Schutzhund, currently known competitively as IGP and previously as IPO, is a dog sport that tests a dog's tracking, obedience, and protection skills, and evaluates if a dog has the appropriate traits and characteristics of a good working dog. It was developed in Germany in the early 1900s as a suitability test for German Shepherds, but soon became the model for training and evaluating all five of the German protection breeds, which included Boxer, Dobermann, Riesenschnauzer, and Rottweiler. Though any breed of dog can participate, today the sport is dominated by German Shepherds and the closely related Belgian Malinois breed. Dog owners and handlers participate in Schutzhund clubs as a group activity for training the dogs, and clubs sponsor trials to test the dogs and award titles. The best dogs can qualify to participate in national and international level championships.
In general, an assistance dog, known as a service dog in the United States, is a dog trained to aid or assist an individual with a disability. Many are trained by an assistance dog organisation, or by their handler, often with the help of a professional trainer.
The Puli is a small-medium breed of Hungarian herding and livestock guarding dog known for its long, corded coat. The tight curls of the coat appear similar to dreadlocks. A similar-looking, but much larger breed – also Hungarian – is the Komondor. The term used for a group of Puli is Pulik.
A police dog is a dog that is specifically trained to assist police and other law-enforcement personnel. Their duties include: searching for drugs and explosives, locating missing people, finding crime scene evidence, and attacking people targeted by the police. Police dogs must remember several verbal cues and hand gestures. The most commonly used breeds are the German Shepherd, Belgian Malinois, Bloodhound, Dutch Shepherd, and the retriever breeds. Recently, the Belgian Malinois has become the dog of choice for police and military work due to their intense drive and focus. Malinois are smaller and more agile than German Shepherd Dogs, and have fewer health issues. However, a well-bred working line German Shepherd Dog is just as successful and robust as a Malinois.
A leash is a rope or similar material used to control an animal by attaching it to a collar, harness, or halter. In British English, a lease is generally for a larger animal, with lead being more commonly used when walking a dog.
An obedience school is an institution that trains pets how to behave properly. When puppies are young and in the first stages of training, they are often taken by their owners to obedience schools. Training usually takes place in small groups. In addition to training pets themselves, obedience schools also teach pet owners how to train, praise, and scold their pets themselves. Schools can teach at a various set of levels, ranging from the very basics for puppies to more advanced for competition level dogs. Most training in schools however, focuses on making dogs listen through basic commands such as sit, stay, lie down, etc.
Dog training is the application of behavior analysis which uses the environmental events of antecedents and consequences to modify the dog behavior, either for it to assist in specific activities or undertake particular tasks, or for it to participate effectively in contemporary domestic life. While training dogs for specific roles dates back to Roman times at least, the training of dogs to be compatible household pets developed with suburbanization in the 1950s.
Prey drive is the instinctive inclination of a carnivore to find, pursue and capture prey. The term is chiefly used to describe and analyse habits in dog training.
A muzzle is a device that is placed over the snout of an animal to keep them from biting or otherwise opening their mouth.
An animal collar is a device that attaches to the neck of an animal to allow it to be harnessed or restrained.
The Bolognese is a small dog breed of the bichon type, originating in Italy. The name refers to the northern Italian city of Bologna. It is part of the toy dog group and is considered a companion dog. They love attention, and make good house pets. They are good at socializing with other dogs, big and small. They have a strong bond with the person/s with whom they spend the most time.
A dog crate is a metal, wire, plastic, or fabric enclosure with a door in which a dog may be kept for security or transportation. Dog crates are designed to replicate a dog's natural den and as such can provide them with a place of refuge at home or when traveling to new surroundings. Other common reasons for using a dog crate are for toilet training a new puppy, transporting a dog, limiting access while the dog learns rules, ensuring the dog's safety, confining a dog in locations where dogs cannot safely or legally roam freely, or giving a dog a place to go when visitors come to the house.
The Pražský Krysařík is a small breed of dog from the Czech Republic that is rarely seen outside its country of origin. It is the smallest breed in the world by breed standard, because of the maximum height of the dogs, unlike Chihuahuas who are measured by weight.
A chew toy is designed to be chewed by animals for purposes of stimulation and relief from boredom. The act of gnawing on a chew toy is meant to be soothing and to assist small animals, like puppies, in event of easing the pain when breaking in their adult teeth as the chewing process releases feel-good chemicals from the brain. There are several different types of chew toys, including rawhide, wood, paper and mineral. Chew toys are commonly associated with dogs, though they are also used by birds, rodents, and rabbits.
Temperament tests assess dogs for certain behaviors or suitability for dog sports or adoption from an animal shelter by observing the animal for unwanted or potentially dangerous behavioral traits, such as aggressiveness towards other dogs or humans, shyness, or extreme fear.
A dog toy is a toy that is specifically for dogs to play with. Dog toys come in many varieties, including dog bones, puppy toys, balls, tug toys, training aids, squeaky toys, discs and frisbees, plush toys, and sticks.
Guide Dogs for the Blind (GDB) is a guide dog school located in the United States, with campuses in San Rafael, California, and Boring, Oregon. It was founded in 1942 by Lois Merrihew and Don Donaldson to help veterans who had been blinded in World War II. Guide Dogs for the Blind has about 2100 Guide Dog teams across the United States and Canada.
Guiding Eyes for the Blind is one of eleven accredited schools in the U.S. for training guide dogs — dogs trained to lead the blind and visually impaired. It houses a 10-acre (40,000 m2) headquarters, training center and veterinary clinic in Yorktown Heights, New York, and it also operates a canine development center in Patterson, New York, and a training site in White Plains, New York.
Wolves are sometimes kept as exotic pets, and in some rarer occasions, as working animals. Although closely related to domesticated dogs, wolves do not show the same tractability as dogs in living alongside humans, and generally, a greater amount of effort is required in order to obtain the same amount of reliability. Wolves also need much more space than dogs, about 25 to 40 square kilometres so they can exercise.
A flirt pole, also called a "flirt stick", is a piece of exercise equipment for dogs that entices a dog to chase a fast moving lure. This equipment is often used to physically condition a dog and improve his or her skills for better performance in certain competitions such as lure-coursing or Schutzhund. It is often used simply to get a dog to exert a lot of energy in a small space.
