Working Dog Breeds: The Top Ten Dogs Of This Group

The Working Dog group includes most of the guard dog breeds such as the Rottweiler and Doberman Pinscher as well as the northern sled dogs such as the Alaskan Malamute and the Siberian Husky. Most of these dogs need lots of exercise and a fair amount of living space. Many of these dogs have thick double coats and can be heavy shedders. The heavy shedding breeds include the: Akita, Alaskan Malamute, Great Pyrenees, Newfoundland, Saint Bernard, Samoyed and Siberian Husky. The top 10 most popular Working Dog breeds in the US according to the American Kennel Club 2005 registrations are discussed below and their registration rank is included in brackets.

1. Boxer

The Boxer (#7) is a large, strong and muscular dog that is energetic, good-natured and playful. Boxers are very popular because they love children and are a good dog breed for active families with children. Toddlers and young children should be supervised carefully when around young or adolescent dogs that will knock them over when they get excited. This breed needs early socialization and obedience training while they are puppies and exercise while adolescents to control their exuberance. Boxers are alert, intelligent and eager to please and can be trained to a high level for agility sports and obedience competitions. Boxers make good watchdogs and can even be trained to be guard dogs.

2. Rottweiler

The Rottweiler (#16) is a very heavy, muscular and large dog breed. A well-bred Rottweiler is calm, intelligent, confident and courageous but can be aggressive toward strangers and strange dogs. Therefore it is important that this breed be thoroughly socialized and obedience trained starting when it is a puppy and continuing through adolescence. The Rottie needs exercise and mental stimulation and makes a good obedience, agility and schutzhund competitor. Rottweilers are not suited for indoor life and enjoy being outside. A well trained Rottie does fine with older children but this breed should be restricted to people who have the time to thoroughly socialize, obedience train, and keep this dog active.

3. Doberman Pinscher

The Doberman Pinscher (#21) is a strong, muscular and athletic large dog. Dobermans are usually protective but also are sweet and docile family dogs. This intelligent breed needs early socialization and obedience training when it is a puppy and this should be continued through adolescence. Dobermans do fine with older children if they are raised with them. Male Dobes can be very aggressive with other male dogs and shouldn't be trusted with small pets and strange children. Dobermans need lots of exercise and companionship and shouldn't be left alone for long periods of time. This breed should spend a significant amount of time at a dog training school. Dobermans make good guard dogs and good watchdogs.

4. Great Dane

The Great Dane (#24) is a very large and strong dog and is known as the gentle giant of dog breeds. The Dane is gentle, quiet, loyal and affectionate towards its family. This breed would rather lean against you for a pat, than be aggressive towards anyone. The Dane is great with family children but small children must be supervised carefully to avoid knockdown. The Dane is so large that it must be socialized and trained to behave very cautiously around children and pets. Because the Dane is so large early obedience training is essential to prevent it from exerting dominance. Young Danes, up to three years old, can be boisterous and need strict supervision. Danes make excellent watchdogs.

5. Siberian Husky

The Siberian Husky (#25) is a very handsome medium to large dog breed that is playful, friendly, athletic and independent. Siberians get along well with older children but are not recommended for toddlers and small children unless raised with them from a puppy. Too many people are attracted to this handsome dog without realizing this is a working sled dog that needs a lot of physical activity. Siberians belong outside in an escape-proof large yard but get bored and destructive if they have too little exercise. Training is quite challenging and must be started when the Sibes are puppies and continued through to adulthood. Siberians don't bark much (although they howl from time to time) and are too friendly to make good watchdogs.

6. Mastiff

The Mastiff (#33) is a gentle giant dog and one of the heaviest dog breeds. This gentle giant is a great family dog that is calm, dignified, good-natured and very fond of children. Because of its giant size, toddlers are in danger of knock-down, and should always be supervised carefully. Mastiffs need a house with a large fenced yard. This breed needs lots of companionship and should have early and on-going socialization and obedience training so that you can control the Mastiff with only voice commands. This breed is naturally protective of its home and family and must be socialized early and often with other dogs to prevent it from becoming combative. Mastiffs make good watch dogs and guard dogs.

7. Saint Bernard

The massive Saint Bernard (#37) is the most famous of all giant dog breeds and one of the best known of all dog breeds. The Saint is an intelligent, courageous, obedient and good natured dog breed. The breed is very good with children and also other pets but because of their very large size, young children and toddlers should be supervised carefully to avoid any accidents. The Saint is relatively easy to train but must be thoroughly socialized and trained while it is young and hasn't grown too large to handle. The Saint Bernard makes a good watchdog even though it doesn't bark much and is fairly tolerant of strangers.

8. Bullmastiff

The Bullmastiff (#42) is a very large dog that is a cross between the Bulldog and the Mastiff dog breeds. The Bullmastiff is loveable and trustworthy but also fearless and afraid of nothing. Normally this breed is mild mannered and docile but once aroused can be aggressive with other male dogs and strangers. Bullmastiffs make great family pets for families with older children but young puppies or adolescents are too exuberant to be around toddlers or small children. Bullmastiff puppies must have early socialization and obedience training that is reinforced through adulthood. This dog breed is too large to allow it to have any unruly behavior and at any sign of aggression get professional training assistance. Bullmastiffs make fantastic watch dogs and great natural guard dogs but should never receive additional guard dog training.

9. Newfoundland

The Newfoundland (#46) or Newf is one of the giant dog breeds whose teddy bear appearance gives an indication of what a wonderful family dog it is. The Newfoundland has a wonderfully sweet and gentle disposition that is reflected in his kind expression. This intelligent, gentle and good-natured giant dog is great with children and makes a terrific family dog. Toddlers should be supervised carefully as one slurp from his big tongue could knock a little one over. Newfs and all giant breeds should be socialized and obedience trained early while puppies and through adolescence. Newfs need lots of companionship and need to be involved in family activities.

