Dogs have been man’s best friend for the past 30,000 years!! More than best friends and companions, dogs are being bred and trained in jobs for dogs that serve and save lives.
Since dogs have a much greater sense of smell, hearing, and eyesight, they are suited to serve in many ways. Next, we start with a short list of dog breeds that are born with a drive to work.
Best Service Dogs for Jobs
- Alabai
- Border Collies
- Cocker Spaniel
- Caucasian Shepherd
- King Charles Cavalier Spaniel
- German Shepherd
- Labrador Retriever
- Golden Retriever
- Rottweiler
- Eastern European Shepherd
- Labrottie
Dogs have been soul mates, hunting companions, protection against humans and animals, and or herding farmyard animals. Since the very first wolf was tamed and a litter was born, they have been helping humanity.
A list of Jobs for Dogs in Ancient Times
- herding animals
- protecting herds from predators
- personal protection
- help repel raiding parties like the Alabai (the oldest known dog breed)
- hunting game big or small
- companionship and comfort
- for warmth
- companionship
Today we still have jobs for dogs to do. We need them for their keen sense of smell, sharper eyesight, ability to help us, and the ability to be loving and playful with us. Nowadays, we don’t really need them to help repel raiding parties, but rather as family protection and companions.
Every dog has a purpose in life, no matter how scruffy or little they look on the outside! A dog always knows what it is supposed to do from the inside.
So if you have a big dog and he/she is great at using their nose, take him/her to get certified as a search and rescue dog or as a cancer-sniffing canine.
For example, the King Charles Cavalier which was originally bred for companionship and fetching downed birds and appeared in England in the 1500s. Today they are much much more, they are used as therapy dogs, warmth, family companions, and occasionally used to fetch play toys.
In this article, we will give you 15 of the best jobs for dogs to do! We will show you what specific items or qualities your dog needs to have in order to be in a specific job sector. After all, we can’t let a Collie be a helicopter pilot!
JOBS FOR DOG
1. Search and Rescue Dogs
Search and Rescue can be a critical life-saving skill, that’s best suited to certain dog breeds. Like Beagles, Hounds, and German Shepherds who have been breed for tracking or hunting.
A well-trained Search and Rescue dog can track you or anybody or thing over almost any surface, including grass, snow, sand, rocks, concrete, asphalt, and water.
There are two ways dogs will track you, the first is by smelling the odors left on the ground and or on any surfaces by that person. While other dogs tracks you by sniffing the air and following that scent both trackers are called scent hounds.
2. Herding Dog/s
Herding animals is essential, and it is often the main way to get any animal from one area of the land to the next in a very quick and timely manner.
These dogs are also all specially breed over time to create the best herding dog breed around. Now even if you have a herding dog breed, you need to get them trained, to understand and obey your commands while in the middle of herding a big flock or herd.
Herding dogs can also be good with children, helping them to stay the safe in the yard. Herding dogs are often bossy and don’t react well if they are not given a job of some sort to do, to burn off energy.
3. Livestock Guardian Dog aka LGD
These breeds are often called Molosser dog breeds, the Molosser comes from a very ancient dog lineage. They were bred from ancient times to guard livestock, homes, and owners. They are different from the herders, which use predatory tactics to herd a group of animals from one area to the next.
The LGD’s (Livestock Guardians Dogs) never use predatory tactics on the animals they are guarding so long as they’ve been properly introduced and trained.
The LGD’s instinct is to protect their pack and training helps to acclimate them to recognize the flock or herd as part of their pack. From there the natural protective instinct takes over and they are a loyal protector for life.
The breed below is called the Alabai or Central Asian Shepherd and is a close relative to the Caucasian Shepherd. The Alabai has been around for at least 7,500 years and is considered one of the oldest dog breeds in the world. They have been used to guard herds, dog fight, and help repel raiding parties from different tribes.
4. Water Rescue Dogs
Have you seen those movies where people are out in the water and need rescuing? And the Helicopter comes circling about, and the dog jumps into the water? Well, just to let you know that there are dogs that have that fun and happy job.
Often, the dogs who are water rescue dogs are the Newfoundland dog or Newfie, they are very strong, extremely large, very confident, and excellent swimming dogs due to their webbed feet. If you have a Newfie, they come with special instincts to help save anyone in the water.
5. Military Dogs
War dogs have been used in armies since around 600 BC but most likely a lot earlier than that. Only scientific proof hasn’t been found as of yet, but we can probably guess.
The first written or should I say carved picture is of the Alyattes of Lydia battling the Cimmerians in 600 BC. Older scripts say that in the mid 7th century BC, war dogs were used by the Ephesus.
War Dogs have been used as sentries, guardians, and prison guards for thousands of years. Throughout those many years, the dog breeds have changed; some went extinct while others resurfaced before being swallowed up by time before coming back.
We “civilized people” wish to think that we are better than our past. And we definitely are, no doubt about it. But there is still an enormous need for war dogs more than ever! It has been growing in leaps and bounds in the past 20 years. We need them to find bombs, weapons, guard, find troops/enemies, and much much more.
6. Runaway Wildlife Control Dogs
Airports can be a dangerous place for wildlife, with all the airplanes taking off and landing. So the federal government created the Runaway Wildlife Control Dogs.
The normal way to take care of such wildlife is for ground control personnel to run or drive straight at the wildlife while making as much noise as they can. This was the standard until some people in Chicago bought a dog named Piper and trained him to chase animals off federal land.
