There are many impressive jobs for dogs - We have dogs working in the police force for crowd control or tracking. There are dogs that are invaluable for assisting blind or hearing impaired humans. There are also the traditional herding and guardian dogs. Detection Dogs save an incredible amount of time at airports where they search for drugs or vegetable matter for the Customs Department. Perhaps one of the most amazing is how some Detection Dogs can identify early signs of medical ailments such as epileptic fits and cancer. These Working dogs are highly prized by our society and get to live a very structured life.

They are placed with trained handlers and their environment is very controlled. For example, lets consider the life of the police or customs dog; They are assigned to a human partner who trains with them most days. Their health and progress is monitored closely, any problems are noted and further training is put in place to ensure the work requirement is met.

This is a far cry from the life of a Family Pet. The family dog is expected to be able to cope without any support from their home environment. Often there is no training program and the family members may have a limited understanding of their dog’s personality.

Another big consideration is that the family dog will have to deal with many changes over the course of their life.

Sometimes it could be a new baby being brought home, perhaps a big family party or you may be going thru a messy divorce. For many, moving to a new house or even a different town, can places enormous pressures on all the family, including the family dog. Yet the family pet is expected to cope without any training.