Working dogs or shall we say coworker dogs; for centuries dogs have been playing a predominant role in helping humans. Archaeologists assert that the dog was the first animal man domesticated. Since man start killing game to eat and survive, the dog has been participating and both have shared the same accommodation. Drawings from the Stone Age, 50000 to 10000 BC depict hunting dogs assisting hunters. Later, dating from the Roman era, we learn that the Romans had classified dog breeds in a similar way as we do today to include hunting dog, house dog and sheep dog. I found about thirty different categories of dog job titles; feel free to mention any forgotten category by adding comments to the blog article. Air scent dog Assistance dog Avalanche dog Barge dog Cadaver dog Cow dog Detection dog Disaster dog Draught dog Fighting dog Greater hospitality dog Guard dog Hunting dog Mascot dog Military dog Police FBI dog Psychiatric dog Rescue dog Rescue swimmer dog Search dog Sheep dog Sled dog Therapy dog Tracking dog Trailing dog War dog Water search dog For the purpose of the first Working Dogs article let’s consider the first five categories: 1- Air scent dog: They work with their nose in the air to pick human scent in their surroundings. Their nose seeks a scent carried by the air and they will try to locate the scent source by following the scent path. The air scent dog is the most frequently encountered type of SAR dog (Search and Rescue dog). They work best in large parks or any area that could be closed for the duration of the search to ensure that other human scents are not combined with the targeted scent. Unfortunately air pollution, temperature, and day time are among a few conditions that could impact search results. Best results are obtained in the early morning hours, mid to late afternoon, on days that are not too warm and only slightly breezy. 2 - Assistance dog: USA is home to more than twenty thousand dog human teams. It requires four to six months of training to adequately prepare an assistance dog to perform over one hundred different tasks. Most guide dogs wear a harness with a U-shaped handle; the dog assists in three main categories Obstacle Avoidance, Signaling Changes in Elevation and Locating Objects. Other type of assistance dog: Hearing dogs working with a deaf or hard of hearing person will not, as one may think, bark to indicate a problem. Think about it; the dog owner might not hear the dog barking and the barking can disturb a quiet neighborhood. Instead of barking hearing dogs will touch their human partner by using a nose nudge or a pawing in order to communicate information on surroundings. Assistance dogs may also be trained in retrieving and carrying tasks. Retrieving examples: Bring a portable phone, pick up dropped items and retrieve a wallet. Carrying examples: Move loads from different locations; carry mail and newspaper; even pay for a purchase if the register area is hard to reach for his human partner. Other tasks but not limited to: Open door and drawers by clamping on a hanging strip. Even more useful is waking up his partner in case of smoke in the house and or using a special device to call 911. 3 – Avalanche dog: In the 1930’s the Swiss Army started training avalanche dogs in Avalanche Rescue. Many avalanche victims owe their lives to those dogs; they won’t be the only ones though. Avalanche dogs are also known to have rescued an immobilized person buried alive by snow fall or an off-trail skier who fell into a crevasse. When the avalanche dog finds a potential scent source he buries his head into the snow and starts digging. Swiss statistics (from 1992) show that about 90 percent of victims will make it if found within the first 15 minutes; after the 15 minute period the survival rate drops drastically. Fact: It’s hard to imagine, but true; a well trained avalanche dog does the job of 20 human searchers. 4 – Barge dog, unexpected category isn’t it? Or Belgian Barge Dog, breed name: Schipperke, originated from Belgium. Early writings by the monk Wenceslas in the 15th Century mention Schipperke. However, most of the knowledge about the breed is due to the French magazine “Chasse et Peche”, which first published an article about these dogs. The article was later translated into English. These dogs were seen aboard canal barges, dealing with three tasks: Indeed security, barking if anyone was approaching; ratting; and accompanying the towing horse, often gently biting the horses’ heels to keep them moving. There have also been some reports that during World War II they helped the resistance by running messages. Apart for the Barge dog job, the Schipperke is often seen cruising the oceans as the breed is not prone to sea sickness. 5 – Cadaver dog Cadaver dogs receive training where they learn to disregard live human scent as well as animal scent. A cadaver dog is a police dog trained to search for cadavers and human remains. It’s a horrid task, but no one else will have a better nose for the job. A trained cadaver dog’s mission is possible due to the unique human decomposition scent that has no other replica. They can pick the sent through deep underground, underwater and even through concrete. When a scent is picked they will quietly out of respect lie down. A cadaver dog and dog handler form a well bound team, living together and going to any place together. Next article will depict 5 other dog jobs: Cow dog Detection dog Disaster dog Draught dog Fighting dog