Working dog

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

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/or 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 in olfactory detection of specific substances, such as contraband and biological residue.
• 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 dogs are widely used to locate missing persons and assist in natural disaster response
• Sled dog
• Working terrier, a terrier bred to hunt small mammals, such as badgers, foxes, and rats