A Purpose For Each Pup
Each breed has been created for different purposes! We can break this into Families. I frequently refer to the book called Dog Bible™ The Definitive Source for All Things Dog. This is a great reference book to a lot of things for dogs! In this reference they categorize dogs into seven different groups or families.
- Northern Breeds
- Herding dogs
- Gun dogs
- Guardian dogs
- Scent Hounds
- Sight Hounds and Pariahs
- Terriers
- Companion dogs
This is the first place I go to when referencing any breed. This reference has over 250 dog breeds. It has a brief history of the dog breed, what they were bred for and a quick breed standard for each one. From there you can better know your dog and understand their instincts better to be a better leader for your dog. This way you can understand what kind of activities and jobs your dog will be best suited to ! therefore, creating a purpose for your dog based on their instincts!
It is easy to work with Instincts and giving the dog a fun job or activity that engages its natural abilities, as well as your dogs personality. In the Dog Bible it has Sections for different activities and jobs. I am going to list some of the more uncommon ones:
- Agility
- Flyball
- Earth dog trials
- Skijoing
- Weight and Cart Pulling
- Lure Coursing
- Tracking
Then the Nationally and Internationally recognized Jobs for dogs are:
- Police
- Military
- Herding
- Livestock Guardian
- Therapy
- Detection
- Search and Rescue
- Entertainment
While the more Cerebral answer is that dogs purpose is to be man’s companion, we humans have created all different breeds for a variety of purposes. It’s really up to you and your dog to determine what there’s will be!
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