Dogs have long been helping to keep us safe, by using their bark and their keen sense of smell and hearing, they guard against danger. The Great Pyrenees are known to guard over livestock, and the Belgian Malinois are used in military to keep soldiers safe. Big or small dogs, can ward off trouble. For millennia dogs have worked alongside humans to drive various types of livestock into groups such as cattle, fowl, reindeer and sheep. Some common breeds for this job include Australian cattle dogs, border collies and kelpies. Some of the first expeditions in the North and South Poles used dogsleds to explore the terrains. In Alaska sled dogs are still used to deliver medications and supplies to remote towns.
Police dogs have been helping police officers with detection work, cadaver detection, enforcing public order, search and rescue, pursuing suspects and searching buildings for many years. While German Shepherds are typically known for k-9 work, other dogs used can include bloodhounds, beagles, labs and malinois.
Similar to police dogs, military working dogs assist members of the military with their operations. These dogs may be used as detectors, trackers, sentries, and scouts. And they can take part in search and rescue. Most of the military working dogs are German shepherds, Dutch shepherds, and Belgian Malinois.
Search and Rescue dogs are trained to detect the scent of missing people in debris, hazardous weather, wilderness and even underwater. They’re amazing sense of smell can detect human scent through air and ground, living and dead. Newfoundland dogs, who are both strong and love water, can be trained to make great water rescue canines. They can swim out to a person in trouble and grab them with their mouths and pull them into shore. They are trained to recognize an unconscious swimmer and properly deal with the situation.
Service and Assistance Dogs assist humans on a daily basis, helping many live more independently from the elderly to the handicapped. There are autism dogs, guide dogs (for the blind and deaf), mobility assistance dogs, psychiatric service dogs, seizure alert and even dogs that can detect peanut allergies.