Do you like your dogs to have a 'job'?

Spudlet

Spudlet

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Just wondering... I guess most of the dogs here are pets, even if some are also working dogs, but how many people feel their dogs need a job?

I got Henry just as a pet, but I find I want to do more with him - we are still working on gundog training, and I do want to explore search and rescue too. I also think he'd make a cracking PAT dog, if only he would calm down a little bit, as he loves attention and fuss, and will accept any amount of poking and prodding to get it! He just gets a little too excitable at the beginning.

I just find the idea of having him as a pet alone quite unsatisfying these days... although of course I would never swap him if it turned out that's what he would be. So I wonder if that's more down to him than to me - I think he has potential to do something, just not sure what.

Anyone else feel like this?
 
Absolutely.
While Bella is a bit of a lost cause :p well, she's awfully good at looking pretty :p
B was pretty much a nightmare in his first year, as people on here will know...giving him a job to do, focus for both of us, changed him immeasurably.

The dog aggression, the wildness, the prey drive, all came under control.
He shows huge aptitude in tracking, and the pride I feel when I see him check a cross-track, then ignore it and follow the right scent, nose down, mouth frothing, you can't compare it.
When he completes the agility course by himself, tail waving in the air, without me even asking him to, (but doubled up in laughter)
When he stood, with me out of sight, as a dog he tried to attack as a puppy, walked close past him, and he ignored it, all he wanted to know was when I was coming back, all those weeks and months on the cold, windy, training field were worth it!

He has an active mind and body, a real thinker, like a lot of his breed, he needs occupation and I dread to think how many have been PTS or ended up in rescue for the want of doing a bit of obedience or agility a few times a week :(
 
Oh and just another boring essay...I really do regret being too young/inexperienced to work my old bitch D, she would have been amazing. She was from a German herding line, still unbroken since the 1950s...I do love the words of Capt v Stephanitz, the father of the breed: "Make sure my shepherd dog remains a working dog, for I have struggled all my life long for that aim"

The amount of people at their wits' end, who have come to our club with dogs who were arsey, grabby, bolshy, and are now doing really well and have totally settled with a bit of occupation, is amazing.
 
I think some dogs need to be doing something, Mouse is a fine example, in fact so's Jimmy. Moo has her agility which is great for keeping her fit and gives her lots of mental stimulation - mental being the key word!!

Jim's not so bad now but as a youngster he wasn't interested in agility but his obedience classes did him the world of good, not just behavior wise but generally.

I think they'd both make good working dogs too if I had the time to train them. Mouse did her basics before I had her back but I never carried it on. They hunt down the stables. They're from working stock and that is what Jack Russells are bred for.

I like to see them doing what they're bred for but they're my babies first and foremost lol
 
Given that huskies have to be exercised while attached to you somehow, for fear of them buggering off and being hit by a truck, it just makes total sense to work her in harness. It's a really strong instinct for them - she'd never pulled in her life but the first time I tied her to the bike we were away, no problems - and as well as clearly deriving lots of enjoyment from it it also thoroughly tires her out which no amount of long-line walking will ever do.

Anyway, let's face it, they're not cut out for anything else. :p

I think it's the potential thing. Whenever I meet up with the other mad husky lady in town, whose dogs are purely pets, I think it's a shame that such a big strapping dog isn't working in harness.

He's a lovely, well-balanced dog, incidentally, but I still find it bizarre that we keep as pets the same dogs which have been bred for hundreds or even thousands of years to do a specific task perfectly and then expect them to adapt to a sedentary pet lifestyle.

I'm just itching for the cold weather, a new scooter and a dog old enough and fit enough to do it properly now. :)

ETA: The few dogs I know that don't have any job at all (even a trifling one) are the only aggressive/unbalanced ones I know. I don't think this is a coincidence.
 
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I try my hardest to have hide and seek games to keep the Spangles mentally active but to be fair they have assigned themselves their own roles....

Molly = head kitchen assistant, chief food taster and head archeological digger :rolleyes:

Archie = 1st in charge of keeping the bed warm, official sock carrier and champion cushion humper :mad: ;)
 
I think that is just it BC - it's the potential thing. I love watching Henry hoon about using that nose of his, and I just think of what we could do if only I could channel it to Good instead of Evil:p:D:D:D

And he is so gentle with children and the disabled that I do think he'd be a lovely PAT dog - but I read their criteria and I don't think they'd have him as loose lead walking is not his strongest suit:(
 
Mine is a pet, but its her duty to make sure the garden is cat, rat and mouse free. She takes her role of 'baby sitting' seriously too and will guard the children if the 'rodent' patrol is done!!
My mum's bitch, a coladore (?!) does agility, sheep and cattle herding and obedience all on her own and has never been 'trained'. We love Moss!!!
 
