Dogs & Jobs

[Juicy]

What breeds do you think SHOULD have a job? Like agility, sledding, hunting, weight-pulling,,,,just something not not just your regular pet dog that gets daily walks and goes to dog parks once in a while?

I was thinking about this when looking more into a bull terrier, they're seem like they just need more activity than dog parks & walks. But even with my dogs like Pepe & Princess I think therapy work would be good work for them. Would you consider that working? And also would you think that would be enough to stimulant a bull terrier or they need to be in some sort of sport like weight-pulling or flyball? And how time-consuming are these sports? Can you do it like once a week? I don't see myself committing my ALL to these kinda of activites as I see how much owners our involved when they have dogs that do these sports. Can't you just go participate from time to time, without the competing and such?

And what would you advise something to do with Didi? She's not cut out for therapy dog work and not active enough for a sport. Maybe would something like dog obedience be good? But again is this one of those things you jsut have to commit to alot to be able to participate in?

Thanks.

 

[oc_spirit]

What breeds? ALL of them IMO. DOesnt have to be a rough n tough sport, it can be as simple as teaching the dog to pick up the dirty laudry and put it in the hamper every night. Of course, some breeds need a job more than others and these would include all breeds that were not bred to be lap dogs specifically.

I can tell you now, weight pulling once a week with a BT is not enough. Not only would he not progress anywhere (he has a great work out then doesn nothing for a week so you have to start from the beginning again week after week) but they have so much energy that he would only be quiet for the rest of the day, not an entire week!!! A weight pulling dog should be worked a minimum of 3X/week IMO to get anywhere. Actually that goes for any dog of any sport. BUt hey thats just my opinion....Of course this changes if you are using other sports to keep the dog in shape. LIke maybe agility monday, weight pull tuesday wednesday rest thursday weight pull friday rest saturday weight pull and sunday flyball or something.

 

[MafiaPrincess]

Cider spent 2 years nearly climbing the walls. Not a breed many people would claim is high energy.. she is though. Needed a job back then...

Agility once a week at nearly 3 still isn't enough. There needs to be jogging, hiking, roller blading, agility, doggie playtime, fetch etc all over the week and in decent amounts to keep life sane. Only then do I get a dog who will sleep on the couch when I am busy, and be high drive when it is time to play.

 

[milos_mommy]

Milo is a JRT, which is a high energy breed. he doesn't need a JOB every day, but he does need stimulation and exercise for his body and mind.

Milo wakes up around 8am. He goes outside and the relaxes for a few minutes while i eat breakfast, scan through the paper, etc. Then we play fetch, and sometimes if my mom can help supervise he'll play with her wheaten terrier. At around 10:30 or so, he takes a nap in his crate for an hour. At 11:30, my mom either brings Benji for a ride to take my brother to work, or leaves Benji with me while she drops Kyle off then goes to her office. this is when Milo goes outside, and we swim for an hour or two. Then he runs around outside while drying off, and goes back inside and has a short rest, about an hour long nap. Then we do something mentally fun, like trick training, or problem solving (today i turned some boxes, crates, tubs, baskets, etc, upside down and put his toys in them, so he had to get them out). We do that for a while. Then he'll just follow me (usually pretty calmly) around the house while i do chores, clean up, etc. the rest of my family gets home between 3-6, and then Milo has to go say hi to everyone, bring them a toy, etc, etc.

We occasionally do agility, just for fun, and on those days Milo will sleep for the rest of the day. He'll also sleep all day if we go on a hike or something.

When you have a high energy dog, you get creative. The best thing to do is socialize them, because it opens up SO many options as to what you can do.

 

[Juicy]

I know of a dog park with an agility course around here, that would be good to go to with the dogs. The roller blading seems nice too, except skating, I'll bust my a$$ blading lol.

 

[oc_spirit]

It is handy to have a dog park with an agility course but you are forgetting one very important thing, Bull Terriers tend to be dog agressive so that is something you would have to keep a very close eye on and a very tight grip.

 

[FoxyWench]

vixie and dodger have some VERY important jobs...

9am we get up, and they double check to make sure the cat is not on the otherside of the door.

the majority of the day they spend patroling for said evil kitty, making sure every insect in the house knows if they are seen they will be attacked visiously, and making sure the food knows whos boss.

in the evening they take their jobs of personal lap chest and shoulder warmers very importantly, and they take their job of patroling the floor around the dinner table for scraps VERY seriously.

bedtime comes and their job as bed warmer of course becomes first for the evening.

yes i agree ALL dogs should have some kind of job, but that job could be as simple as bed warmer.

in terms of what breeds need a more active job than others, it sometimes simply depends on the individual, ive seen high energy dogs and low energy dogs in the same breed.

id say any of the "working" group, ie dobes, shepards ect all should have a little more of SOMETHING going on.
add to that terriers and guardian breeds as the next on the list of, "needs something "important" to do.
I knew one aussie shepard whos JOB was making sure the children stayed in their beds all night as she patroled the halls...

a good job for a bull terrier, simple, anything that is quick and stiumlating and nothing that requires too much attention on one thing, bull terriers tend to get bored VERY easily. i found my grandfatheres staffy bull terriers favorite job was pulling a wagon round the garden during fruit season when we kids would go out and raid the orchard...she loved pulling the cart around.

