Amazingly Capable!
“The dog has been ‘man’s best friend’ since Neolithic
times, 10,000 years ago. As people learned to modify
the dog’s physical appearance and even its temperament
through selective breeding, they were able to produce
animals capable of performing a wide variety of
services. These included refinements in the hunting
process such as pointing, retrieving, tracking, and
burrowing; herding; draft work (pulling and carrying);
guard duties; providing companionship; and, more
recently, assisting the disabled such as the blind or
wheelchair-bound. Quite recently, police work has been
added to the list.
“In this last capacity, the dog has bee making
major contributions to the fight against terrorism, in
no area more critically than in the search for hidden
explosives.” (Technology
Against Terrorism, 1991)
Today, dogs are an integral part of our society –
one of humanity’s first, most durable, and most
delightful achievements in domestications. Dogs have
been successfully trained in the following areas:
- Search, Rescue and Detection Dogs - Dogs have
been successfully trained to detect for bombs,
narcotics, missing people, arson, mold, termites,
land mines, missing pets.
- Service Dogs - Dogs have been successfully
trained to provide assistance in the following
areas: wheelchair-bound individuals, blind
individuals, predicting epileptic seizures,
providing companionship and laughter for
nursing-home residents.
- Herding Dogs - Dogs have long been used for
sheepherding.
- Performance Dogs - Some dogs are bred and
trained for racing, jumping, and performing in “Best
in Show” competitions.
- Sled Dogs - A few dogs are lucky enough to spend
years training for the most difficult race on the
earth – The Iditarod
- Eco Dogs - Some dogs are trained to protect
humans and animals who have special needs: in Guam,
dogs are trained to sniff out brown tree snakes. On
the South African coast, dogs are trained to uncover
smugglers and their trade. In Anatolian, shepherd
dogs guard flocks and protect their predator, the
endangered cheetah, at the same time.
-
More info: Dogs related news, books and
web resources.
Back to Top |