Yeah my akita and rotti are personal body guards and they do a fine job when im alone on the night shift:D:D

Otherwise no jobs as such, the pointer hunts of his own free will and I never stop him, his recall is fab, he hunts the empty crop fields and he always returns when we head for the van:D
Pancake also now hunts birds, it hillarious watchng her trying to catch the low flyers, and she hunts pheasants:eek:

the others rotti and shaggy x breed and whippet are in a perminant state of tiredness as they are competition frizby catchers ball chasers.

The whippey x grey boy and shaggy lurch hunt each other and runs non stop, the deerhounds wonders a state of pensioner style day dream:D

The akita also scents and like to hunt for herself.

The bull lurcher likes to hunt other dogs:D:D

They are all worn out and well exercised.
 
Mine and both PAT dogs. They have perfected the fine art of looking staving and getting the sad brown eyes out, when the old people have dog treat for them!!
 
blackcob said:
He's a lovely, well-balanced dog, incidentally, but I still find it bizarre that we keep as pets the same dogs which have been bred for hundreds or even thousands of years to do a specific task perfectly and then expect them to adapt to a sedentary pet lifestyle.

I'm just itching for the cold weather, a new scooter and a dog old enough and fit enough to do it properly now. :)
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Agreed i would love to work mine,if you look at there history there were so many jobs they done,which are now defunct,i look at a manic jack russel an think,you sir could earn money for your owner,an burn off all that pent up energy if only your owner would go to a farm an say "any rats in your hay mate,fancy getting rid"
 
Spudlet, not sure where in the country you are but I am very sure your local search and rescue group would welcome you and Henry with open arms, even if just for a chat about what's involved. Link below is for the Norfolk lowland search and rescue and the huskey in the gallery pictures is a friends dog called Baja, he's just the coolest dog on earth, so laid back but has really enjoyed the training.

Hope you find something to suit you both

www.norlsar.org.uk/

JDx
 
Oh yes they do!!

Kensa, Ellie, Jake - They are my picking up doglets (Ellie being the Chief!)

Willow, Daisey, Fern - Beating Doglets

Lucy - Semi-Retired Beating doglet.

Maisey - Currently in the 'i hate everyone' teenager stage but will pick up next year.

Un-named, 8 day old spaniel puppy - eventually pick up for me too!!!!!!!

:D:D:D
 
Millie has lots of jobs, looking cute is one, keeping the duvet in place is another. She is particularly tallented at giving at least 2 hours prior notice of meal times and barking 10 minutes after visitors have arrived
 
Bearsmum said:
Spudlet, not sure where in the country you are but I am very sure your local search and rescue group would welcome you and Henry with open arms, even if just for a chat about what's involved. Link below is for the Norfolk lowland search and rescue and the huskey in the gallery pictures is a friends dog called Baja, he's just the coolest dog on earth, so laid back but has really enjoyed the training.

Hope you find something to suit you both

www.norlsar.org.uk/

JDx
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That's where I am:D I have been trying to find a training session I can get to, and being scuppered by various occurences every time, but I AM making it to the next one, come Hell or high water!
 
Well my dogs are 'just' pets and do not have any behavioural issues!!

Apart from Beezle, of course, who is a professional footballer aiming for the Serie A and therefore requires diverse but daily training.
 
FrodoBeutlin said:
Apart from Beezle, of course, who is a professional footballer aiming for the Serie A and therefore requires diverse but daily training.
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LOL! Fraggle has got into football this week. I think she shows great potential! :D

More seriously, I LOVE seeing Popple out working (beating) and the money she earns is rather nice too ;) and I know she loves it more than anything. However, we don't get to do it too many times a season as I have to be able to get away for the weekend for us to have a day out. Her main 'job' is my companion/sidekick/shadow - she comes everywhere with me, (incl. running alongside my bike when I'm by the river :D) and my word I've missed her whilst she's been feeding the poplets :(
 
Otto's main job is keeping me sane, and I have to say if he was working for any other company he would have been sacked now :D

Although most dogs pick up when they are 'working', it's only us that distinguishes the day as work for them. Otto spends every second of every day looking for birds to flush, so to him going beating is just a more successful day than normal!! As far as he's concern he's a working dog, even if he'd never been out beating, it's how he's bred not something I've chosen for him!
 
blackcob said:
The few dogs I know that don't have any job at all (even a trifling one) are the only aggressive/unbalanced ones I know. I don't think this is a coincidence.
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Ditto that!
I walk a weimaraner thAT really needs to be given a job to do!

Cuds hasn't done anything since June (used to do obedience & started agility) and you can definatly tell. He used to flop into bed at about 8pm, now late into the night he often sits and just... watches me. He's probably going a bit mad. Really want to do tracking with him but not sure how to start :S
 
Jack is a PAT dog and loves it, he has seemed much less 'himself' during his enforced break and we'll be getting back into it as soon as we can.

Quila hasn't got a job yet but I'm hoping she'll make a PAT dog too.

