Working dog

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Dog trained to perform practical tasks

title: "Working dog" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["working-dogs"] description: "Dog trained to perform practical tasks" topic_path: "general/working-dogs" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Working_dog" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Dog trained to perform practical tasks ::

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::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1d/London_Police_Dogs.jpg" caption="[[Detection dog]] of the [[Metropolitan Police]] patrolling in London"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c2/Caoguia2006.jpg" caption="[[Guide dog]] in Brazil"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a3/Murgjo_Sharr_Mountain_Dog_Nedi_Limani.jpg" caption="[[Šarplaninac]] [[livestock guarding dog]]s at work in the [[Šar Mountains"] ::

A working dog is a dog used to perform practical tasks, as opposed to pet or companion dogs.

Definitions vary on what a working dog is, they are sometimes described as any dog trained for and employed in meaningful work; other times as any dog whose breed heritage or physical characteristics lend itself to working irrespective of an individual animal's training or employment; and other times again it is used as a synonym for herding dog.

Working dog types

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fe/2008년_중앙119구조단_중국_쓰촨성_대지진_국제_출동(四川省_大地震,_사천성_대지진)_DSC09472.JPG" caption="[[Search and rescue dog]] working in Seoul"] ::

Roles performed by dogs that sometimes sees them classified as working dogs include:

Assistance or service dog, trained to help a disabled person in some way, such as guiding a visually impaired person, providing mobility assistance, and psychiatric service. Often overlap with therapy dog used to provide companionship or to help people rehabilitate from injuries.
Carriage dog, historically used to provide protection to carriage passengers or merchandise
Detection dog or sniffer dog, trained to detect for example drugs or land mines
Drafting dog, traditionally used to pull small carts. Now survive in modern age as a novelty or in carting sport.
Guard dog, used to protect buildings or livestock
Herding dog
Hunting dog, used to hunt wildlife or assist hunters. Split into several varieties, including hounds, terriers, dachshunds, cur type dogs, catch dogs, bay dogs, or gun dogs.
Military working dog, trained in combat, or used scouts, sentries, messengers, mercy dogs, and trackers
School dog, different from assistance or service dogs and trained for animal-assisted education
Search and rescue dog
Sled dog
Working terrier, a terrier bred to hunt small mammals, such as badgers, foxes, and rats

Kennel club classification

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ab/Dogcart3.jpg" caption="dogcart]] near [[Brussels, Belgium]]."] ::

When competing in conformation shows, a number of kennel clubs classify various pedigree dog breeds into a "working group" or "working dogs group", although it varies between kennel club what breeds are so classified. The Kennel Club classifies mastiff, pinscher, sled dog, select livestock guardian dog and some other breeds in their working group. The American Kennel Club's working group and the Canadian Kennel Club's working dogs group are very similar to The Kennel Club's except they include all livestock guardian dog breeds and all full sized spitz breeds (not just sled dogs) recognised by the clubs. Both the Australian National Kennel Council's and New Zealand Kennel Club's working dogs groups comprise herding dog breeds and select livestock guardian dog breeds recognised by those clubs. The Fédération Cynologique Internationale has no working group.

References

. (2020). ["working dog"](https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/working-dog). *HarperCollins Publishers L.L.C.*.
. (2019). ["working dog"](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/working%20dog).
. (2019). ["working dog"](https://www.lexico.com/definition/working_dog). *Oxford University Press*.
Olson, Patricia N.. (1 August 2002). "The modern working dog—a call for interdisciplinary collaboration". Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association.
(2018-01-29). "British Carriage Dog Society".
. (2019). ["Working dog"](https://www.britannica.com/animal/working-dog). *Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc*.
Rogak, Lisa. (2011). "The dogs of war: the courage, love and loyalty of military working dogs". Thomas Dunne Books.
(2016). "Children reading to dogs: A systematic review of the literature". PLOS ONE.
(1995). "The domestic dog: its evolution, behaviour and interactions with people". Cambridge University Press.
9780993022302
. (2020). ["Working Group"](https://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/services/public/breed/Default.aspx?group=WKG). *The Kennel Club Ltd*.
. (2020). ["Working Group"](https://www.akc.org/dog-breeds/working/). *American Kennel Club, Inc*.
. (2020). ["Working Dogs"](https://www.ckc.ca/en/Choosing-a-Dog/Choosing-a-Breed/Working-Dogs).
. (2015). ["Group 5 (Working Dogs)"](http://ankc.org.au/Breed/Index/5). *Australian National Kennel Council Ltd*.
. (2020). ["Standards of the breeds: Group 5 – Working Dogs"](https://www.dogsnz.org.nz/pdfs/bs-working.pdf). *Dogs New Zealand*.
. (2020). ["FCI breeds nomenclature"](http://www.fci.be/en/Nomenclature/).

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