Encyclopedia

working dog

working dog, classification used by breeders and kennel clubs to designate dogs raised by humans to herd cattle and sheep, as draft animals, as message dispatchers in wartime, in police and rescue work, as guardians of persons and property, or as guides (see guide dog) for the blind. The following breeds are designated working dogs by the American Kennel Club: Alaskan malamute, Belgian Malinois, Belgian sheepdog, Belgian Tervuren, Bernese mountain dog, Bouvier des Flandres, boxer, Briard, bull mastiff, Cardigan Welsh corgi, collie, Doberman pinscher, German shepherd, Great Dane, Great Pyrenees, komondor, kuvasz, mastiff, Newfoundland, old English sheepdog, Pembroke Welsh corgi, puli, Rottweiler, Samoyed, schnauzer (giant and standard), Shetland sheepdog, Siberian husky, and St. Bernard. See dog.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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