The dogs in the American Kennel Club’s Working Group have been bred for jobs. Most are large, strong dogs who have historically worked at tasks such as guard work and pulling carts or sleds.

Dogs in this group require structured, formal training, whether to perform their traditional work or to succeed as safe companions to humans. Some can be great, dependable family dogs with proper training.

In considering the behavioral aspects of the various working breeds, a good guideline is the work that dogs of each breed historically performed, and how they were trained to do it. Some of the breeds are still working at those tasks, while others have found other roles.

The Cart and Sled Dogs

Pulling a cart calls for a large dog of a composed disposition. Important income would be lost if the dog spooked and upset the cart. Since the draft dog is attached to the cart, protection work isn’t really feasible in the carting job. A dog good at carting would be a prospect for a genial family companion. The Bernese Mountain Dog, Greater Swiss Mountain Dog, and Newfoundland are some of the cart draft dogs.

The sled dogs also tend to lack protection instincts, because that behavior could interfere with their work and with keeping them ready to run in a team. Siberian Huskies and Alaskan Malamutes were both bred for sled dog work, Malamutes being larger for heavier loads. Both breeds are known as escape artists who may run and run if they leave your fenced back yard, so plan on secure quarters for these breeds.

The Samoyed breed traditionally branched out a bit, pulling sleds as well as herding. With their lovely “Sammie smiles” and profuse fluffy white coats, they have temperaments as sweet as they look.

Livestock Guardian Dogs

The job of a livestock guardian dog is to live out in the field with the stock and protect the animals from predators. Sadly, some of the predators are people’s companion dogs they don’t properly confine, and the roaming dogs may one way or another pay with their lives for their owners’ errors. The livestock guardian dog is there to protect from these as well as wild predators.

Livestock guardian dogs are very effective, and unlike such measures as poisoning or shooting wolves and coyotes, they have a good record of not harming innocent animals. For best results raise them with the livestock. The goal is for them to bond more strongly with the farm animals they guard than with humans.

The ability of these breeds to work independently from humans and be happy that way can have a down side if you fancy one of them as a companion dog. They were not bred to work as partners with humans, and can be very independent. Of course they are also quite large in order to be able to dispatch predators in the field. Carefully research to make sure this is the personality in a dog you desire before acquiring a livestock guardian breed.

Breeds traditionally used as livestock guardians include the Great Pyrenees, Komondor, and several breeds that are not registered through the American Kennel Club but are nonetheless well-established. It’s important to note that it can be a big mistake to put a different kind of guard dog out with livestock to protect them. The livestock guardian breeds are highly specialized, and other guard dogs can get into a lot of trouble that is not likely to happen with the correct breeds for the job.

Guarding Breeds

Dogs bred to be guard dogs can be serious dogs, not necessarily the right choice for a first-time dog owner. This is not universally true, since in every breed there are dogs at both ends of the temperament continuum.

A dog with strong guarding instincts needs thorough socialization when young in order to be familiar with the human world and able to make good judgments later in protection situations. It’s generally desirable for the dog to be fairly happy-go-lucky and friendly when young. Protection attitude emerges as the dog’s instincts mature, and a confident young dog makes a much more dependable protector in adulthood than does a paranoid one.

Owning a guarding breed carries with it the responsibility of being able to control the dog on a leash as well as keeping it securely confined at home. Sometimes in talking about training a dog, we forget that probably 80% of it requires the handler to develop solid skills. A skilled handler can manage an untrained dog when necessary, but even a trained dog can be beyond the control of handlers who don’t know what they’re doing.

Legislation is constantly changing, but currently you may have difficulty getting homeowner’s insurance if you own certain breeds of dogs, and some of the guarding breeds of the Working Group appear on such lists. Hopefully the laws will soon recognize that judgment should follow the deed, not the breed. But the fact that such laws get proposed is one more reason to carefully consider whether you want the responsibility of a large, protective, serious-minded dog.

Just a Few of the Exceptions

Individual dogs and breeds in the Working Group form exceptions to the general categories, especially the Portuguese Water Dog. Its temperament is described as “sprightly, self-willed, brave, and very resistant to fatigue. Obeys its master with facility and apparent pleasure.” These very nice dogs have two types of coats, a flat coat and a Poodle-like coat that requires a lot of time on the grooming table. They work at tasks such as retrieving nets for fishermen.

The Saint Bernard used to work in mountain rescue. The short coat requires a lot less grooming time than the long coat. It’s interesting that the breed standard doesn’t describe a temperament.

The muscular Boxer tends to be a rather merry dog, known for patience with children, and is amenable to training. Though high in energy, size and strength, it’s not an especially difficult breed to manage.

The Great Dane’s breed standard describes the temperament as “always friendly and dependable,” and this is what a well-bred Great Dane should be like. It’s one of the giant breeds sometimes suggested as being able to adapt to apartment living, since past young adulthood the breed’s activity level is fairly sedate.

Grooming

When a breed has long hair on the face, think “messes around the water dish!” Some of the breeds of the Working Group represent big grooming commitments, so talk to some groomers before making your choice.

Remember that even a short haired dog the size of a Great Dane is going to take awhile to bathe or brush. The large and giant breeds with heavy coats may require professional grooming, and groomers charge more for larger dogs because they take more time.

Condition the dog to grooming when young. Large and giant breeds who don’t want to be groomed are going to be extremely difficult to work on—sometimes impossible, and some of these breeds are guard dogs. You don’t want a situation where no grooming shop will accept your dog!

If the dog is going to require professional grooming services, start young with short visits to the grooming shop. Always use a very good groomer, since this person’s handling of your dog is going to profoundly affect your dog’s temperament.

Giant Breeds

The Working Group includes several giant breeds, and special conditions affect these dogs as well as some large breeds.

Orthopedic conditions crop up often, from hip dysplasia to torn ligaments to osteoarthritis that can hit giant breeds at a much younger age than it does smaller dogs. With a larger body to move, orthopedic problems hinder the dog more and may cause more pain. This is one of the first things to consider when a dog shows a change in behavior, including new aggression, new fears, or new housetraining problems.

Do not let a child ride your giant-breed dog like a horse! This is a recipe for disaster. The child gets bigger quickly and the dog gets older and more arthritic. It is never a good idea to let a child treat a dog in this manner. A dog is not a horse.

Keep in mind, too, that even a gentle dog of a giant breed can accidentally cause severe injury to a child or adult just by virtue of the sheer weight. Some of these dogs weigh over 150 pounds. Add even a little speed to that weight, and you’ve got the makings of a colossal collision.

Sadly, the giant breeds do have shortened lifespans, as well as shortened working lives. If, for example, you consider a giant breed for therapy dog work or assistance dog work, keep in mind that giant dogs mature more slowly, so the dog may be older when ready to start work, maybe two or three years old.

The career may need to end when the dog is as young as six or seven, depending on how the body ages. That’s a short career for a working dog. Some work longer, but in preparing a dog for work that people will depend on, you’ll want to be aware that this often happens. The dogs able to do the most work tend to be of more moderate size.

Romantic Histories

Study of the histories of breeds in the Working Group provide fascinating insights about what dogs have meant in human history. When considering adoption of a dog from one of the Working Group breeds into your family, take time to research the history of the breed. You’ll enjoy it, and it’s a very good thing to do while getting to know some dogs of the breed you’re considering, as well as finding the right breeder or rescue to work with your family.

A good starting point to learn about a breed is the web page of each breed’s national breed club. You’ll find a link to each breed club’s site on the American Kennel Club webpage, www.akc.org, under the respective breeds. With so much variety of purpose, there are individual dogs among the breeds of the Working Group to fit just about every home.