# Working Dogs



## elkhound (May 30, 2006)

before i derail heni's thread i better start this thread.....who needs OPEC.


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## elkhound (May 30, 2006)




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## elkhound (May 30, 2006)

modern carts


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## elkhound (May 30, 2006)

them fuzzy faced ankle eaters had a purpose..


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## elkhound (May 30, 2006)

multi use dogs


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## elkhound (May 30, 2006)




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## elkhound (May 30, 2006)




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## preparing (Aug 4, 2011)

Thanks. I enjoyed that.


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## elkhound (May 30, 2006)




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## elkhound (May 30, 2006)

bomb sniffer and handlers resting...


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## elkhound (May 30, 2006)




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## elkhound (May 30, 2006)




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## elkhound (May 30, 2006)

and yall thought i could get crazy with youtube....roflmao......bing is ya friend...lol


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## fordson major (Jul 12, 2003)

I got offered to Burmese the other day!! should show them this idea


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## fordson major (Jul 12, 2003)

one of the dogs here is a great protector dog, half border collie half pyr? nothing gets past this dog! I did have to save her from a weasel that kept snaking around and biting her nose, a quick shot and it was being tossed around like a tennis ball!!


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## Tommyice (Dec 5, 2010)

Fabulous pics Elk. I think most dogs like to work.

And this is how my dog works. LOL Hey someone's gotta keep those pillows in line. LOL


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## RideBarefoot (Jun 29, 2008)

Great pics, Elkhound.

Think my Lab/Shetland pony cross will be getting a job soon...

Tommyice, our dogs have identical work habits!


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## skeeter (Mar 23, 2013)

I completely enjoyed this post...thanks


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## arcticow (Oct 8, 2006)

Wish I could dig up that OLD photo of a guy in Fairbanks cultivating his tater patch with a husky...


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## cowbelle (Mar 5, 2009)

Great photos, Elkhound. Where did you get the Kelpie pics? I've raised and worked them for over 20 yrs. Love the obsessive work ethic! My oldest ***** is about to be 17 and would still go after cattle if given the chance (and the eyesight/hearing)

When I published the Stockdog Journal, I often put in articles about other "working" dogs, and their history. It's fascinating how the various instincts have been selected for and concentrated.


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## elkhound (May 30, 2006)

arcticow said:


> Wish I could dig up that OLD photo of a guy in Fairbanks cultivating his tater patch with a husky...


i have looked and looked for that picture to show on here....i seen it an issue of alaska geographic.

maybe we can find it.


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## elkhound (May 30, 2006)

cowbelle said:


> Great photos, Elkhound. Where did you get the Kelpie pics? I've raised and worked them for over 20 yrs. Love the obsessive work ethic! My oldest ***** is about to be 17 and would still go after cattle if given the chance (and the eyesight/hearing)
> 
> When I published the Stockdog Journal, I often put in articles about other "working" dogs, and their history. It's fascinating how the various instincts have been selected for and concentrated.



i just use Bing search engine.


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## viggie (Jul 17, 2009)

haha I tried but this was the best I could do for a dog plowing


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## elkhound (May 30, 2006)

i always wanted a Drahthaar....they point,retrieve and run like a hound.


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## arcticow (Oct 8, 2006)

elkhound said:


> i have looked and looked for that picture to show on here....i seen it an issue of alaska geographic.
> 
> maybe we can find it.


It's in Alaska's Farms and Gardens Vol. 11 No. 2 Jan. 1, 1984... Will leave the pic posting to you, sir. Alaska Geographic was right.


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## elkhound (May 30, 2006)

arcticow said:


> It's in Alaska's Farms and Gardens Vol. 11 No. 2 Jan. 1, 1984... Will leave the pic posting to you, sir. Alaska Geographic was right.


i hope we can find picture...my copy is ...in who knows where land....lol..or i would snap a picture with camera from it.this is a most awesome alaska geo book


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## SimplerTimez (Jan 20, 2008)

Makes me miss my Pyrs Elkie  They both got great re-homes though and are happy.

Bonnie
​
View attachment 20183



and Clyde

View attachment 20184


~ST


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## rkintn (Dec 12, 2002)

This is our newest addition, Bernard. Bubba wants to teach him to retrieve squirrels. LOL I told him he'd have better luck teaching him to hunt rats or badgers  In actuality, I think he's just gonna be a good little companion dog for us all.


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## Shrek (May 1, 2002)

I realized the value of training my 40 to 75 pound working dog mixed breeds to draft use two years after my divorce while dragging deadfall white oak limbs and as the dogs ran the kennel fence barking enthusiastically as if wanting to help me and as I pulled on the rope to drag the limb as if I were a pony mule, the movie Snow Dogs popped in my head.

That night I searched and studied dog sled association sites and gear supply site to understand the preferred strain balancing criss cross strap and line ring harnesses used with sled dogs.

The following week while taking my 75 pounder to the vet I asked him of his opinion of training them as draft animals and he told me of a local Canadian transplant who used large working dogs in the same way.

The vet also told me how to watch the dogs to make sure they didn't over strain themselves and to train them to wear traction boots also.

