Dohner - Farm Dogs: a Comprehensive Breed Guide to 93 Guardians, Herders, Terriers, and Other Canine Working Partners

Spanish Mastiff

For millennia, humans lived and worked with a handful of canine types that were selected and bred to do particular work. More recently, those basic types have been developed into 350 internationally recognized breeds and additional landrace types found around the world. This book focuses on the best dogs for farm life, be it as a true working partner or more of a family companion to a rural lifestyle. The dogs that traditionally and historically fulfilled these roles are still best suited to this role and place, and they make superb full- or part-time workers and companions.

The selection of breeds was determined by the jobs traditionally done by working farm dogs:

• Guarding the flocks
• Protecting the farmstead
• Herding, driving, and working with livestock
• Controlling rats and other vermin
• Pulling carts and other small conveyances
• Serving as all-around extra farmhand and jack-of-all-trades

Using these specific criteria meant leaving out some popular and favorite breeds. One of the biggest groups missing from this book is sporting dogs gun dogs, retrievers, scenthounds, big game hounds, and sighthounds. Yes, they are amazing working dogs that often make good companions, but their primary role was as a hunting companion and not as an indispensable worker on a farm or ranch. Today, as well, hunting is for most people a hobby or a sport rather than an essential activity for feeding a family.

Sled dogs, though essential to the peoples of the Arctic lands, were not part of a traditional agrarian lifestyle. And again, dogsledding is now more of a sport than a survival activity for most people. Also not included are the breeds that were originally developed and have been used since ancient times as dogs of war or for bear and bull baiting or for dog fighting itself. Throughout history, these activities were never farm work.

Giant breeds that are extremely large and heavy are not included, as they lack agility and are generally unable to do sustained hard work in all types of weather. Breeding for new extremes in size or weight is a recent trend that has altered the appearance and abilities of some former working dogs. Also excluded from this book are terriers that were not originally bred to actually work as ratters or earthdogs, unless they were traditional farm workers. Some terriers are primarily companion dogs and some never worked in this way at all. Very small companion dogs dont have a place here either.

While many of the breeds that are described above do make excellent family pets, they are specialists whose original purpose was not as a hardworking farm or ranch dog. In addition, some of their traits are not a good mix with the livestock or poultry often found on the farm. Are there exceptions? Of course there are, but the goal here is to introduce you to the breeds that possess real abilities for working on the farm. These breeds, many of which are active or quite large, are well suited for country life and happy to be there. In fact, most of these breeds dont do well without a job. Whether you are a working farmer or rancher or someone who enjoys living in the country, and you want a dog who has the brains and self-reliance and devotion to do a useful job, then this is the book for you.

Because this book discusses aptitudes and inherited behaviors for actual working jobs rather than categorizing the breeds by the groups designated by kennel clubs, it is organized a bit differently than most breed books. There are four groups here: livestock guardian dogs; herding and stock dogs; working terriers and earthdogs who go to ground; and multipurpose or traditional farm dogs.

These breeds were created and perfected by people who raised livestock or lived on farms. These are the dogs that farmers, ranchers, and folks who lived in the country depended on. You might not find all of the popular breeds in these pages, but you will discover breeds that are uniquely suited to working and living where people have space and jobs for them to do. Many folks have two or three! Somewhere in this book there is sure to be the right dog for you, your family, and your farm, whatever your situation.

Jack Russell Terrier

A Short History of Man and Dog Together

For centuries, dogs and humans have formed true working partnerships, with dogs acting as hunters, herders, guardians, and even warriors. Their work was extremely valuable and often indispensable, and it still is today, when most dogs primarily fulfill the role of family member and friend. No animal has been our companion longer, and on our journey together we have forged a unique bond.

Speculations about the origins of the domestic dog, Canis familiaris, continue to appear with new discoveries in genetics and archeology. The proposed time of dog and human association has varied from 14,000 to 135,000 years ago. Although it was previously widely believed that the dog descended directly from the gray wolf, the most recent genetic studies suggest that early dogs and gray wolves evolved separately from an older, now-extinct ancestor sometime between 11,000 and 16,000 years ago. This research also suggests that dogs are more closely related to each other and not to the gray wolves found in Europe, Asia, North Africa, and North America.