What was/IS your dog bred to do???

Question

Do you know?
If you do,do you participate?
In /formal/regulated/titling areas or does you dog "earn" it's living?

Answer 1

sleep..

Answer 2

Belgian Shepherd. They were bred to follow the route set by the shepherd and more or less indenpendently herd the sheep/cattle in the required direction. They were also bred to guard and protect the livestock, which means they can be somewhat reserved with strangers and that you need to have complete control over your dog as it will not know the difference between the new neighbour and a burglar.

I'm in between dogs at the moment, but my dogs earn their keep as watch, guard and protection dogs. They help around the house as well, mostly with the laundry, finding the cats and visiting children, and picking things up, although this is more to keep them busy. They are of course also pets and rather big lapdogs. :)

I make use of their intelligence and nimbleness by training obedience and agility. Ideally, I should be using them for herding, but unfortunately I don't have the possibility to do so.

Answer 3

I have Chinese Cresteds, but its believed that most hairless dog breeds came from similar lines, so I will cover some of the main things they were used for.

they were bred for:

food, they were considered a delicacy.. I certainly do not use mine for that.

bedwarmers/lap warmers. It was also believed that they had healing powers, someone who was ill would sleep with a hairless dog, and would supposubly be cured within 4 days....also it was documented that a good host would offer 2-3 "bed dogs" to his guests to keep warm. Mine are nice little bedwarmes, and they make great heating pads when Im ill.

Birth control to prevent further pregnancies.. it was believed that if a woman feeds the umbilical cord of her last child to a xolo, it was a petition to the god of the dead not to send her any more children... I dont use mine for this, LOL.. I'll stick to pills and condoms, Im sure those have a higher success rate.

Ratters, some resources say the dogs were used for ratting, other books point out that because of the lack of protective hair, they do not make ideal ratters... the only thing mine chase are crumbs, and the laser pointers.. rats? forget it.

funeral dogs, it was believed that one needed certain colors of Xolo to escourt them thru the underworld. Certain colors were bred for funeral dogs, and were sacrificed at the funeral. I do not use mine for that.


the book I got my information from does not have much info about the uses of the coated versions.. it goes into more detail about the hairless dogs.

Answer 4

I sure do. Border Collies are herding dogs. Since I don't have, nor likely ever will have, a working farm/ranch, I will focus on trials. We have just recently begun herding lessons. She's learning how to handle the sheep and I'm learning how to handle a dog on the herd. We both have a lot to learn. Fortunately for me, my trainer has an exceptional BC who I am able to "practice" my end of working a dog on the herd, which puts me in a much better place to train my dog. My trainer bought property just to keep sheep for her to work her Border Collies and I'm very lucky to have found someone in the area willing to offer lessons. I expect some day to probably do the same as my trainer and have a small herd of sheep just for working my dogs.

I can't imagine having a Border Collie and not actually putting her to work for what she's meant to do. In all other training things we have done, treat rewards are common place, but this is not the case with herding thanx to that natural instinct already there. I love it.

Answer 5

Doberman Pinschers, bred to be intellegent personal protection dogs - live in your home with you, be a part of your life and be a deterent to people that might be doing something they shouldn't be doing :) There is no titling for this. I do, however, participate and have titled in temperament testing and sport training and have had my dogs actually be personally protective when called upon.

Answer 6

I have a cocker spaniel which was bred to go on hunts and retrieve the fowl etc.

I just recently got a Pembroke Welsh Corgi, he was bred to herd cattle/sheep. He still retains his herding instincts because his parents came from an open area farm. He doesn't nip at the heels, but he has the urge to herd his toy balls around the house.

Answer 7

I own a mix breed. I havnt found out what he is mixed with yet. He is a great obedience dog. And he is also part of the family he's fun and adorable. I also baby sit the neighbor's German Shepherd.He is a sweetie. He was bred for sheep herding, at first. But they are also great poilice dogs, agility dogs,obedience dogs,and of course a great companion.

Thats what dogs in general were bred for. companionship.

Answer 8

Yes we enjoy the show working events with Cani Corsi and American Pit Bull Terrier.

CC bred for conformation, protection, guardian.

APBT bred for weight pull, conformation and suited for a lot of other work. We have some nice agility prospects right now.

Answer 9

I have little cairn terriers and they were originally bred to hunt and kill vermin in the "cairns" (rock piles) of Scotland. Like all terrier breeds they will "go to ground" but mine are just pets. Actually they are more like members of the family and I really do believe that they don't realize that they are dogs. I understand that cairn terriers do well in agility also and am thinking of trying to get involved in that to give them a challenge. Right now they don't "earn" a living per se.

Answer 10

I have an Australian Cattle Dog and he's a world renowned cattle herder(no dog on the planet does it better...even though Corgis are close). While I don't use him for this purpose, I try to channel his energy in other areas when we play and exercise and he is a tremendous companion as a result. They are a handful, but if you are an experienced dog handler and want a challenge they'll change your life.

Answer 11

I have Weimaraners, who are HPR dogs (Hunt, Point, Retrieve). I don't work my dogs, although my ***** comes from a long line of working dogs. I find it strange that my ***** gets worked up if she sees ducks, geese, chickens etc, but can be found curled up asleep in her bed with a cat and she doesn't bat an eyelid when the guinea pigs are in the run. Our dog however loves everything small and furry and has to be kept an eye on around small mammals. He doesn't even try to chase birds though and can walk right next to ducks and not bother with them!