Most breeds of dogs were originally bred for a specific job or a variety of jobs, but most dogs rarely perform those jobs these days. Herding dogs were bred to herd livestock, most terriers were bred to hunt down and kill rodents, hunting dogs were bred for tracking, running down, pointing, and/or retrieving various sorts of animals. . .

These days, the dogs that were bred for high energy jobs often get into trouble when they don't have appropriate outlets for all of that energy. I can certainly tell the days (this was written in September 2010) when Romeo is not getting enough exercise. Those are the days he goes looking to create his own jobs. But most days I keep him busy with a variety of jobs – scenting out rabbit and deer trails on our property, letting me know when a bull snake gets close, working for his meals by doing a variety of things he knows (sit, down, stay, stand, stretch, shake, hand target, fetch, go around, under, over, in/out, heel, etc.), working to get food out of interactive toys, rally obedience exercises, etc.

What “jobs” does your dog have? Which ones do you give him/her and which ones does he/she create for himself/herself?

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