Piper was one of only 10 dogs in the U.S who has this special job, they are trained to chase off any wildlife on or near the airport.
7. Service and Assistant Dogs
Not all dogs are bred to take on dangerous animals, be war dogs, or rescue drowning people. Some dogs help handicapped people and/or animals to live as close to normal lives as possible.
There are many different types of service dogs.
Jobs for Dogs Include Serving:
- Hearing impaired
- Visually impaired
- Autistic
- Mobility assistance
- Seizure detection
- Physical therapy
8. Therapy Dogs
Many dogs can be well suited to being therapy dogs no matter the size or shape. One such therapy dog in the Labrottie nation was a Rottweiler named Titanium. He was a great therapy dog to his master for many good years before he passed away. You can check out Titanium’s story here Labrottie Nation (LR Nation).
9. Police Dogs
Police worldwide are using dogs to help them search for lost people, find illegal substances, weapons, clear rooms in a building, and chase down suspects in a chase.
All countries have their own special military/police dog breed. In the West, a favorite service dog breed is the Belgian shepherd.
While in the East the popular working dog breeds including the Caucasian Shepherd, Alabai, Tibetan Mastiff, and the Eastern European Shepherd.
10. Personal Protection Dogs
If you were walking down someone’s driveway and a 210-pound dog comes charging at you from the house, what would you do? I know what I would do; I would run as fast as I could to get off the property!
Having a large scary dog on the premise is a great deterrent to thieves and other ne’er-do-wells. Several studies citing former thieves say that the #1 thing they checked when casing the house for vulnerabilities is whether or not the house has a dog. If the house has a dog (no matter the size), they move on to the next house.
A dog can raise a racket and alert the owner or neighbor to the presence of strangers lurking around the house.
11. Truffle Hunting Dogs
Dogs (and even pigs), can find a treasure trove of truffles! With some training and help from a professional truffle trainer, your dog could be a world-class truffle hunter! Truffle hunters can actually earn hundreds of dollars with a short bit of work, however, it does require intensive specialized training.
12. Dog Modeling
Have you ever thought your dog would look good being in a magazine or on the web? Well if so, your dog may qualify for a career as a dog model.
All you need to get started is your phone camera, lighting, backdrop (if you want it), and most importantly a dog! You could be earning bucks off of your pooch’s photoshoots!
13. Pet Blog!
You should have realized that starting a pet blog would totally be on this list since — after all —this is a pet blog! I started Labrottie a few months after the rescue of my dog Zeus, and you can read his story here in this article on labrotties. and soon realized that I had something here.
As of 10/29/21, we are celebrating Zeus’ 5th birthday and soon thereafter, I started Labrottie.com. I created it because of Zeus, but then there was an interesting turn of events, which you can read about in this article on dog DNA test kit review.
14. Your Dog As a Mascot
Dogs have represented as mascots for many different teams, companies, and organizations for hundreds of years! So if you have a unique dog or one that’s the breed of the mascot of your favorite home team, your dog may qualify for mascot jobs for dogs.
15. Hunting Dogs
For thousands of years, we have used dogs to help us hunt game.
Examples of Hunting Dog Jobs
- Dachshunds for digging deep into the earth to hunt badgers.
- Borzoi, who were used to hunt wolves in packs of at least 100.
- American Bulldogs and Pitbulls to hunt wild boars and other animals.
If you love hunting, hunting dogs can help in hunting anything from ducks, to deer and bears. These dogs can be a great asset but of course, it requires thorough and diligent training.
The western hunting dog breeds have to be taught at a young age, while most of the eastern dog breeds know how to hunt without needing to be trained on how to do so.
16. Prison Guard Dog
Prisons are dangerous places to work let alone live in. Prison service dogs are vital and most prisons around the world have multiple jobs for dogs such as searching premises for drugs, weapons, and people.
The most fierce or more dangerous dogs in the world are the Caucasian Shepherd dog and the Alabai mentioned earlier in this article.
Originally bred for herding and protecting, both animals quickly built up a reputation for being the biggest and baddest boys worldwide.
These tough guys are eager for a fight. Whether it’s a bear, a human, or another shepherds, they really don’t care. If you pose as a threat to them, they will dispatch you quickly and efficiently.
The Russians put both breeds to use in the military, and in prisons. The Caucasian shepherd is bred for its ability to hit you with the force of a .45 bullet. When they come smashing into you, their pure bulky muscles and weight will quickly win the fight.
Conclusion Of Jobs for Dogs To Do!
Thank you for reading jobs for dogs to do; if you have a dog that has a job to do and you don’t see it on this list. Please email us the dog and we will add it to the article.
Obviously, training a dog for any job will be hard, and most of these jobs need a professional to help you train them. But if you’re serious about a job for your dog, it will be well worth it, for it could save your life or that of another.
So I would really suggest that if you plan on going BIG with your dogs like herding, hunting, and or scent training that you pay a little bit of money for the professional help.
Otherwise, if you are going to make your dog an IG model or pet blogger, then all the best to you! Thank you for reading this article on jobs for dogs to do.
For those of you who have or are going to get a new puppy! We have several dog name article just for you!
- Boy dog names
- Girl dog names
- HP dog names
- Red dog names
- Cute dog names
- Tough dog names
- Fluffy dog names
- Big dog names
- Viking dog names
If you have found the perfect name for your cute dog name and would like to add the photo to our mixed dog breed photo gallery. All we will need is the name, history, and a photo of your dog, just send it over to us by email!
Happy Tails!
The LR (Labrottie) Nation Team!