When we think about a “working dog,” many of us picture a police dog or a search and rescue dog. But dogs do many different jobs.
Some dogs find missing people. Others guide people who cannot see. Some protect livestock, detect drugs or explosives, help people with disabilities, herd animals, or rescue people from the water.
Their jobs may be very different, but they have one thing in common: their bodies and minds need to be healthy enough to do their work.
There are many types of working dogs
Working dogs can be divided into many groups. These include detection dogs, search and rescue dogs, guide dogs, service dogs, therapy dogs, herding dogs, protection dogs, livestock guardian dogs, and water rescue dogs.
Each job asks something different from the dog.
A detection dog may search for drugs, explosives, human remains, pests, or even certain medical odors. These dogs may work in airports, hospitals, wilderness areas, or war zones. They need enough fitness to search for long periods while staying focused on their task.
Search and rescue dogs may have an even more physical job. They can search huge areas of wilderness or climb over unstable piles of debris after a disaster. Good strength, balance, endurance, and confidence are all important.
Some working dogs are everyday athletes
We may not think of guide and service dogs as athletes, but their bodies are working too.
Guide dogs may work for several hours each day while helping their person safely move around obstacles, streets, stairs, curbs, and other challenges. One study of 7,686 retired guide dogs found that musculoskeletal problems, especially osteoarthritis, were among the most common health reasons for retirement.
Service dogs can have very different physical demands. One dog may simply need to give an alert. Another may help with mobility or even assist with pulling a wheelchair. No matter what the task is, the dog must be physically able to perform it safely and comfortably.
Then there are the high-impact athletes
Herding and protection dogs can place huge demands on their bodies.
Herding dogs may cover large areas of uneven land while making quick turns and responding immediately to their handler. In one study of 641 working herding dogs, musculoskeletal problems were the most common type of injury reported, affecting 43% of the dogs.
Protection dogs may sprint, jump, climb walls or fences, make sudden turns, and bite and hold a target. These activities place major forces on their muscles, joints, spine, mouth, and teeth. Reported problems include muscle strains, repetitive injuries, foot and nail injuries, dental trauma, and degenerative lumbosacral stenosis (DLS). This is similar to sciatica in people (low back pain), and is the #1 reason why any working dog is retired early.
Water rescue dogs are powerful athletes
Water rescue dogs have a unique and physically demanding job. They may jump from boats, enter rough water, swim to a person, and then tow that person back to safety. Their work can expose them to problems such as hypothermia, ear infections, respiratory disease, drowning, and injuries from entering the water.
Why does this matter?
When I examine a working dog, I don’t just want to know where it hurts. I want to know what that dog does for a living.
A sore back may mean something very different for a therapy dog than it does for a police dog that needs to jump over a wall. Mild shoulder pain may not bother a pet during a short walk, but it could become a major problem for a search and rescue dog working for hours over rough ground.
This is one reason sports medicine and rehabilitation can be so important for working dogs.
The goal isn’t always simply to make the dog comfortable. We also need to think about strength, endurance, balance, flexibility, and whether the dog can safely return to its specific job.
Keeping working dogs working
Working dogs give us an incredible amount. In return, we should treat them like the athletes they are.
That means paying attention to small changes in movement, stiffness, performance, or willingness to work. It also means thinking about injury prevention, conditioning, early diagnosis, rehabilitation, and a safe return to work after an injury.
Most importantly, we shouldn’t wait for a working dog to become severely lame before paying attention.
Sometimes the first sign of a problem isn’t a limp. It is simply that the dog isn’t doing its job quite as well as it used to.
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