What is the "Jack of All Trades"?

SizzleDog

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#42
I think it really depends on everyone's individual definition of "Jack of all trades", and to what extent each "trade" is used, needed, etc.

For me, the Doberman Pinscher is my ideal Jack Of All Trades - but their trades range in importance, although the breed is known for doing almost everything... it's just that they do things more readily and better than others.

Herding - yes, there are dobes that herd...
Retrieving - some dobes are retrieving fools - Ilsa is one of them.
Hunt - there are hunting dobes, from what I've seen they're mostly in Europe
Tracking - one of the Dobe's stronger "trades"
SAR - another strong point for dobes
Watch/Guard - the Dobe excels at these!
Pull a sled - I've seen it done, and done reasonably well!
Guard against predators - again, a Doberman strong point. A good dobe is fearless, and will happily take on a beast twice or thrice their size in defense of their master.
Therapy dog - Yet another venue a dobe excels at.
Companion - IMO, the best dog for the job!

Dobes are my Jack of All Trades - but then again, if I was a rancher, or a person who lived in the Far North, or someone who couldn't control anything more than 50lbs (or have the ability to deal with a strong-willed dog)... the Doberman would NOT by my Jack Of All Trades!

A good GSD though... now that could be interesting! I could see a good GSD pulling a close 2nd... ;)
 
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#43
I'm not going to shock everyone by saying that I think a Pit Bull could do all that and more. LOL!
There's another one I can see, and even though they are smallish dogs, they just aren't fragile like many larger dogs. You could realistically expect a Pittie to be able to hold its own when defending something or someone it was guarding without being as vulnerable as many of the larger, more delicately built dogs.

A good Pit brings a lot of the same kinds of intangibles to the equation that a good Fila or Rottie does. Or an ACD. One of those being an innate mental and physical toughness the dog can call on when necessary.
 

Saintgirl

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#46
I would love to say the Saint Bernard...but c'mon now, who would I be fooling? My vote goes to the GSD too!
 

Zoom

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#47
I'd say Aussie could pull all that off and do it well, though the fragility of the breed really depends on the lineage. A good ol' fashioned ranch Aussie would be awesome at all that, including the guarding. They're bred to take on 900 pound cattle that are clustered together in large groups, they're not made of glass.

But as far as having to throw in protection work, a good ol' fashioned Rottie would cover it as well.
 

otch1

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#49
Did I just read... "a well trained wife'? Lol Very naughty. I think a lot of the breeds listed could fit the bill. I think "total package' when I think of a jack of all trades. A dog who has the appropriate (and consistent) temperament and aptitude to really excel at the jobs listed and one who can physically do them with ease. Was going to put a Retriever at the top of my list, but thought a lot of them would fall short of herding and guarding. My first Dobie would fall short of a few tasks, Sizzle. Lol Hunting/ cold water?! "Not going in". Herding, he was not quick enough and couldn't get low enough in time, on occassion, to dodge a hoof graze from one of my horses when chasing them in. His best attribute, outside of obedience and guarding our home was being a lap dog. lol
 
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#50
There's another one I can see, and even though they are smallish dogs, they just aren't fragile like many larger dogs. You could realistically expect a Pittie to be able to hold its own when defending something or someone it was guarding without being as vulnerable as many of the larger, more delicately built dogs.

A good Pit brings a lot of the same kinds of intangibles to the equation that a good Fila or Rottie does. Or an ACD. One of those being an innate mental and physical toughness the dog can call on when necessary.
Word. :D I think the only hang-up with an APBT would be the dog- and/or animal-aggression issues, but they're smart enough that a good trainer would be able to work through that.
 

mrose_s

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#54
hmm.. rottweiler or ACD

smart and protective.

rotti has been a proven breed in herding, protection, weight pulling. they also do well in agility and flyball due to their athleticism. i was watching a show that said that rotti's were a great breed because they could be trained to do well in virtually anything

ACD's i can see easily doing all these things aswell.
they are one of my three favourite breeds (yes i have three, i couldnt pick one) and i dunno if i'll ever be without one, their just perfect for me.
 

Dictator

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#55
Fila is the wrong breed for therapy. True Fila temperment will not allow Fila to be touched by multiple strangers. In therapy, the dog must accept being hugged around the neck and grabbed from behind by a stranger. A Fila of true temperment would never accept this.

Thank You,
Nestor Costa
 

Giny

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#56
Not because I'm bias but I truly feel like a good bred standard poodle is very versatile in many areas. I posted this picture slide before but felt like posting it here since it shows how versatile they are. It's from the VIP Poodle site.


Other breeds that comes to mind would be the GSD and the Giant Schnauzer.
 

pitbullpony

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#57
I'd choose;

ACD - should work well all round and they get the nod for Fur for all types of weather - smart buggers too; need a job

APBT - second only because of the short hair

GSD - if you can find a good healthy one - around our area; it's pretty much hit or miss that your GSD doesn't have hip/elbow dysplasia, osteoporosis, heart issues, epilepsy, brain tumours; and the list goes on
 

Boemy

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#58
Labrador retrievers. How crazy is it that a dog initially bred to pull in nets was reinvented as a hunting dog?? With bird instincts and everything?

In addition they are pets, therapy dogs, seeing eye dogs, hearing ear dogs, drug detection dogs . . . I think labs get taken for granted a lot because they are SO prevalent and because there are SO many bad breeders of them, but they really are an amazing, versatile breed.

My second choice would be German shepherds and my third would be golden retrievers.
 

RD

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#59
That's a good point, Boemy. I think people tend to overlook the versatility of a good Labrador, and they're certainly not fragile dogs! The only thing I'm not sure about with them is herding, but if a Poodle can be taught to move stock then I'm sure a Lab can too.
 
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#60
I think it would be easier to teach a GSD or ACD to point that to teach a Lab to herd. Not with great style, but to passable levels. They're almost mutually exclusive concepts, there are very few pointers/upland flushers who will also herd.

For that matter I can't quite figure out how a Catahoula managed to become a hunter of boar and herder of cows, it seems like thats asking an aweful lot of the modified prey drive thats herding!

Still, whatever a Lab can do, a Chessie can do better! ;)

The continental pointers would also put up a good showing if one replaced "herding" with "pointing." German Shorthairs, Wirehairs, Weims and Visla can point, retrieve from moderate water, run furred game like boar (in Europe at least) run sleds (Shorthairs are being used extensively in sprint classes) and then do the SAR and companion thing too!
 

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