Much more than “man’s best friend”

When it comes to living with “man’s best friend,” humans are old hands. We have been living with our canine companions for quite possibly tens of thousands of years.

Today, dogs are much more than just pets. They assist us in sniffing out illegal substances, natural disaster survivors, even cancer. But they also help us recover from a variety of ailments. With that in mind, it’s important to pick the right breeds for the right jobs.

Therapy Dogs
Therapy dogs serve in a number of ways. There are therapeutic visitation dogs, animal assisted therapy dogs and facility therapy dogs. In all instances, the main requirement is that the breed is easily trainable and has a gentle temperament.

Although any dog with the right training and qualifications can be a therapy dog, the most commonly used breeds include:

• Labrador Retriever
• German Shepherd
• Greyhound
• Beagle
• Rottweiler

The fact that Rottweilers make the list belies the notion that Rottweilers are a particularly vicious or aggressive breed. Trained right, even Pit Bulls make great service dogs. Small dogs like Pugs and French Bulldogs can also get the job done.

Guide Dogs
Guide dogs are trained to assist people with a visual impairment. Not only do guide dogs need to be friendly, but they must be able to stay focused on the task at hand, and take commands from their owners. This makes some breeds better suited than others.

Guide dog breeds include:

• Golden Retrievers
• Labradors
• German Shepherds

Hearing Dogs
Hearing dogs are trained to alert their owners by use of either physical touch or observation of what they are looking at. Because their owners are relying on them to hear, good breeds for hearing dogs are ones that aren’t easily distracted.

Hearing dog breeds include:

• Labradors
• Cocker Spaniels
• Miniature Poodles
• Cavalier King Charles Spaniels

Dogs provide their human owners with so much more than love and companionship. They’re also a hard working subset of our healthcare system. So when it comes to your health, turn to man’s best friend.