The Komondor, also known as the Hungarian sheepdog, is a large, white-coloured Hungarian breed of livestock guardian dog with a long, corded coat.
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, Giant Schnauzer, and Rottweiler. Though any breed of dog can participate, today the sport is dominated by German Shepherds and the Belgian Shepherd 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.
An assistance dog is a dog that receives specialized training to aid an individual with a disability in navigating everyday life. Assistance dogs can be trained by an organization, or by their handler.
The Boxer is a medium to large, short-haired dog breed of mastiff-type, developed in Germany. The coat is smooth and tight-fitting; colors are fawn or brindled, with or without white markings. Boxers are brachycephalic, have a square muzzle, mandibular prognathism, very strong jaws, and a powerful bite ideal for hanging on to large prey. The Boxer was bred from the Old English Bulldog and the now extinct Bullenbeisser, which became extinct by crossbreeding rather than by a decadence of the breed. The Boxer is a member of both The Kennel Club and American Kennel Club (AKC) Working Group.
The Australian Cattle Dog, or simply Cattle Dog, is a breed of herding dog developed in Australia for droving cattle over long distances across rough terrain. This breed is a medium-sized, short-coated dog that occurs in two main colour forms. It has either red or black hair distributed fairly evenly through a white coat, which gives the appearance of a "red" or "blue" dog.
The Puli is a small-medium breed of Hungarian herding 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.
A police dog, also known as a K-9, is a dog that is trained to assist police and other law enforcement officers. Their duties may include searching for drugs and explosives, locating missing people, finding crime scene evidence, protecting officers and other people, and attacking suspects who flee from officers. The breeds most commonly used by law enforcement are the German Shepherd, Belgian Malinois, Bloodhound, Dutch Shepherd, and Labrador Retriever. In recent years, the Belgian Malinois has become the leading choice for police and military work due to their intense drive, focus, agility, and smaller size, though German Shepherds remain the breed most associated with law enforcement.
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 leash is generally for a larger animal, with lead being more commonly used when walking a dog.
Housebreaking or house-training is the process of training a domesticated animal that lives with its human owners in a house or other residence to excrete outdoors, or in a designated indoor area, rather than to follow its instinctive behaviour randomly inside the house.
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.
Crate training is the process of training a pet to tolerate confinement in a dog crate or cage. Crate advocates often claim that dogs are "den-dwelling" animals and that a crate can become a "den" substitute and a familiar and safe location for the pet. Most puppies can eventually tolerate crate training if it is introduced properly. The initial stress from being confined can give way to "increased feelings of security, safety, and comfort" after repeated exposure to the crate. Long-term or excessive crate confinement "may lead to emotional and behavioral deterioration over time." On the other hand, if properly done, crate training can play a major role in housebreaking a dog as fast as possible. Confining a dog in a crate or cage restricts its movement and freedom, If crate training is not taken seriously, the dog may start soiling around the house.
Dog training is a kind of animal training, 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.
A dog crate, dog cage, or kennel 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 Guide Dogs for the Blind Association, known colloquially as Guide Dogs, is a British charitable organisation that uses guide dogs to help blind and partially blind people. The organisation also participates in political activism for the rights of those with vision impairments.
A chew toy is an object designed to be chewed on by animals for stimulation and relief from boredom or discomfort. Chew toys can help relieve pain associated with teething, which is especially true for younger animals, such as puppies. There are several types of chew toys made from different materials, including rawhide, wood, paper, and mineral. Chew toys are commonly associated with dogs, but have also been effective with birds, rodents, and rabbits. Some parents give human infants a similar toy called a teether to help soothe inflamed gums during teething.
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.
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 a non-profit school based in Yorktown Heights, New York that trains guide dogs to aid people who are visually impaired. It also operates a canine development center in Patterson, New York, and a training site in White Plains, New York. It was the first guide dog training school to be accredited by the National Accreditation Council for Agencies Serving the Blind and Visually Handicapped.
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 the dog's 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.
