Five Dogs with Crazy Ré...

Five Dogs with Crazy Résumés

April 10, 2014

Your pooch might be an adorable pet today, but it’s quite likely that she was once more than just a cuddly companion. Many dogs were bred to perform a specific task, and their physical characteristics were selected to make them great at their jobs. Here are five dogs with crazy résumés.

St. Bernards were once search and rescue dogs in the Alps. They were kept by monks at a hospice on a treacherous path between Switzerland and Italy and saved travelers from snowy deaths. Originally, St. Bernards had relatively short hair and a great sense of smell to find victims. But in the mid-1800s, the hospice workers mixed them with another, longer-haired dog in the hopes of improving the breed. The result? A larger dog with longer hair that accumulated snow. These longer-haired dogs made poor rescue animals, so they were given away to villagers living nearby. And today there are still long- and short-haired varieties of the breed.

Poodles were bred to be hunting dogs. They have moisture resistant coats, which made them great at fetching prey out of the water. So, what’s with the fancy haircut? Some people say that shaving the dog may have made poodles more hydrodynamic. And the strangely placed tufts of hair were left to protect their joints from cold water. (Other people disagree and think the haircut was first given to poodles who were performing in the circus.)

Dachshunds were originally bred to hunt badgers. Their long bodies and short legs make them great at squeezing into badger dens and maneuvering. They also have strong lower jaws to kill their prey. On top of that, they have tails that are long enough for hunters to grab onto to pull the dogs back out of holes.

The Komondor is from Hungary, where it was used to guard flocks of sheep. Its mop of dreadlocked white hair helped the breed blend in with the livestock. The corded coat is also very thick and could protect the animal if a wolf attacked.

Bulldogs got their name because they were bred to be “bull baiters” in Europe. The dogs would grab a bull by the nose and pin it to the ground, distracting it while the butcher brought his cows in to be milked or slaughtered. Bull baiting was later turned into a sport, but was outlawed in England in the 1800s. Bulldogs have muscular shoulders, large heads, and strong jaws to withstand being shaken by bulls. Their noses are set back to ensure that they could still breath while holding the bull down with their teeth, and the wrinkles around their faces were meant to keep blood from running into their eyes. Despite this fearsome occupation, bulldogs are actually quite gentle animals and are known for being loyal and good with children.

Dogs had tons of other jobs, too, and many dogs still perform the jobs they were bred for. But others have found new roles. Some dogs guide the blind, and some have become therapy animals. And some dogs have found jobs you might never have expected. 

PRODUCTION CREDITS

Written, Produced and Narrated by

Anna Rothschild

Production Help from

Mark Zastrow

Original Footage

© WGBH Educational Foundation 2014

MEDIA CREDITS

Music: Monkeys Spinning Monkeys

Incompetech/Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 3.0)

335/365-A New Camera

Flickr/ShutterRunner (CC BY-NC 2.0)

A Bull and a Bulldog Are About to Attack Each Other

Wellcome Images/Francis Barlow (CC BY 4.0)

A Shaggy Dog Story!

Flickr/foxypar4 (CC BY 2.0)

Babygirl, English Bulldog Puppy

Flickr/Amber Rosenbaugh (CC BY-NC 2.0)

Barron

Flickr/I_am_Allan (CC BY-NC 2.0)

Barry

Wikimedia Commons (Public Domain)

Cheguel!

Flickr/Ana_Cotta (CC BY 2.0)

Black Labrador Retrievers portrait

Wikimedia Commons/mrpattersonsir (CC BY 2.0)

Cara de quen caui do caminhí£o…

Wikimedia Commons/Anderson Nascimento (CC BY 2.0)

CH_Renaissance_Hopeful_Impulse

Wikimedia Commons/Belinda Hankins Miller (CC BY 2.0)

Clyde The Bulldog

Wikimedia Commons/Asmadeus (Public Domain)

CockerSpanielPup

Wikimedia Commons/LeCardinal (CC BY 3.0)

Dog Sled Rides (6836608704)

Wikimedia Commons/Denali National Park and Preserve (CC BY 3.0)

Great St Bernard Pass

Wikimedia Commons/Soumai Baba (CC BY 2.0)

Guide dog golden retriever

Wikimedia Commons/Hurricane Omega (Public Domain)

Komondor delvin

Wikimedia Commons/Nikki68 (CC BY 2.5)

Meyerhime.sideshow.1891

Wikimedia Commons/Paul Meyerheim (Public Domain)

Miniature Schnauzer Toy

Wikimedia Commons/SheltieBoy (CC BY 2.0)

Rottweiler-Head

Wikimedia Commons/Rains27 (Public Domain)

Samuel Henry Alken – Bull Baiting

Wikimedia Commons/Samuel Hentry Alken (Public Domain)

Schnoodle2

Wikimedia Commons/Vontafeijos

Siberian Husky bi-eyed Flickr

Wikimedia Commons/re-ality (CC BY 2.0)

Silver Miniature Poodle stacked

Wikimedia Commons/Belinda (CC BY 2.0)

Smooth Miniature Dachshund puppy

Flickr/Lachlan Hardy (CC BY 2.0)

File: Weenix A dog over a dead boar

Wikimedia Commons/Jan Weenix (Public Domain)

The Dog Barber

Wellcome Images/Henry William Bunbury (CC BY 4.0)

Brantini Show Pictures

© Marilyn Santell

Early to Rise, Early to Bed

Flickr/Randy Son Of Robert (CC BY 2.0)

Ella the Snow Dog

Flickr/jpctalbot (CC BY 2.0)

Bo the poodle retrieving a duck

Wikimedia Commons/Sally Eller (Public Domain)

Deiker Jagdbare Tiere 1093210

Wikimedia Commons/Carl Friedrich Deiker (Public Domain)

Parti-colour Longhaired Dachshund

Wikimedia Commons/Raven Underwood (CC BY 2.0)

Explore!

Flickr/Lacklan Hardy (CC BY 2.0)

goofus, jr.

Flickr, greg westfall. (CC BY 2.0)

Standing Proud

© The Komondor Club of Great Britain

Oscar With His Friends

© The Komondor Club of Great Britain

Nelson, Skateboarding Dog

Flickr/CarbonNYC (CC BY 2.0)

No Strings

Flickr/Emery_Way (CC BY 2.0)

Snoozing 2

Flickr/one.juniper (CC BY-NC 2.0)

1 Papillon

Wikimedia Commons/2010 PA Kennel Assoc. Dog Show (CC BY 2.0)

Pomeranians

Wikimedia Commons/MissTessmacher (CC BY-NC 2.0)

Retrieving Golden Retriever in Water

Flickr/rkleine (CC BY-NC 2.0)

Saint Bernard in Field

© Mary Bloom

St. Bernard Puppy Six Weeks Old

Flickr/ATIS547 (CC By-NC-SA 2.0)

St Bernhard dog (bw)

Wikimedia Commons/Michael Huwiler (Public Domain)

St. Bernard puppy

Wikimedia Commons/dbking (CC By 2.0)

St. Bernard – To The Rescue by John Emms (artist)

Wikimedia Commons/John Emms (Public Domain)

Truth Was All Around Me

Flickr/Thomas Hawk (CC BY-NC 2.0)

We Will Fight Them On The Beaches…

Flickr/me'nthedogs (CC BY-NC 2.0)

Wondering

Flickr/snailsareslimy (CC BY 2.0)

IMAGE

(main image: St. Bernard Puppy)

Wikimedia Commons/dbking (CC BY 2.0)