls into the category of unsung canine heroes. These are the companion dogs we expect to cheer us up when we’re sad, make us feel brave when we’re scared, partake in our sporadic exercise or eating binges with nary a compliant or problem, and otherwise anticipate and fulfill our needs in what we consider the ideal canine way. What amazes me is that enough dogs manage to fulfill these sometimes irrational human demands often enough that the belief persists that doing so constitutes the companion dog job description. But equally amazing is the range and magnitude of the physiological and behavior messages some dogs may use to communicate their unwillingness or inability to fulfill that job description, many of which may fall on deaf ears.
The final group of working dogs consists of those who share mutually strong psycho-biological bonds with their humans. They come in all shapes and sizes and live in all kinds of environments with all kinds of people. Some of them even may engage in one of the other forms of employment mentioned above. What sets them off is a mutual respect and a certain awe for each other’s species- and individually- specific differences as well as their similarities. Each may form strong relationships with others of their own species and function acceptably when among their conspecifics, with the length of any separation depending on where each lies on the social-solitary scale. But at the end of the day something beyond words, obedience to commands, treats, toys, or any of the other accoutrements others try to convince us we must possess for this phenomenon to occur…we find ourselves feeling more complete simply because the other exists.
The job skills of these self-employed working dogs include eating human garbage and other human waste. They may dispatch small game that coincidentally may pose health risks to humans or threaten the human food supply. In the process of protecting themselves and their cohorts, they inadvertently may alert humans to the presence of predators or other sources or danger that may pose threats to humans as well. What distinguishes these dogs is that they don’t do any of this to help people. They do it because it represents the most energy-efficient way to ensure their own survival and that of their offspring in that environment.
While many Americans associate these dogs with underdeveloped countries, established populations of them live in rural and urban settings, particularly in the southern part of this country. As increasing numbers of these animals as well as those from similar roots in foreign countries wind up in the rescue system though, more people are getting a crash course in the different between these dogs and those with a strong companion dog heritage.
The second group of working dogs consists of those who enable physically and mentally fit humans to perform jobs that it would take those same people longer to accomplish alone. The most ancient and enduring examples of this worldwide are multitasking animals who herd, drive off, kill, or alert humans to predators, kill vermin, keep people warm in cold weather, or enhance human hunting skills. Unlike the relationship between free-roaming dogs and people whose benefits to each other are coincidental rather than deliberate, this second group of dogs and their people function as a working unit in their shared environment. Although they have their own unique chores within that environment, their skills complement each other’s. From a canine and human perspective, there’s nothing coincidental about their flock making it safely to the right pasture in a timely fashion. It’s their mutual goal.
Unlike breeding with an established one-size-fits-all show standard in mind, breeding for function may result in a lot more variability. Dogs prized for their ability to reliably perform a function on a daily basis in one environment may look different from those bred to perform a similar function somewhere else. If a stationary or nomadic pastoralist decides to raise a different kind of livestock or climate change results in different predators or more severe weather conditions, dogs who meet these new challenges more likely will be bred regardless of their looks. Because of this, over time dogs doing the same kind of work in the same area will come to share common features.
Then we have a growing group of working dogs upon whom great demands may be made on a daily basis and even 24/7/365 in some cases. However unlike the working dogs in the second group, a disturbing number in this group may lack the necessary physical, mental, and emotional wherewithal, proper training and handling necessary to enable them to successfully fulfill these demands. This group includes service and therapy dogs of different kinds. Although some organizations do an excellent job ensuring the fitness of the animals they place for this work, unfortunately the belief that any dog who appeals to the therapist or patient will work remains prevalent in our society.
The fourth group of working dogs falls into the category of unsung canine heroes. These are the companion dogs we expect to cheer us up when we’re sad, make us feel brave when we’re scared, partake in our sporadic exercise or eating binges with nary a compliant or problem, and otherwise anticipate and fulfill our needs in what we consider the ideal canine way. What amazes me is that enough dogs manage to fulfill these sometimes irrational human demands often enough that the belief persists that doing so constitutes the companion dog job description. But equally amazing is the range and magnitude of the physiological and behavior messages some dogs may use to communicate their unwillingness or inability to fulfill that job description, many of which may fall on deaf ears.
The final group of working dogs consists of those who share mutually strong psycho-biological bonds with their humans. They come in all shapes and sizes and live in all kinds of environments with all kinds of people. Some of them even may engage in one of the other forms of employment mentioned above. What sets them off is a mutual respect and a certain awe for each other’s species- and individually- specific differences as well as their similarities. Each may form strong relationships with others of their own species and function acceptably when among their conspecifics, with the length of any separation depending on where each lies on the social-solitary scale. But at the end of the day something beyond words, obedience to commands, treats, toys, or any of the other accoutrements others try to convince us we must possess for this phenomenon to occur…
Then we have a growing group of working dogs upon whom great demands may be made on a daily basis and even 24/7/365 in some cases. However unlike the working dogs in the second group, a disturbing number in this group may lack the necessary physical, mental, and emotional wherewithal, proper training and handling necessary to enable them to successfully fulfill these demands. This group includes service and therapy dogs of different kinds. Although some organizations do an excellent job ensuring the fitness of the animals they place for this work, unfortunately the belief that any dog who appeals to the therapist or patient will work remains prevalent in our society.
The fourth group of working dogs falls into the category of unsung canine heroes. These are the companion dogs we expect to cheer us up when we’re sad, make us feel brave when we’re scared, partake in our sporadic exercise or eating binges with nary a compliant or problem, and otherwise anticipate and fulfill our needs in what we consider the ideal canine way. What amazes me is that enough dogs manage to fulfill these sometimes irrational human demands often enough that the belief persists that doing so constitutes the companion dog job description. But equally amazing is the range and magnitude of the physiological and behavior messages some dogs may use to communicate their unwillingness or inability to fulfill that job description, many of which may fall on deaf ears.
The final group of working dogs consists of those who share mutually strong psycho-biological bonds with their humans. They come in all shapes and sizes and live in all kinds of environments with all kinds of people. Some of them even may engage in one of the other forms of employment mentioned above. What sets them off is a mutual respect and a certain awe for each other’s species- and individually- specific differences as well as their similarities. Each may form strong relationships with others of their own species and function acceptably when among their conspecifics, with the length of any separation depending on where each lies on the social-solitary scale. But at the end of the day something beyond words, obedience to commands, treats, toys, or any of the other accoutrements others try to convince us we must possess for this phenomenon to occur…we find ourselves feeling more complete simply because the other exists.