After I began acclimating (training seems the wrong word as all three took to helping me without any intense repetitive training) to the harnesses I made, when I took them in for their yearlies my vet also did a dog style check as he would doing a physical of a horse or mule.

For the next 10 years at least one of my pack was up to draft duty if I needed it. Even as my two oldest dogs got too old to pull loads as they did when younger, they still enjoyed pulling light loads of yard pick up twig limbs on the lightweight Radio flyer wagon I have though the fall before their end life stages started as the pup of the pack pulled the utility wagon.

When I recently changed vet services with my original pack survivor I explained how I use my dogs for small scale draft use and asked him if he thought the new working dog mix his office helped me adopt would be able to draft train.

As he looked at the muscle tone of my alpha and the type of harness I use, he said that helped explain her good muscle tone and said he thought such working would probably help control the hyperactivity of my new girl adoptee that forced the elderly woman who had her to put her up for adoption.

As he said , "A working dog is most content and calm when they know they are working."

As I train the latest of my working dogs I think of how a single person with a good dog can often accomplish more than if they are relying on their spouse because dogs don't continually ask "why don't we hire a service to do this? or such. The dogs are just happy to be helping their human.


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## elkhound (May 30, 2006)

i have used a Pyrenees as a pack dog in past he was great to have in the woods.


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## Shrek (May 1, 2002)

I think that a decade of working harness helped my oldest alpha to almost make 18 years and the year old new girl after only two months of harness training has calmed way down and has put on about 15 pounds of muscle.

I think she will top out at 65 to 70. Only trouble I am still having is she isn't real fond of traction boots so I am still working her light until I can convince her that barefoot isn't the only option.

Of course my current alpha wasn't too fond of her traction boots initially either.


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## nehimama (Jun 18, 2005)

Working Dogs: The Great Pyrenees guard and protect the goat flock day and night. The little Jack Russell Terriers are "Instant Death" to rats, mice and voles.


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## arcticow (Oct 8, 2006)

elkhound said:


> i hope we can find picture...my copy is ...in who knows where land....lol..or i would snap a picture with camera from it.this is a most awesome alaska geo book
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## oneraddad (Jul 20, 2010)




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## doingitmyself (Jul 30, 2013)

I wanted to press like for everyone of these posts!! This is one of the very best threads i have seen here on ST !!!! 

My Golden Retrievers used to love to pull my on my x country skis down the river. They couldn't pull in deep snow, but on the smooth river or an a groomed trail they loved it, me too. Great way to bond with a working/hunting dog. 

Thanks for starting this thread!!!!


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## starjj (May 2, 2005)

The Norwegian Elkhound originated in Scandinavia and is one of the most ancient breeds; it is thousands of years old and has been around since the Stone Age. A skeleton similar to today's Norwegian Elkhound dating from 4000 to 5000 BC has been found. To put some perspective on it, these dogs have been around since man hunted with slingshots and lived in caves. They worked as a hunting and guard dog for the Vikings. The dogs were used as big and small game hunters tracking animals such as moose, elk, bear, mountain lion, badger, lynx, wolf, reindeer and rabbit. The dogs would track the quarry and alert the hunter by barking, holding the animal at bay until the hunter arrived. Norwegian Elkhounds can smell game from over a mile away. The dogs tended to work better at night than in the daytime. The breed is also highly prized as a sled dog. In case of war, the Norwegian Defense Minister has the power to mobilize all privately owned Elkhounds. In more recent times, the friendly and reliable character of the Elkhound has helped win a place in many homes as a cherished family pet. The name "Elkhound" is a direct translation from its original Norwegian name "Elghund," meaning "moose dog." In Norwegian, "elg" means "moose" and "hund" means "dog." The breed was first exhibited in 1877 when the Norwegian Hunters Association began holding shows. The AKC first recognized the breed in 1913. In 1923, the Elkhound Club was formed and the breed was officially recognized by the British Kennel Club. Some of the Elkhound's talents include: hunting, tracking, herding, watchdog, guarding, sledding and agility. There is also a Black Norwegian Elkhound that is recognized as a separate breed, but is almost identical in type except for color.

I couldn't find any pictures but I will never forget my Wolfie who I had for 6 years. I got her when she was 5 or 6 from a rescue so she was long lived and the best dog I ever had.


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## sustainabilly (Jun 20, 2012)

My neighbor in WI kept a kennel full of Malamutes. He trained and entered them in sled dog competitions. I used to go with him some in an old golf cart for road training and in the sled on the frozen river. Except during periodic pack squabbles, those dogs seemed to always be happy. He often won enough dog food from the pulling competitions to keep him most of the year.


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## Raeven (Oct 11, 2011)

Speaking of dogs, here's something to think about (just for you, Fowler -- your area of expertise!):

_Dogs preferred to excrete with the body being aligned along the North-south axis under calm MF conditions. This directional behavior was abolished under Unstable MF. The best predictor of the behavioral switch was the rate of change in declination, i.e., polar orientation of the MF.

_http://www.frontiersinzoology.com/content/10/1/80/abstract

And I promise you, now that you know, you'll watch every dog you ever spy having a poo to see if he's facing north or south.

You all can buy me a beer to say thanks. :buds:


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