 

[Juicy]

It is handy to have a dog park with an agility course but you are forgetting one very important thing, Bull Terriers tend to be dog agressive so that is something you would have to keep a very close eye on and a very tight grip.

Will do, thanks. And this isn't one of those wanites... where your like OMG they're just so stunning, I got to have one! In reality although Huskies are the like the most beautiful dogs in the world. But honestly after reading up on them and having one shed all over me. I don't I could commit to a lifestyle change just to get one or could withstand the summer shedding!! But a BT, sure will!! And oooh I also forgot to mention I like the tri-color as well! It'll be neat if we do the target thing on the dog's eye and name the dog ''Bulleye''. But I would really just like a pure whitey though. No artifical colors please
But if they have a spot on their eye or ear, that's okay for me. I'm debating for a boy for either Capone, Chico or Casper (if FULLY white) as a name.

And you really should of seen me looking all shocked on why would an owner could ''trimmed'' their huskie's fur!! Only to find out that they shed most of their fur in the summer But thats pretty cool though, no trip to the groomers when the hot sunny Florida summer comes in, but yikes all that dog hair in your house, no thanks!! :yikes: And South Florida doesn't really have the climate for the breed anywho.

 

[bubbatd]

Way back when ... all my goldens had and enjoyed " jobs " well at least the males .... the girls sucked at it . !! Rufus always carried the kitchen garbage can back in .... All my males learned to bring back mail and papers from their boxes .... out of sight from the house , but my kids would give them to them at their bus stop . Males again ... I could give them anything from a note to a wrapped tool and they would take it to whom ever I asked . My kids when banished to their rooms could write a note and say take it to Mommy . All my males would fetch shoes , slippers etc , never got any females to do anything !!! Goldens love jobs !!! Now if I could ever conveniece Ollie that he's mostly Golden !!

 

[PWCorgi]

Izzy does therapy work, backyard agility, Rally, and we are working on learning to track (though it's going very slowly). I am also waiting to hear back from a lady who may be starting a flyball team, and in Sept. she will be taking her herding instinct test, should she pass that we may look into herding lessons.

Frodo did have a backpack until he hurt his back/hip/knee, it is more mentally stimulating then I ever would have guessed, the dog has to really think about keeping the pack balanced. Now he and I are doing some Freestyle for fun.

in terms of what breeds need a more active job than others, it sometimes simply depends on the individual, ive seen high energy dogs and low energy dogs in the same breed.

I totally agree with this in regard to not only the need for physical stimulation, but also mental.

Frodo and Izzy are the perfect example. They are from the same litter but Izzy *needs* to have a job to do or she is a nightmare to live with, no matter how much exercise she gets. Even if it's just 5 minutes of doing really tough/sequenced tricks, she needs something every day. Frodo is the complete opposite, he likes to work but he's not nuts about it like Izzy. As long as he gets a good run/hike in he's fine.

 

[Labra]

I don't think that any dog needs a 'job' per say providing that they are exercised, trained and stimulated efficiently. Now, that said, if you own a dog from a very strong working background (working bred GSD, working bred Pointer or Retriever, etc.) then that dog is probably going to need a bit more than your average pet. A 'job' if you will. A dog that is from a working line has been bred for a specific purpose and that dog will thrive best when it has the opportunity to forfill that purpose.

 

[qwkslvr]

I tell you by giving Otis a job to do while we are walking (carring a full water bottle), he does not go into "I am going to protect my mom mode." He walks around with his head high and does his tag wag and butt wiggle right by people so they will comment how cute he is.He is proud of his water bottle. If no water bottle he will lunge and look like he is gonna eat them ( dogs or people). He is a vizsla and has a few issues, I beleive that his first owners abused him. We work very hard to undo what they did to him. He is very untrusting of new people, he will not allow people to touch is back end until he is ready. He whirls around and scares people if they touch him too soon. But when he figures out they mean no harm he will back is butt up in between your legs and that is your cue that you better give him a butt scratch. I am going to see about getting him a backpack and try that out. For him, a job takes him outta the fear agression mode. At least thats what it seems like, But then I am no expert, it all trial and error.

Pam

 

[Dizzy]

Bodhi stimulates my mind and my body. And I stimulate hers.

