DOGS CAN DO SO MANY JOBS! by Greg Markelz
Our pets do so many things for us it is no surprise that 68% of all US households own one. Dog-only households are 33% of all households and another 17% have a dog and at least one other pet. However, today I want to focus on the jobs dogs can do.
Did you know that when you are eating your truffles, you may have a dog to thank for that? These rare mushrooms are not easy to find, so we need a specially trained dog to do that for us. Try to do that job yourself next time you are in the mood for a truffle! Check out this video about finding truffles.
Dogs are long known for guarding, everything from your house, to herds of animals. Their unique skillsets also help them perform herding and watchdog duties.. A dog will hear, smell and see danger before we will, which makes them invaluable for these tasks.
Search and rescue is another well-known job for our dogs. They can use their incredible noses to find humans, living or not, among the mayhem of natural disasters, man-made disasters, and even when you are hiding from them in your house! They can be trained to rescue a human from water as well.
Detective work is another area where dogs can help police pursue suspects, search in buildings, and find cadavers. And how about this, dogs are being used to detect cancer tissue, I will take a dog over any other cancer test if it is an option, how about you? They can also detect certain allergies, in certain people.
Of course we have to mention how dogs help us by helping disabled and elderly people. Guide dogs for the blind and deaf, dogs that assist with mobility, generally helping those people keep more of their valuable independence.
Hunting is a job dogs have helped humans with all the way back to when we first formed our close bond with them. Their eyes, noses and ears are simply better than ours, and they can pursue game where we cannot.
Acting is a more recent development in the dog job world. Their willingness to be trained and to please us allows them to serve this function, and how many of us have a favorite movie dog? (Hint, mine is the dog from the first John Wick movie, he set off the chain reaction of events that has so far spawned two sequels) Check out the discussion forum on the Linked Local Network get in on the discussion about your favorite movie animal.
Sled dogs have a really hard job, haul a human and a heavy sled full of supplies through impossible, impassable conditions. People living way up north depend on them when there is no other option.
My final dog job mention comes from the world of college sports. Check out this cool canine job by clicking here: