If you and your dog both love water, stand-up paddle boarding (SUPing) is a great way to enjoy the water with your best friend. SUPing is an easy sport to master and has the added benefit of not requiring a large investment in equipment—just a board and a paddle and you’re good to go! Well,… Read more »
Service dogs most often bring to mind guide dogs for the blind and hearing dogs for the deaf. Seizure-alert dogs serve their people by warning of an oncoming seizure, allowing time for safety precautions like lying down, taking medication, or proactively calling for assistance. The ability to sense an oncoming seizure appears to be strongly… Read more »
Guide Dogs Probably the best known assistance dog is the guide dog. We’ve all seen a Lab (or Golden Retriever or German Shepherd) wearing the special harness while carefully guiding their blind owner across the street or down the sidewalk. Here are three interesting facts about guide dogs you might not know: A guide dog… Read more »
Among the many important jobs held by dogs today, conservation work is a small but crucial niche. Conservation dogs are trained to find wildlife and plant samples using modified search & rescue and narcotic techniques. The perfect dog for the job is high energy with a compulsive play drive and toy focus—the more, the better.… Read more »
Also called autism assistance or autism alert dogs, these are dogs that live alongside children or adults with autism. (In contrast to autism therapy dogs, who visit treatment and residential centers.) Of course, children and adults with autism are individuals and not all benefit from a service dog. But for those who respond well, it… Read more »
Dogs around the world have followed warriors and soldiers into combat as far back as history records stretch. The Egyptians, Greeks, Persians, Romans and many other early civilizations used dogs as sentries or on patrols. Some early armies even brought dogs into battle. Today’s active service dogs are highly skilled and valuable. Their primary jobs… Read more »
The majority of today’s herding dogs and herding dog breed mixes never come across a flock of geese or sheep or goats. But that doesn’t mean their herding instinct is dormant. People who share their lives with these energetic and intelligent dogs know how easy it is to trigger a round of (often annoying) heel… Read more »
Given that dogs have up to 300 million scent receptors (compared to our 5 million), keen night vision, and super-sensitive hearing, nobody can be surprised that dogs excel at search & rescue work. Experts estimate that a single dog-and-handler team can be as effective in locating missing persons as 20 to 30 people. SAR dogs,… Read more »
Dogs have pulled things for humans throughout history: sleds, carts, and many types of cargo. In today’s sport version, dogs wear a padded harness that attaches to a so-called trace (two side straps), which connects to either a sled, wheeled cart, or rail carts. Competitions mostly attracts bully breeds—Bulldogs, Mastiffs, Boxers—but the sport is open… Read more »
Flyball is a team sport for dogs; the canine equivalent of a relay race. Dogs sprint over a series of hurdles, trigger a spring pad to release a tennis ball, catch the ball, and dash back. It’s a spectator-friendly sport, as popular with hobbyists as with serious competitors. Flyball is the perfect energy outlet for… Read more »
