We all know by now, just how amazing dogs can be as our companions and friends, but we sometimes forget how incredibly special these animals are in some of their outrageous canine capabilities that assist us humans, on a daily basis.

Humans for the most part, are just not capable of doing the jobs dogs do, as dogs are known to have an incredible sense of smell, research shows they can even smell fear, anxiety and sadness.

The following are just some of the jobs that our special dogs do.

1. Service and Assistance

Dogs assist humans on a daily basis, helping many live more independently from the elderly to the handicapped. There are autism dogs, guide dogs (for the blind and deaf), mobility assistance dogs, psychiatric service dogs, seizure alert and even dogs that can detect peanut allergies.

2. Search and Rescue

These amazing dogs are trained to detect the scent of missing people in debris, hazardous weather, wilderness and even underwater. They’re amazing sense of smell can detect human scent through air and ground, living and dead.

3. Water Rescue

Newfoundland dogs, who are both strong and love water, can be trained to make great water rescue canines. They can swim out to a person in trouble and grab them with their mouths and pull them into shore. They are trained to recognize an unconscious swimmer and properly deal with the situation.

4. Police Work

Police dogs have been helping police officers with detection work, cadaver detection, enforcing public order, search and rescue, pursuing suspects and searching buildings for many years. While German Shepherds are typically known for k-9 work, other dogs used can include bloodhounds, beagles, labs and malinois.

5. Detection Work

Using their keen senses, dogs can smell anything from bedbugs, bombs and contraband in airports and prisons. Dogs are even being used to detect cancer tissue!

6. Cadaver Detection

Dogs trained to alert handlers at the scent of a decomposing body. They are used together with search and rescue dogs during disaster situations to locate all victims.

7. Herding

Dogs work alongside humans to drive various types of livestock into groups such as cattle, fowl, reindeer and sheep. Some common breeds for this job include Australian cattle dogs, border collies and kelpies.

8. Sled Dogs

Some of the first expeditions in the North and South Poles used dogsleds to explore the terrains. In Alaska sled dogs are used to deliver medications and supplies to remote towns.

9. Guarding and Watchdog

Dogs have long been helping to keep us safe, by using their bark and their keen sense of smell and hearing, they guard against danger. The Great Pyrenees are known to guard over livestock, and the Belgian Malinois are used in military to keep soldiers safe. Big or small dogs, can ward off trouble.

10. Truffle Sniffing

The one breed who is trained to sniff out these rare tasty mushrooms is the Lagotto Romagnolo.

References

1. LAtimes 2. DogGuide 3. DistinctlyMontana 4. Pinterest 5. NationStates 6. HondenPage 7. ModernFarmer