The Working Dog Breeds should they be Pets

Not all working dog breeds have working potentially, it all comes down to the genetic lines they are bred from that makes them either working or pet.

Should we have these working dogs as pets, should they be living in towns and cities or should they be purely bred to work.

This has always been and will always be a long-standing argument.

We love the working breeds like Spaniels, Labrador’s, Collies, Pointers and the list goes on.

All the original breeds of dog came from a working back ground, over the years we have bred and genetically changed them to create all type’s of breeds we see today.

It all comes down to genetics, the breed lines that make a dog a good easy to handle pet dog or a good hard worker that is going to take up to three years to truly train well.

The question is are we aware of the differences between the two.

The answer is no, the standard pet owner that loves the working type breeds often doesn’t seem to know the differences.

It is really down to the research we do of the dog breeds.

Their temperaments, size, breed traits and behaviours and whether they are truly suited to be a pet at all.

It is also down to the breeder as well knowing they are breeding working lines not pet lines.

Now a working dog, can mean anything from Trailing, Field Gundog, Tracking, Hunting, Security, Farm work ect.

If a dog has come from a particular strong working line its instinct to work is going to be high and that’s genetics.

These strong working type dogs are some of the hardest dogs to train as a pet.

Being a pet conflicts with their natural instinct which can cause an unbalance if not given the right stimuli.

Working breeds are becoming more and more commonplace in our society but if we are to take on these dogs then we have to be prepared for a lot of hard work.

In general most working dogs will on average, take upwards of three years to train to any standard.

Were as you average pet breed will take maybe a year to train the basics.

Which is why unfortunately so many working line types dogs end up either being returned to breeders or in rescues across the whole of the country.

The question was should we have these working dogs as pets, should they be living in towns and cities or should they be purely bred to work.

The answer is yes but we should be prepared and ready to give them the time and effort it takes to help them remain balanced.