It's not a job per se.. more a way of life.

 

[labman]

All breeds were basically bred for some kind of a job weren't they?
I know most dogs like herders,retrievers,and sled dogs are alot happier doing what they were bred for.

 

[Dizzy]

All breeds were basically bred for some kind of a job weren't they?
I know most dogs like herders,retrievers,and sled dogs are alot happier doing what they were bred for.

I'd disagree with that statement.

To say they are more happy when they are doing a job, is to say they are less happy when they aren't.

Dogs don't rationalise these things... Sure, they are happy when they do them, but I don't think they are LESS happy just being loved and walked and not serving a strict purpose.

I don't think a gun dog is any LESS happy when it's not in the field.
It may enjoy the job, but ignorance is bliss, and dogs are dogs at the end of the day.

And also - where do mixed breeds fit into that statement?

I think dogs are MOST happy when they are stimulated. HOW you do that doesn't necessarily mean giving them a job.

For ANY dog you need to assess their needs.

As long as you do that, they're A OK. They don't need a JOB. Playing games, hide and seek, jogging, swimming - as long as those physical and mental needs are met, it doesn't need to be rocket science, or months of training, or a strict regime, or a specific task.

 

[labman]

HMMMMM,This is the third time of trying to reply back to Dizzy's point

 

[labman]

Point understood Dizzy,and this makes up for a good debate.
Maybe happier was the wrong word,i should have said more gratified,fulfilled, and proud to live out their instincts and bred in abilities.I've had working dogs and non-working dogs and to me there is a difference.

As for mixed breeds...you might say they are more multi-talented.

 

[oc_spirit]

I think what Labman was saying is that when you compare dogs that have a job and do fulfill a "need" (whether it be flyball or field work or sledding or agility...) to those of the same breeds that dont, on average the ones who have jobs are a lot happier and more content than the ones that dont. Sure the ones that dont, dont know what they are missing out on, BUT if you do expose them to working life you will be amazed at the difference you will see. Ronan's owner used to tell me that anytime he brought Ronan home after spending the weekend with me (out sledding) Ronan would mope and whine and cry because he wants to be sledding, not lazing on a couch. Ronan NEVER whined when I took him away from his prior home. He always wanted and still does, to be working.

 

[labman]

Wow thats wierd,my first two replies must have been too long,thanks Spirit you just added to what i left out in the longer versions that didn't get sent.

 

[Doberluv]

All dogs have instincts and drives to one degree or another. Those predatory drives need outlets of some sort. The dogs that have stronger or more of the predatory motor patterns need more of an outlet, I think. For example, a Border Collie has that eye stalk very strongly and goes onto the chase. Those drives need someplace to go or the dog has that pent up. A dog that has the chase, grab and bite, like a terrier bred to hunt vermin in the earth would be satisfied doing something that resembles that. Mental and physical stimulation makes most all dogs happier IMO.

Even my little Chihuahuas....bred to be companions, happy to sit on laps and snooze a lot still love to run and play, practicing their predatory drives. Jose` makes a surprisingly terrific retriever. He LOVES to chase a ball and bring it back to me. He has quite the prey drive going on. He's very happy using his mind to learn new tricks....always game for it. I really should spend more time doing fun stuff with him. I spend too much time on my Doberman and slack with the little dogs as far as training.

My Doberman happens to have unbelievably strong herding instincts/prey drive. He makes a pest out of himself playing with Toker, the other dog that's not a Chi. She'll have a ball and he couldn't care less about the ball. But when you throw it for her, Lyric herds her and nips at her pretty hard sometimes. He's so focused on where she's going, how she's about to turn and he's poised, frozen while she's still....right on it. She goes left, he goes left, right, he goes right quickly, like a quarter horse watching a cow.

He does some agility and obedience but he could use a game or some sport to exercise his enjoyment or drive of herding. So, I need to come up with something constructive to do around here for that. I think it would make him happy to have that kind of outlet. He does run out of energy fairly soon, due to his chronic liver disease, but while the goings good, he's full of it.

My girl Chi loves attacking a tiny piece of kibble or some other small object. She really gets into the turning sideways, curving her body and stalking, then pouncing on her "kill." Then she throws it up in the air and does it all over again. LOL. Even she has that predatory thing going on. All dogs do. It just takes varying degrees and types of activities to satisfy not only different breeds, but individual dogs. Some dogs require a lot more exercise than others and a lot more mental stimulation than others. And it can change as they mature.

Not all jobs have to be formal or labelled or put into a very strict category. Some people are satisfied with working at a McDonalds, some would not be and are only stimulated enough with some other more difficult type job that perhaps took a lot of education to do, or a lot of physical energy to do....People vary that way too.