Neither of mine have any inclination towards the jobs they were bred to do (thank god! I couldn't deal with trying to herd the horses..would drive me mad!) but I do like to keep my dogs brains active and give them a task.
 
Stargirl - What breed is he? And where are you based?

You can contact the Kennel Club and ask where your nearest Working Trials club is.
GSD League clubs I think allow 10% of their member dogs in any club to be non-GSDs.
Their website has a list of club contacts under the 'Working Branch' section.
We do obedience tracking, which has quite rigid rules (in terms of the dog having its nose on the ground, the length of line that must be used, the amount of corners and cross-tracks the dog must navigate, the reaction and the speed of reaction when the dog finds the article) and is different to search and rescue or police type work, but it is addictive!!!
I have cheated in the past and let him have a go at air-scenting, which was also great fun.
 
Some dogs need a job, some dont! I have one that is a show dog and is out most weekends showing. She loves it (especially meeting up with her "boyfriend" at the shows, she's such a tart! :D ) and it keeps her busy and is something i can do with her as my hobby which is great, better than me going off doing something and not including my dogs. I have two others which are just pets. I do show them occassionally at lower levels and the labrador does a bit of obedience (he's rubbish at it but LOVES it, his recall is always very exhuberant lol!!) but their job is "PET" and its a very important job :D

But, saying that, all 3 are my pets above all else. They live in the house, sleep in the bed and watch TV on the sofa with me.
 
Una, I totally see showing as a job too :D
There was a brilliant dog on the circuit in the 1990s and I always remember him being like a machine, the way he showed himself, once he was in, he switched and you always saw him seem to grow in stature when he was put at the front of the class.
Think he is still the breed record holder for CCs.
I handled a dog a few months ago from Germany and he was something similar, I was just holding the lead, he could have gone round on his own, without me!

At the end of the day they are all companions and that's their most important job, but some from the 'working' breeds need that little bit more to keep them (and us!!!) sane.
 
Pops is mostly a pet :D She's coming up to 6 months old, and I think she has a flair for Agility (does that count as a job??). We've done an Agility based training course (no jumping) and she's on a waiting list for a beginners class starting early next year. I'm also hoping she'll be a ratter, but she hasn't seen any yet. She practises well on her cuddly toys though!

She's also a good guard dog and barks at anyone walking past on the road outside our house. God forbid a dog comes near her garden, it would lose its ear drums if nothing else :D And she likes to look after me - I fell over a couple of weeks ago, and sprained my ankle, so I was sitting on the floor for a while til the pain subsided :o She insisted on sitting on me/near me until I got up, then she stayed close to me until we went home. I also very nearly choked to death last night :o (heimlich manoeuver and everything...oops) and she sat with me until bed time, making sure I was ok.

So pet, general protector, and whizzing round Agility courses when she's old enough. Oh, and she's on a trick display team, so add in "entertaining people". Not bad for a JRTx :D
 
CaveCanem said:
Una, I totally see showing as a job too :D
There was a brilliant dog on the circuit in the 1990s and I always remember him being like a machine, the way he showed himself, once he was in, he switched and you always saw him seem to grow in stature when he was put at the front of the class.
Think he is still the breed record holder for CCs.
I handled a dog a few months ago from Germany and he was something similar, I was just holding the lead, he could have gone round on his own, without me!

At the end of the day they are all companions and that's their most important job, but some from the 'working' breeds need that little bit more to keep them (and us!!!) sane.
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Thats just like my Maya, especially if she is in the big ring with all eyes on here, she shows herself off beautifully, she knows when its a big occassion :D

I think she is one of those dogs who if she just had the "normal" pet life of a couple of walks a day and thats it, she would go crazy! If i pack the car for a show and dont put her in (as i have done recently a couple of times for pug/labrador shows i wasnt taking her to) she acts like a spoilt child having a tantrum :D
 
Ahh thanks for the info CC, he's a mix (apparently GSD/collie but it's debatable) I'm in Nottinghamshire but prepared to travel as the only places I've found by me seem to be residential training.
Have emailed the KK so will see what they say!

Do you do one-on-one training? He has issues with dogs he does not know, so I didn't want to join a class somewhere as a total noob with a mutt (called Cuddles, it doesn't help) bouncing around at the end of the lead while I fumble about and hide my clicker....!
What you do sounds too hardcore for us, but very interesting! I've just seen an working trials event in lincolnshire I might have to go to now!
 
yes. i bought her for agility. she has developed elbow displasia (age 3).... problem with her carpi through agility too...

so shes retired... pain free... just a bit stiff in a morning. Had 2 more dogs before her that have done agility and won a lot.

Just very unlucky really.... shes happy and 'healthy' and just goes to walks and plays now :) Her new job is 'farm dog/pooeater' :D
 
I shall go against the majority view here - nope, my dogs do not need to have a job? I have had dogs literally all my life, and they have always been 'pets' :)

Mind you if I wanted to be awkward I could argue that in that case their 'job' is companionship :rolleyes:
 
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