Dogs with Jobs

The dog's nose is an amazing organ, with abilities and features far superior to our own in many ways. First are the physical adaptations of the nose itself. The inside of the dog's nose is lined with many folds of tissue (called the olfactory epithelium), which in turn contain hundreds of millions of olfactory receptors, specialized cells responsible for detecting odors. Because of the increased surface area caused by these folds, the dog's nose contains a ridiculously high number of receptor cells when compared to the human nose; on average, the dog has about 220 million, while our noses harbor a paltry 5 million. This difference contributes to the dog's ability to detect almost impossibly minute concentrations of compounds, by some estimates in concentrations as low as parts per trillion.

When I began working on this article, I asked the members from the Santa Cruz Dog Training Club (the team I participate with) what they valued about being part of a demo team. Their answers varied, but one universal theme rose from the group as a whole: Being part of the team was an incredible socialization opportunity for all of our dogs.

When dogs fail to correctly perform cued behaviors in new settings, or in the face of distractions, they aren't being stubborn, willful, or dominant, as many people believe. Rather, they are struggling to meet the demands placed upon them in that moment. In order for a dog to truly know a behavior – for it to become fluent – we must invest the time to train for the many types of situations we are likely to encounter with our dogs.

What do you envision when someone says “draft work“? What probably comes to mind are horses, mules, oxen, and other large “beasts of burden.” Think again. Since the 18th and 19th centuries, dogs have assisted humans by hauling wagons and carts across fields and through towns. Dogs have delivered milk and mail, hauled the day’s catch of fish from boat to town, and even hauled lumber in lumber camps. This heritage forms the basis upon which the sport of carting was built by a variety of breed clubs. Between the 1970s and 1990s interest in the sport grew; the St. Bernard folks offered their first competition in 1988, and Bernese Mountain Dog fans added theirs in 1991. The natural inclination of dogs to pull has been literally harnessed by a variety of people through the years. Put backward pressure on a leash and collar, and most dogs will pull forward. Take that “opposition reflex” and a nice, padded harness, and you can see where this is going. Forward, of course! Sledding. Weight pulling. Sulky driving. Skijoring. Carting. Some of these activities are still used to help humans with important tasks. Sled dogs have delivered critical medicines in the dead of winter. Service dogs pull wheelchairs. And some dogs show off their carting skills during public demonstrations and therapy dog visits. This sport has a very practical aspect to it. If you are creative, I’m sure there are tasks around home that you can find for your carting dog.

House fires are devastating and life-threatening for everyone in the family – including the pets. It’s estimated that half a million pets are affected by fires each year and more than 40,000 die from smoke inhalation. Emergency first responders can provide oxygen to a fading animal, but they usually face the challenge of working with a human oxygen mask, which is difficult to securely fit over a dog or cat’s face.

There is nothing sadder than the look on my 8-year-old dog Otto's face when he sees me loading my new puppy Woody into the car, on our way to puppy kindergarten classes. This is pretty much the only time I take Woody somewhere and don't ask Otto to come along, too. Otto's expression was so bereft, it got me looking around for some other activity to take up with Otto (and Otto alone).

While the concept of energy-based healing might be tough for some people to accept, professional animal trainer and flower essence practitioner Jennifer White of Woodinville, Washington, has a large database of client success stories to draw upon. It includes a 3-year-old service dog who was on the verge of being retired due to extreme car sickness. The dog had exhibited symptoms of nausea – drooling and panting – since early puppyhood, and he never outgrew the problem.

What brings together heelwork, tricks, music, a little high school nostalgia, and takes it all to a whole new level? K9 drill, display, and demonstration teams are not new, but as more of us are looking for different ways to showcase the rewards of positive training to the larger dog community, the concept of drill and demo teams is gathering steam. The term “drill team” may evoke images of military marching routines (historically, military drill teams did occasionally include dogs), but today’s K9 drill and demo teams take many forms that involve dog/handler pairs. “I define it as a group of dog/handler teams, moving in unison to create a changing picture of shapes and lines, with or without music,” says Doris Herber, a retired dog trainer and behavior consultant who participated for several years in a drill team with her Basenji, Kodi.

Camping means different things to different people, but to dogs, camping means fun! Like most things with the word camp" in them

where the dogs helped with herding dairy cattle

Most service-dog organizations rely heavily on volunteers to welcome the organization's puppies into their homes – and hearts – for more than a year, during which time the volunteers are responsible for teaching basic obedience, impeccable house manners, and how to be confident and calm in a variety of public settings. Socialization is a huge part of raising any dog, but it's especially important when the dog is destined for a career spent largely away from home. When it comes to socializing a puppy, how you do it matters – a lot!

Life with any dog has its moments of agony and ecstasy. The ecstasy happens when our dogs' behaviors are top notch, and all systems seem to run smoothly. The agony happens when our dogs have an oops" moment