A WORKING DOG

A working dog is a canine working animal that learns and performs tasks to assist its human companions in completing tasks for work. Detection, herding, hunting, search and rescue, police, and military dogs are all examples of working dogs.

Common Working Dogs:

Search and Rescue: From missing person cases to natural disasters, dogs have been an integral part of finding people who are in dire situations.  Search and rescue (SAR) dogs can either use a scent in the air or the scent of a specific object to find who they’re looking for.  They can be used in many different situations, including disasters – such as earthquakes where dogs can find people beneath the rubble – cadaver searches, drowning situations, and avalanches.  Search and rescue training is a rigorous process starting from puppyhood.

Explosives detection:  Dogs have been serving our country at home and abroad for many years saving lives by warning their handlers of explosive devices.  These canine heroes work with the police, Transportation Security Administration (TSA), and military to locate dangerous materials.  The dogs go through an intense training course to learn how to locate and identify a wide variety of explosives and to alert the handlers of their presence. 

Cancer detection: Believe it or not, scientists were able to train Labrador Retrievers to sniff out cancer in patients’ breath by smelling samples and sitting down in front of the one that was cancerous.  Cancer cells give off different odors than regular cells and they change the way a person’s breath smells– a dog’s keen nose can tell the difference.