Companion Dog - Working Vs. Companion

Working Vs. Companion

Breed groups argue that any dog of a working dog type is inherently a working dog, while many say that only a dog being actively worked, either in a related field such as water trials for retrievers or herding trials for herding dogs, or in some other field that requires training and discipline, such as being assistance dogs or participating in dog agility, can be considered a working dog.

Dogs that have been chosen for traits that make a convenient pet are generally smaller breeds, and the tradition of keeping pretty dogs for no purpose other than to be court decorations stems back thousands of years to Chinese nobility. The Pekingese and the Pug are both examples of canines chosen for their ability to be pets. In the case of the Pekingese, it was for their lion-like demeanor; for the Pugs, it was for their "lucky" wrinkles and their monkey-like face.

Other dogs that appear to be strictly a decorative or entertaining toy type of dog originally had jobs, such as the Lhasa Apso's job as a watch dog, or the delicate Yorkshire Terrier's exceptional rat catching abilities.