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The Canine Job Market

From acting in movies, performing amazing search-and-rescue feats, solving crime busting detective work and security assignments, to being efficient and loving assistance companions to the physically disabled, the German Shepherd Dog has cornered the canine job market.

Originally, this breed was considered a herding dog and his first job description was to round up sheep and cattle.
As far back as the early 1900s, the German Speherd Club in Germany started to incorporate various work-related
based traits into their breeding program so that the GSDs could excel in other work environments.

Here is a selection of career choices for your GSD.

Assistance Dog: Dogs are trained to help people with physical disabilities lead normal lives by giving them independence. Besides providing certain necessary tasks in the home and workplace, these dogs also protect their owners at all costs.

Guide Dog: Trained for the blind, these dogs guide their owners around obstacles, across streets and keep them away from danger. These dogs must have impeccable manners as they accompany their owners everywhere from grocery stores to public transportation.

Hearing Dog: Special training allows these dogs to alert their owners to ringing doorbells and telephones; the beeping of alarm clocks and smoke alarms; passing traffic; and approaching people; as well as any special sounds unique to a particular household.

Police Dog: These days, police dogs are an integral part of any police department. Dogs are trained in the facility and then taken out and about to experience different environments to that they can work in all kinds of situations. German Shepherds are excellent for patrol work,
criminal apprehension, handler protection, evidence recovery, and tracking and searching buildings to find criminals.

Military Dog: They require many of the same skills needed for police work and some of their assignments are similar such as sentry duty, scout and patrol duties, tunnel exploration and casualty search.

Search-and-Rescue Dog: A dog involved in various kinds of search-and-rescue work is trained to find a human scent and effectively alert his handler to its location. SAR dogs are chosen for their excellent sense of smell and physical abilities.

Autism Service Dog: Dogs with basic training in obedience and good house manners can be placed with a family with an autistic child. An autism service dog's presence offers a calming influence and provides a sense of security to the child and can result in improved communication and social skills.

Therapy Dog: Therapy work is a wonderful job for any well-trained, friendly animal because he/she doesn't need any special training beyond standard obedience training. Most therapy dogs take the American Kennel Club Canine Good Citizen test to prove that they are mild tempered, loving, and able to spend time with people.

Hollywood Dog: There are more opportunities for dogs to work in movies, television and in commercials on screen and in the print media than ever before. Pet talent agencies offer various training courses to make your dog set ready. Even though most dogs
who have successful screen careers are owned and trained by professionals, that doesn't mean your dog can't make
it in Hollywood too! Dogs can earn up to $500 a day on a movie set.

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