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Those differences arise from the functions for which each breed was originally developed, combined with features selected for by the dog fancy throughout the 20th and 21st centuries.
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Further, the cranial and limb morphology of Canis familiaris are more variable than in all of the other canid species combined ( 3, 4). Dogs have the greatest morphological diversity of all mammals ( 2). However, the ways in which those components vary and are combined in each breed, resulting in their size and shape, constitute structure. The detailed anatomy of all dogs, including the bones, muscles, tendons, ligaments, innervation, and vasculature is the same ( 1). These differences in structure between different lines/functions within a breed are perhaps most noticeable in the German Shepherd Dog, the Labrador Retriever, the Golden Retriever, and the Border Collie, breeds that are often recruited for use as Working Dogs.
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This has progressed almost to the point where the performance and conformation lines of many breeds have few structural similarities. At the same time, some individuals chose to breed those same breeds strictly for performance competitions, often leading to distinct differences in the structure of performance and conformation lines of the same breed. However, in the last 150 years, this tight relationship between structure and function has, in many cases, dissolved as people began to breed specifically for success in the conformation ring, where dogs are judged predominantly on appearance. These dogs will be referred to using the upper case designation Working Dogs.Ĭenturies ago, most selective breeding strategies had the goal of producing dogs to assist with specific tasks that helped humans survive and thrive, such as hunting, herding, or capturing vermin. The majority of these dogs work for government institutions, such as the military, police forces, the Transportation Security Administration, Customs and Border Protection, and agriculture defense dogs. In this review, discussion will be limited to working dogs that help communities, as opposed to assisting individuals. Others have jobs as dog guides for the blind, hearing assistance dogs, assistance dogs for the disabled, and work in many other capacities to help their human partners. Some of these dogs work as military, police, search and rescue, detection (bombs, drugs, cash, agricultural products, termites, mold, cancer, etc.) dogs. There are many different types of working dogs – dogs with jobs that help to keep society and individuals safe, secure, and healthy.