Dogs as working partners

Dogs as working partners

There are guard dogs, hunting dogs, and herding dogs. Dogs have served as guides for the blind, as commandos, and have flown into outer space (see Laika). Most modern working dogs are put in positions which capitalize on their sensory or strength and endurance advantages over normal humans.

For example, a new and particularly effective role of working dogs is that of the drug- or bomb-sniffing dog. All canines have olfactory sensitivity thousands or millions of times more sensitive than humans. This allows them to pick up on the subtle smells of distinctive chemicals, such as cannabis or plastic explosive. Airport security frequently tours concourses and baggage areas with a dog trained to respond to such chemicals.

K-9 police units typically feature a long-term human-canine team, in which the dog is trained to home in on the scents of particular people, and to facilitate their arrest once located. Most criminals find being wrestled to the ground by an aggressive dog much more frightening than being tackled by a human. Such dogs are also frequently used to find missing persons, especially in the wilderness.

Several cities in Italy are experimenting with working dogs as rescue swimmers. In this situation, a strong and well-trained dog is equipped with flotation devices and dropped in the water near a floundering swimmer. The swimmer then grabs onto the dog, and the animal tows the swimmer to shore. The Newfoundland has long been used for water rescue, not only on shore, but from fishing boats as well.

Dogs are commonly used as search and rescue workers in cases of disasters. The St. Bernard has been historically used for such purposes in Europe in the case of avalanche. In the aftermath of the 9-11 attacks in New York, rescue dogs were brought in to search for survivors in the rubble. Some of the dogs became so disturbed at being unable to find any survivors that people had to be "planted" for the dogs to find so that they did not become depressed at their failure.

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Allan
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