Working Dogs: What is a working dog?

I have debated for a long time how I have wanted to approach this topic and I decided to do a series on working dogs, what they are, how to own and basically what it means to have one.

What Is A Working Dog?

The definition by Websters Dictionary of working is:

adjective: working

1. 1.

   having paid employment.

   
   

   • engaged in manual labor.

     
     

     "the vote is no longer sufficient protection for the working man"
   • relating to, suitable for, or for the purpose of work.

     
     

     "improvements in living and working conditions"
   • (of an animal) used in farming, hunting, or for guard duties; not kept as a pet or for show.
   • (of something possessed) sufficient to work with.
2. 2.

   functioning or able to function.

   
   

   • (of parts of a machine) moving and causing a machine to operate.

     
     

     "the working parts of a digital watch"

noun: working; plural noun: workings

1. 1.

   the action of doing work.

   • a mine or a part of a mine from which minerals are being extracted.
2. 2.

   the way in which a machine, organization, or system operates.

Nice try Doodles but you have,
to do something other than be
cute.

There it is in bold referring to use of an animal as "used in farming, hunting, or for guard duties; not kept as a pet or for show." I wonder how many grumpy show people they made with that. As much as I consider dog showing a sport and sometimes not an easy one at that, for the purpose of drawing a line it does not make a dog a working dog. But a working dog can show, that should be a clear distinction.

There should also be a clear distinction between 'Is,' as in currently working, 'was,'  sufficiently proven the dogs ability but currently does not work, and 'could,' the dog has the ability whether genetically or proven interest but hasn't consistently worked. A herding instinct certificate does not make your collie a working dog, as much as a terrier chasing squirrels is a working dog. 
But what is work? Work I describe as the work the dog was designed for. For many people the image of a herding dog moving sheep is what comes to mind. If your a terrier person it's a terrier bolting a tunnel (that's my thought). Or maybe it's a protection dog trained in schutzhund. What ever the case this is work. Carried through your dogs genetic personality and highlighted by nurturing this innate ability, work is an ongoing activity that your dog engages in.

Getting closer to work...

What about toy/ companion breeds? Theoretically you could prove that your Shihtzu or Chin is capable of doing the 'work' it was designed to do. Bred to be companions a dog should show that in temperament and actions. Dogs with CGC titles, therapy work, and other human engagement activities proves the dogs ability to 'work.' Maybe in not the transitional herding border collie sense but in a sense none the less. I urge breeders of these types of dogs to show these dogs innate ability to work in the sense they were bred to do. I also urge potential owners to search these breeders out if you want your dogs job to be your companion (maybe the world would have one less skittish Shitzu and that would be a good thing).  This is a gray area however considering the definition of working involved "not kept as a pet, or for show." But I think segregating these dogs out of a working standard is unfortunate and wrong.

Then there is the term "working breed." I think this is a terrible misnomer and stems from a variety of places, one of which is the AKC's Working Group. Which does involve a variety of breeds such as the Alaskan Malamute, Kuvasz, Great Dane, and Mastiff, that can work but whether or not a particular dog can work should not be based on this alone. Unfortunately this falls into the there is no real easy way to separate dogs into groups issue which won't be covered.


Hopefully this has given some insight as to what a working dog is and given you a way to form your own opinion of working dogs.

Work is hard, sleeping is better :)