Guide dogs are assistance dogs trained to lead blind or visually impaired people around obstacles. Although dogs can be trained to navigate various obstacles, they are red–green colour blind and incapable of interpreting street signs. The human does the directing, based on skills acquired through previous mobility training. The handler might be likened to an aircraft's navigator, who must know how to get from one place to another, and the dog is the pilot, who gets them there safely. In several countries guide dogs, along with most other service and hearing dogs, are exempt from regulations against the presence of animals in places such as restaurants and public transportation.
The Labrador Retriever or simply Labrador is a British breed of retriever gun dog. It was developed in the United Kingdom from St. John's water dogs imported from the colony of Newfoundland, and was named after the Labrador region of that colony. It is among the most commonly kept dogs in several countries, particularly in the European world.
The German Shepherd, also known in Britain as an Alsatian, is a German breed of working dog of medium to large size. The breed was developed by Max von Stephanitz using various traditional German herding dogs from 1899.
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.
A hearing dog is a type of assistance dog specifically selected and trained to assist people who are deaf or hard of hearing by alerting their handler to important sounds, such as doorbells, smoke alarms, ringing telephones, or alarm clocks. They may also work outside the home, alerting their handler to sounds such as sirens, forklifts, and a person calling the handler's name.
A herding dog, also known as a stock dog or working dog, is a type of dog that either has been trained in herding livestock or belongs to one of the breeds that were developed for herding. A dog specifically trained to herd sheep is known as a sheep dog or shepherd dog, and one trained to herd cattle is known as a cattle dog or cow dog.
Gun dogs or bird dogs are types of hunting dogs developed to assist hunters in finding and retrieving game, typically various fowls that are shot down on the flight. The term hunting dog is broad and includes all breeds and skills of hunting canines, but "gun dogs" refers to canines that are trained to work alongside a loud firearm while hunting or retrieving game. Gun dogs are divided into three main categories: pointers and retrievers, setters and spaniels, and water dogs.
The Belgian Shepherd, also known as the Belgian Sheepdog or the Chien de Berger Belge, is a Belgian breed of herding dog of medium size. It is bred in four distinct varieties based on coat type and colour: the long-haired black Groenendael; the rough-haired fawn Laekenois; the short-haired fawn Malinois, and the long-haired fawn Tervuren. The American Kennel Club considers the four varieties to be separate breeds.
A detection dog or sniffer dog is a dog that is trained to use its senses to detect substances such as explosives, illegal drugs, wildlife scat, currency, blood, and contraband electronics such as illicit mobile phones. The sense most used by detection dogs is smell. Hunting dogs that search for game, and search and rescue dogs that work to find missing humans are generally not considered detection dogs but fit instead under their own categories. There is some overlap, as in the case of cadaver dogs, trained to search for human remains.
The Dutch Shepherd is a herding dog of Dutch origin. They were used by shepherds and farmers who needed a versatile dog that made few demands and was able to adapt to a harsh and meager existence.
A search-and-rescue (SAR) dog is a dog trained to respond to crime scenes, accidents, missing persons events, as well as natural or man-made disasters. These dogs detect human scent, which is a distinct odor of skin flakes and water and oil secretions unique to each person and have been known to find people under water, snow, and collapsed buildings, as well as remains buried underground. SAR dogs are a non-invasive aid in the location of humans, alive or deceased.
Dogs have a very long history in warfare, starting in ancient times. From being trained in combat, to their use as the scouts, sentries, messengers, mercy dogs, and trackers, their uses have been varied and some continue to exist in modern military usage.
The Dog Support Unit (DSU) is a Met Operations branch of London's Metropolitan Police, providing trained police dogs and police officer handlers.
On August 8, 2007, during a canine training exercise, North Carolina Highway Patrol Sgt. Charles L. Jones was video taped by cell phone hanging his assigned police dog by the neck and repeatedly kicking the dog in order for it to release a chew toy that was in the dog's mouth. Jones claimed he was following proper canine handling procedure.
In the United States, a courthouse facility dog is a professionally trained facility dog that has graduated from an accredited assistance dog organization that is a member of Assistance Dogs International. Such dogs assist crime victims, witnesses and others during the investigation and prosecution of crimes, as well as during other legal proceedings. Courthouse facility dogs also provide assistance to Drug Court and Mental Health Court participants during their recovery from drugs, alcohol, mental illness and posttraumatic stress disorder.
In June 2010, K9s4COPs was founded by Kristi Schiller of Houston, Texas, to raise charitable funds to donate K9s to law enforcement agencies and school districts across the nation.
The U.S. Military Working Dog Teams National Monument is a monument to military working dogs located at Joint Base San Antonio (JBSA)-Lackland in San Antonio, Texas. The monument represents handlers, dogs, and veterinary support, from all military service branches that have made up the Military Working Dog program since World War II. The monument grounds include a 3,000 square feet granite plaza, granite pedestals, granite history wall, granite benches and water fountain. The granite pedestals have large bronze statues of dogs and handlers. The monument was dedicated on October 28, 2013.
K9 Killer was a Belgian Malinois dog that worked with the Kruger National Park's Special Operations team to apprehend rhinoceros poachers in South Africa. On 6 January 2016, he was awarded a PDSA Gold Medal for his anti-poaching work. Amos Mzimba is the owner of K9 Killer.
The National Explosives Detection Canine Team Program is a program administered by the Transportation Security Administration which uses law enforcement and TSA-run explosives detection dog teams to detect explosives in transportation environments.
In law enforcement work, police dogs are used worldwide for a variety of purposes that include apprehension, detection, and search and rescue.
