There is something really magical about watching working dogs and their owners together.
From herding dogs to rescue dogs, the working partnership between humans and their canine colleagues is very special.
So, we have put together a list of seven working dog breeds that we feel deserve to be celebrated.
Blood Hounds
Bloodhounds originate from France but became popular in the USA.
They have a phenomenal talent for tracking. In recent history (as very often portrayed in films), they have been used for tracking down escaped convicts.
They have a powerful sense of smell, a great work ethic, and will chase someone down over many miles of the toughest terrains.
So be warned if you are planning to escape from jail any time soon, you might have one of these running you down!
Border Collies
We did a full blog post here on why border collies are such a great working breed.
But in short, they are incredibly intelligent; they love to work, and are extremely athletic.
Bred originally for herding sheep, they are now often used as rescue dogs, competition dogs and still do a lot of herding work worldwide. (They also get the odd acting job starring in the movie series Babe 🙂 )
Kangal Shepherd Dogs
Kangal shepherd dogs are one of the largest and toughest breeds of livestock guardian dogs.
They live out in the pastures with herds of cattle, goats, or sheep to protect them from predators.
Coming from Turkey, they are tough enough to fight off bears, wolves, and mountain lions!
Often they wear spiked metal collars to protect them from these animals, as you can see in the photo below.
Belgian Malinois
Belgian Malinois are the first choice of breed for many armies, police forces, and specials forces units such as the SAS and the Navy Seals.
They are very intelligent, extremely athletic, and have the drive to work higher than pretty much any other breed of dog. As you can see from this photo, they are also a very beautiful breed.
Trail hounds
Trail hounds are like hunting dogs but without the hunting. Primarily ran in the UK and the Republic of Ireland, they are very similar to foxhounds but tend to be skinnier.
If you think of them as like off-road greyhound racing dogs, you will get the idea.
They follow a scent trail across mountainous terrain and the first dog back to base is the winner.
These dogs love to run, they love to jump, and they love to chase a scent.
Seeing a pack of them tear around the hillsides is something that has to be seen to be believed.
Huskies
Yes, we all know what huskies are and what they do. They are one of the most famous breeds of working dogs.
But even though they are well known, it is worth taking a moment to remember how awesome they are.
Teams of huskies can pull heavily laden sleds across the most difficult winter terrain imaginable.
Hard-working, loyal, and incredibly tough, huskies really are amazing and gorgeous hairy dogs!
German Short Haired Pointers
German Short Haired Pointers (they are known as GSP’s for short) are a hunting dog.
Bred to track game, point it out to their owners, and then retrieving after that.
There are many awesome breeds of gun dogs.
What makes the German shorthaired pointers so interesting is their ability to point at prey, just like you can see them do in this fascinating video.
Ok, so that is it for this post. If you could like to read about more interesting dog breeds, click here.
Thanks for reading our blog!
The PupsterPassion.com Team
PS – If you have a dog with a disability or joint issues please click here to read about using a dog hip support brace or read our orthopedic dog bed reviews.