The Working Dogs

The Working Dogs Group a diverse and robust group that puts muscle, strength and often their bravery into serving their masters. Dogs in this group provide guarding, protecting, pulling and rescuing. Given their size and strength, they do required proper training. These are large intelligent dogs that are suitable for work, but some may not be suitable for the average family pet.

One member of this group, the Portuguese Water Dog has recently shown adeptness at a new task. This breed, along with the Labrador Retriever of the Sporting Group has had the highest success rate in new clinical trials where dogs were used to sniff out various cancers.

How do dogs smell cancer? Well, all cells give off waste chemicals. Cancer cells give off some distinct chemicals including a mix of organic vapours such as benzene and alkenes, which the body flushes away by exhaling. Incredibly, most dogs can detect some of these chemicals diluted to a few parts per billion in air!

There are anecdotal reports for years about dogs that curiously sniffed owners who developed skin cancer, and then stopped when the tumours were removed!

Promising research in this area is on going in the US and abroad. However, don't expect to see a Portugues Water Dog on your visit to the doctor just yet!

The AKC recognizes the following breeds in the Working Group: