Jobs for Dogs

(1) Cheyanne-Dalmation/Lab/Chow mix-  (2) various tasks/retrieve birds/hunting.herding,protection.  (3) my therapy dog, watchdog, food disposal, vermin disposal, chasing buzzards, family pet

(1) Lillie- Irish Setter-  (2) field sports dog  (3)agility, exercise coach for me and Cheyanne, Samantha's pillow, family pet

(1) Kujo- Chihuahua-  (2) pet (3) neighborhood pet( was gonna say family pet but that would be an understatement), tricks, watchdog, kitten entertainer, Samantha's sidekick, feet warmer

spiritdogs

We're always telling people who have certain breeds that their dogs need a "job", so I thought this would be a good place for people to tell how they gave their own dog a job that simulates what the dog was originally bred to do, or a substitute to burn off some energy.  How about this format: 1. dog's name & breed   2. bred for  3. job(s) you gave the dog...

Willow, chow chow, bred for a wide variety of tasks, they are best at guarding entry ways, we put her out on the deck every night and she keeps watch and makes sure the cats (or anyone) don't get too close!  It's quite nice to just watch her do this, laying quietly, ears up, eyes looking over things, and if she sees something she just keeps an eye on it until it moves on or if it comes too close she'll get up and watch and if needed growl quietly at it.  We never "gave" her this job, she just started doing it.  We can see the difference in her mental health and it keeps her occupied. 

She is also pet sitter assistant whenever it's cool enough for her to come with me.  And, "gotta go to work" and "go for a ride" pretty much mean the same thing to her.

While retreival of fishing nets was the original purpose for which labradors were bred,Jewel wouldn't volunteer to jump in water.She won't even retreive a tennis ball or frisbee.What she does excell at is being a guardian to my son and any friends he has over.She is the self appointed security guard that patrols our acreage and home making sure all is well.Since only her mom was a lab perhaps there is some guardian blood in her veins.

Tena

1. Apollo, Labrador Retriever
2. Originally bred for retrieving fishing nets
3. Dock diver, MAJOR retriever of tennis balls/toys (you throw it, he'll glady get it), swimmer, hiking partner, traveling companion (loves going on cars/boats), camping buddy, co-worker (dog walking with me everyday)

Fun topic.

: 1. dog's name & breed   2. bred for  3. job(s) you gave the dog...

Maggie:

1. Finnish Spitz? mix who knows
2. Locating/following/leading hunters to birds in woods, household companion
3. Maggie's done frisbee, flyball, agility in her day, and these days is content with schlepping around with us

Ben:

1. Border Collie
2. Herding sheep, herding trial competition, Ben's line in particular was bred for cattle work
   
3. Ben did frisbee, agility, and flyball, and of course works sheep here.  He competed at the novice level in herding trials.

Lu

1. Maremma/GP cross
2. Flock guardian - GPs tended to be used more territorial, while Maremmas are "followers" and active guardians (will move the flock to safety when needed)
3. Lu acts 100% Maremma - she of course is a livestock guardian dog.  Besides sheep, she has guarded goats, chickens, ducks, and calves.

Tully

1. Maremma
2. Flock Guardian
3. That's what he does, and he does it well! 

Zhi

1. Chinese crested
2. Originally ship rodent control, but mostly bred to be a novelty lap dog
3. Zhi still has those ratter instincts, so I make sure she's got plenty of opportunity to go explore the barns and the fields, with me acommpanying her.  She loves to swim, also, and play fetch.   She's learning to play flyball too though it's a bit of a slow go since gas prices went up and made traveling the 80 miles to practice more of a big deal.

Gus

1. Border Collie
2. See above, but Gus' breeder focuses on herding trial excellence (he's a multiple Nat. Finals winner)
   
3. Gus, oddly enough, is content to be a companion to my husband all day.  He works maybe once a day for a few minutes, and he goes for walks around the farm and rides, but he's not go-go-go nor does he need it.  Gus is truly a testament to superior working breeding - that the number one quality is really a team spirit and self control.

Ted

1. Border Collie
2. See above, Ted's lines are mixed cattle and sheep, but focus on sheepdog trial excellence
3. Ted is very young and a bit of a hot head.  I will probably not breed him unless to exactly the right match, down the road if he shows amazing brilliance.  However, he gets about four or five working sessions per day, plus chores here and there, and besides that doesn't need huge amounts of play.  I do play with him because, you know, it's fun.  
   

Lynn

1. Leonberger X
2. Household guardian, companion, water retrieval, light farm duty
3. I'm encouraging all of the above behaviors in Lynn, and training her as if she were a young LGD mostly (in techniques, not as far as leaving her outside).  She's also learning to fetch and looooooooooooooooves to swim.
   

Min

1. Maremma
2. Flock Guardian
3. Min's been interesting because I'm taking her FROM her job, and acclimating her to the house.  I've been taking her on long walks so she can check out everything around us and still feel "part of the team" to some extent. 

spiritdogs

1. dog's name & breed   2. bred for  3. job(s) you gave the dog...

1. Shadow, 5 years old, Siberian Husky/Lab mix. (Sibe in temperment, metabolism, and much phyiology)

2. Pull hard and run fast in the coldest conditions on very little food. Protect and be pillows for children. Sometimes, herd reindeer. Must desire to run for hours and be smart enough not to run off into a creek or chasm.

3. Though some part of the walk will involve pulling (it's what he's good at) his job is mostly to listen to me. Even on a walk, I will use mushing commands and he understands them, too. A job he picked for himself is to protect DW. I watch him do it in the yard. He will place himself between her and the barky neighbor dogs. He also hunts squirrels and mice.

As he's gotten older and because of the training, he doesn't pull as often, and not because I don't want him to but walking in LLW has been very rewarding.

 Honor

    1. Alaskan Klee Kai

    2. Companion, although the breed has the sledding mentality of the Alaskan Huskies it came from.

    3. Honor does a lot of backpacking, which has actually helped with her drive to pull.  To help mentally tire her out, we do rally obedience.  She's starting agility soon, which should help with her desire to run, run, run!

Nike

    1. Shetland Sheepdog

    2. Herding

    3. Nike's still settling in to the routines of living in a house, but I can definitely see him loving agility.  He's very fast, and catches onto new commands and adapts quickly.

 Dakota - husky - bred to pull and run forever on little food.  In her younger years she was my rollerblading and hiking partner. Now she lays around the house and barks for food.

Neiko - Aussie - herding/guardian dog - does agility, frisbee, sheep herding, hiking and will be a therapy dog once we get our papers.

Lily - Aussie - herding/guardian dog - slowing working on agility and sheep herding. She's the resident house guard dog. Trying to get her in to tracking and rally.

Abbie - Aussie - herding/guardian dog - will be in to agility, frisbee and sheep herding. Just trying to get through puppyhood atm.

 Selli

1) Golden Retriever 

2) Bird dog for water fowl and upland game. Her line was bred for obedience trials (meadowpond)

3) specializing in agility right now but also doing obedience and rally trials.  We hope to do tracking and field work after we finish (we can only afford one trial a month and one set of classes at a time).  Selli also works as a temperament tester for our dog park and a calming influence for other dogs at the Dog-O-Mat, our self-service dog wash.

Duffy

1) Golden Retriever / Shetland Sheepdog

2) Golden see above and Sheltie; sheep herder / farm dog (which I assume includes watch dog).  Also great obedience trial dogs.

3) no competition work (which he is opposed to on principal), no sheep (of whom he afraid), cat wrangler and protector, temperament tester and doorbell for the Dog-O-Mat.  Also Selli's biggest fan and posse.

 Maggie: Border Collie/Cattle Dog cross, both breeds herd, just using different styles.  Jobs here include agility, therapy dog, hobby herding, general obedience, foster dog teacher.  She's also a world class snuggler and accompanies my DH and I on walks and hikes.

Ziva: BC/Corgi/Jack Russell mix, herding from BC/Corgi, vermin extermination from the JRT.  Jobs here include SAR (in training), agility, therapy dog (in training), demo dog for my obedience classes, fetch, hiking buddy, general obedience, play group supervisor, and, of course, companionship.

Monroe

Chocolate Labrador - originally bred for retrieving nets, his line is has a lot of field hunters

What he does now - Monroe's agility days are over but he is an all round fantastic companion and he is REALLY good at getting that toy that we keep "dropping" in the lake.

Morrison

German Shorthaired Pointer - bred to be an all round hunting dog (pointing and fetching in land and water)

What he does now - runs and plays fetch a lot, chases Monroe, learning agility soon and is very good at obedience.  His best function right now is his ability for endurance cuddling.

 Bugsy

Giant mutt (breed guesses include: Dane, boxer, bird dog, hound) - no doubt he was an accidental breeding

What he does: hunts everything that moves and some things that don't, plays with his catch (until last week when he ate some cicadas and a mole), works constantly - patrols our premises and the neighborhood, walks/trots/bikes several miles a day with a purpose.  Entertains all.  Has CGC and working towards therapy dog cert and tracking.

 Emma, Parson Russell Terrier. Bred for hunting grey fox in England. Jobs include demo dog for basic and advanced obedience class, grooming shop greeter and dog calmer, puppy trainer extraordinaire, competitive rally o and obedience, and some minor pest control. She is also an ambassador for her breed. She fairly regularly shows people that their PRT do NOT have to be insane, and that rewarding calmness can create a wonderful house dog.

Ena, Chinese Crested. Vermin extermination and novelty lap dog. Jobs include learning house manners, basic obedience, conformation routines, and grooming shop greeter. She is also expected to tolerate constant grooming and handling. I think that's the novelty lap dog part 

Frankie-Bull Terrier X Jack Russell Mix- Bull Terriers were used to hunt vermin, and fight other dogs. Many people outcross bull terriers to other breeds like wolfhounds to make pig hunting dogs. Jacks were bred to kill rodents and such. Killing an all manner of small birds, rats, and turtles. Professional stuffed Artic fox hunter. Fetches and basic obedience pretty well.

Hamm-Labrador Retreiver-Bred as service dogs and to retreive dead fowl to hunter in cold water and weather. Fetches like a pro. Backpacking, Biking, Farmdog, Trailriding.