10. Bernese Mountain Dog

The Bernese Mountain Dog (#47) is a very handsome large dog which is outgoing, intelligent and affectionate and makes a terrific family pet. Berners love children but should be supervised with young children because they are large and can knock the toddlers over. Berners should be socialized early with small children and animals when they are puppies. Bernese are intelligent and very trainable and make good dogs for competitive obedience trials. These mountain dogs like to be outside and thrive in cold weather. Berners are fairly tolerant with strangers but still make excellent watch dogs and guard dogs.

Mike Mathews is a contributing writer and editor for the popular dog breed site: http://www.dog-breed-facts.com. He provides informative, real-world advice and tips on dog breeds, dog health, dog grooming and more. As well be sure to check out his free report on Dog Training.

Alternatives to Working

Most people know what stealing is. If you went into a clothes shop and came out the door later with a shirt or a blouse that you hadn't paid for, that might seem like stealing. Trouble is, in a recent survey, about half the British residents interviewed admitted to taking something at some time from their place of work. It might have been the odd ballpoint pen, or a handful of paper-clips, but it went up to and included a laptop computer. What about the worker in a car factory who took home a small part every day. At the end of the year he had been able to build his own vehicle at home. Is that theft? Or do we secretly admire his initiative?

What about taxes? In another survey half the respondents admitted to playing down their income and beefing up their expenses when they made their annual Tax Return. That's lying, but hey, you're only stealing from the taxman, right? Well no, you're actually taking from all of us, all those daft enough or honest enough to pay the taxes we owe and thus cover all the healthcare costs and social work that we happen to think is a useful part of our society. It's not like finding a banknote on the street, is it? If we saw some money sliding down the gutter, well, that's just good luck, isn't it? It isn't like we filled in any forms falsely or lied to anyone, if we just pick it up and run off with it, right? No? What about if you happened to be walking past my office and saw my wallet lying open on my desk? Would you feel justified in helping yourself to whatever you could find in there? I mean, it would involve strolling into the room casually and hoping that no one was there. Or that anyone else passing by noticed you being in there and thought you were acting suspiciously. And you would have to open the wallet and riffle through the private contents. That's stealing, right? Or would you say it was all my fault for being so stupid as to leave my assets unattended in plain sight?

After all, people like 'finding' free things. A few nights ago, someone climbed up onto the roof of the Youth Centre near where I live and 'found' some strips of lead. They helped themselves and later that night, when it rained, water poured in through the open rafters and wrecked the computer room and boxing gym. It's all bad news for the local children, losing facilities that they sorely need, but it's not stealing is it? I'm sure the local thugs who did the deed will be excusing themselves right now and saying that 'It's insured' or some such nonsense, and not worrying about the fact that it's their younger brothers and sisters who are losing the facilities, however temporarily.

This 'insurance' issue raises the question: 'Who pays?' If it's the taxman we don't worry, it seems. Or maybe if it's big corporations (especially if they are our employers), department stores, local government, the banks, insurance companies, that's OK. But the clear fact is that someone does pay, somewhere, at some point. I've got a friend who was telling me proudly that he's discovered a wonderful new hair salon where they serve free drinks while you get your hair cut. Tea, coffee, fruit juice, or mineral water, it's your choice. I said: who pays? He laughed. 'It's free', he said. Then I found out how much he paid for his coiffure, and it was double the bill I usually pay. Who paid? He did.

Now we get to the internet. For some reason, an incredible number of people expect it to be free. Why? Every email you send, every web site you visit, has been set up, programmed and built by people. Their time costs money. You expect them to work for nothing? The unusual thing about the web is that it mostly isn't 'big business'. Apart from the obvious software giants, it's mainly people in garages and bedrooms, home dens and studies. Some of them are geeks, some hobbyists. Some happy to invent new stuff, work on new ideas, and give them out to the world (which is what Open Source software is all about). But if someone has spent time making something work, and you then take it for free, aren't you stealing? If it's their effort, then you've taken their energy, their resources, their inventiveness, their time. For nothing.

Ahh yes, someone pays, you agree, but it's advertising. Web sites are flooded with small ads and links to commercial programs, so that's what's funding the work, you say. But who pays for ads? When I buy my tin of baked beans in my local supermarket, I know that that company has spent millions on TV ads. It means that for the price I pay, some small fraction of it is going towards the company's advertising budget. If I buy books or toys or software on the internet, isn't some small part of the price helping to pay for advertising it? After all, who paid for my friend's 'free' cup of coffee? He did.

If you think anything is free from the internet, you're deluding yourself, firstly. But secondly, and far worse, is the attitude that says, 'Yeah, someone pays, but it isn't going to be me'. Because that's stealing, (just like taking from the taxman, or your employer, or my local Youth Centre). You want a program that will make you money, but you aren't willing to pay for it? You want someone to teach you internet marketing, as long as nothing has to come out of your wallet? That's a hell of a bad basis for starting to set up any kind of successful enterprise. That's like going into the shop and seeing 'Aunty Betty's Cake Mix' and thinking, 'Okay, she invented the recipe and prepared the ingredients, but what do you mean she isn't going to cook it for me, for free?' Or, just to rub the point in, she isn't going to bake it in her oven and leave her front door open, so you can sneak in and steal the cake out of her oven, in her own house. She isn't? She isn't going to let you steal it from her and pay nothing? What kind of internet author is she?

Mike Scantlebury is an Internet Author. He currently lives in Manchester, England, home to soccer and The Smiths, where he outputs books, stories and songs, some of which end up at YouTube even. He has several web sites following his many interests, but you can make a start at his download area. Try http://www.mikescantlebury.biz